cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of sulfate aerosols in modifying the cloud albedo: a closure experiment

Abstract At a remote mountain-top location in the southeastern US, measurements were made to estimate the contribution of anthropogenic aerosols to the cloud albedo. The influence of the long-range transport of anthropogenic emissions on cloud microphysical and optical properties at the mountain top site was investigated. The sources of the cloud forming air masses were determined from back-trajectory analysis. Cloud water sulfate content was used as a surrogate for anthropogenic pollution. The effects of particulate sulfate on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration, cloud droplet number concentration ( N ), cloud droplet effective radii ( R eff ) and cloud albedo were analyzed. A non-linear relationship between CCN and sulfate mass was obtained with a lowered sensitivity of CCN at high values of sulfate. Differences in N and sulfate from polluted to less polluted type air masses were much larger than that in R eff . This could be due to the variability in cloud liquid water content (LWC) as R eff is more related to LWC and cloud thickness than is N . The variability in cloud liquid water path (LWP) results in the optical depth being more sensitive to changes in R eff than to N for differences in cloud pollutant content. As part of a “closure experiment”, the cloud albedo calculated from in situ measurements for a 3-year period (1993–1995) compared well with that inferred from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. This accomplishes the objective of our closure experiment and proves that albedo of non-precipitating, thin, isolated clouds can be resolved against the dark forested background by AVHRR. The cloud reflectivity inferred from satellite measurements and that calculated from in situ observations were found to vary with the cloud water sulfate and N . Non-linear increases in satellite inferred cloud albedo with LWP suggest the importance of determining the contribution of cloud dynamic feedbacks on the indirect effect.
Nation and Nationalism: Historical Antecedents to Contemporary Debates

same way that they might identify with other forms of collective identity, such as religion, tribe, race, and ethnicity. That much is accepted, yet vigorous debate has raged over the constituent elements of a nation and the interplay between and among these elements. The editors of an important reader on the subject conclude, "There is little agreement about the role of ethnic, as opposed to political, components of the nation; or about the balance between 'subjective' elements like will and memory, and more objective elements like territory and language, or about the nature and role of ethnicity in national identity." 1 This debate is encapsulated into three broad approaches: the primordialist, constructivist, and instrumentalist.
Management effects on harvest losses and yield of double-crop soybean.

(...) The objective of this field study was to determine the effects of wheat stubble heights (WSH) of 0, 15, and 30 cm; soybean planting rates of 37, 65, and 92 seeds m -2 ; and soybean cultivars of differing maturity [Pella, early Maturity Group (MG) III, Douglas, mid-MG IV, and Mitchell 450, late MG IV] on LPH, harvest losses, and yield. Clipped wheat residues were removed, and soybean planting was done without tillage on a Maury slit loam (Typic Paleudalfs) (...)
Effect of moisture stress on the growth ofPinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws seedlings in relation to their field performance

Forty wind-pollinated families from eight provenances, four from xeric and four from mesic site types in the Sierra Nevada of California, were examined in the greenhouse for differential response to soil moisture stress. Analysis was made of shoot-root allometric growth coefficients, absolute and relative growth rates and the relationship among these response measures and growth in three field plantations.
Advanced flow cytometric analysis of nanoparticle targeting to rare leukemic stem cells in peripheral human blood in a defined model system

ABSTRACT Leukemia stem cells are both stem-like and leukemic-like. Th is complicates their detection as rare circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of leukemia patients. Since leukemic stem cells are also resistant to standard chemotherapeutic regimens, new therapeutic strategies need to be designed to kill the leukemic stem cells without killing normal stem cells. In these initial ta rgeting studies we utilized a bioinformatics approach to design an antibody- fluorescent nanoparticle conjugate for targeting to these leukemic stem cells and to minimize targeting to normal stem-progenitor cells. Multicolor flow cytometric analyses were performed on a BD FACS Aria III. Human leukemic stem cell-like cell RS4;11 (with putative immunophenotype CD133+/CD24+/-, CD34+/-, CD38+, CD10-/Flt3+) was spiked into normal hematopoietic stem-progenitor cells obtained from a buffy coat prep (with putative immunophenotype CD133-/CD34+/CD38-/CD10-/Flt-3-) to be used as a model human leukemia patient. To analyze the model system, digital data mixtures of the two cell types were first created and assign ed classifiers in order to create truth sets. ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) and multidimensiona l cluster analyses were used to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the immunophenotyping panel and for automated cell population identification, respectively. Costs of misclassification (false targeting) were also accounted for by this analysis sche me. Ultimately, this analysis scheme will be applied to use of nanoparticle-antibody conjugates at therapeutic doses fo r targeted killing of leukemia stem cells preferentially to normal stem progenitor cells. Keywords: Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) , flow cytometry, immunophenotyping, theragnostics, receiver operating characteristics (ROC), classification, clustering, principal components analysis (PCA), discriminant function analysis (DFA), multidimensional analysis
Football games: Victory, defeat, and spectators' power preferences☆

Abstract A conceptual distinction between two types of experienced power was proposed, and an experimental-field study examined its relevance to participation in vicarious power-related activities. After two college football games, spectators could volunteer for an experiment in which they would “work in the role of experimenter.” Respondents chose an image-of-power position soon after home-team defeat and an actual-power position soon after home-team victory, this difference between choices dissipating with time. The results suggest that the experience of vicarious success or failure at power-related activities influences people's subsequent preferences between the appearance of power and the actual use of power.
Vibration Characteristics and Damage of Turbine Generator Shaft Rubbing

An abnormal journal vibration occurred when a 660MW turbo generator unit was in daily operation. It was identified that rubbing vibration had taken place based on the behavior of the journal vibration and the temperature change of lubricating oil. The rubbing was located inside the bearing box between the HIP rotor and the LP rotor. However, no elimination measures had been taken in time because the damage caused by rubbing was underestimated. Few months later a full inspection revealed that the LP rotor shaft had been worn out with a 70mm wide and 28mm deep groove, which greatly weakened the strength of the LP rotor. The analysis presented here may help in diagnosing and understanding rubbing-vibration-related problems in similar situations.
Nutritional management of Old World primates with special consideration for vitamin D

The diversity of Old World primate species means that successful nutritional management should be based on species-specific studies of feeding ecologies, gut morphologies and nutrient requirements. The effects of food availability and social influences should also be considered. Multi-species exhibits and group feeding contribute to the challenge of meeting the nutritional requirements of both a species and individuals. Current concerns about primates maintained in captivity which continue to exhibit signs of vitamin D deficiencies are discussed. If a systematic approach is used to formulate appropriate species-specific diets it should be possible to provide a nutritionally balanced diet for Old World primates maintained in captivity.
Acousto-optic polarization modulation in polarization-preserving fibers with bulk shear acoustic waves

The state of polarization of light propagating in a polarization-preserving fiber may be varied via the acousto-optic effect by introducing high-frequency acoustic waves into the core region of the fiber. This effect may provide active polarization control for applications in interferometry, switching, and amplitude modulation. This paper describes a method for inducing polarization coupling within an optical fiber by coupling bulk shear acoustic waves through the flat surface of an elliptical-core D-fiber. The theory of device operation is developed, and a device model is characterized. The effect is experimentally verified with a first-generation device achieving approximately 7% amplitude coupling efficiency at 2 W input electrical power at a frequency of 22.7 MHz.
Elastic Response of Flexible Polyurethane Foams in Uniaxial Tension

This paper presents the uniaxial tensile data of two different flexible polyurethane foams and determines the relationships between their elastic properties and the major stretch ratio. These relationships will be useful in formulating constitutive models for flexible compressible materials.
The oxidation of amino acids by ferrate(V). A pre-mix pulse radiolysis study.

The forms of ferrate (V) which are derived from the one-electron reduction of potassium ferrate (K2FeO4) by ethanol radicals react with representative amino acids (glycine, methionine, phenylalanine and serine) at rates that are greater than 105M near pH 10. The predominant interaction in the alkaline pH range is between the protonated ferrate (V) species. HFeO42, and the amino acid anion. Fe(V) + amino acid Fe(III) + NH3 + α-keto acidThe rate-determining process is the two electron reduction of ferrate(V) to iron(III) with oxidation and subsequent deamination of the amino acid. The reaction appears to involve an entry of the amino acid into the inner coordination sphere of ferrate (V). In all cases, ferrate(V) exhibits preferred attack on the amino group in contrast to the OH radical which attacks the thioether site of methionine and the phenyl ring of phenylalanine.
Chorionic gonadotropin sensitive adenylate cyclase in human term placenta

Adenylate cyclase activity in a homogenate and washed particles of human term placenta proceeded maximally in the presence of 17 mM Mg2+ and 7.0 mM F− ion. The requirements for Mg2+ can be substituted by Mn2+, but not by other metal ions. Adenylate cyclase activity was not stimulated in vitro in a homogenate preparation by the addition of hCG. However, using a minced placental preparation, hCG stimulated the incorporation of 14C-adenine into 14C-cyclic AMP. The stimulatory effect of hCG on placental cyclic AMP formation was concentration dependent and specific. These experiments suggest that hCG may have a cyclic AMP-mediated role in placental function.
Validity of the Multiple Resources Questionnaire (MRQ)

The Multiple Resources Questionnaire (MRQ) is an easily administered 17-item measure for subjective workload assessment that aims to provide high diagnosticity by identifying the load on specific resources. Here validity data from two experiments are reported. Experiment 1 employs two computer-based games and finds that workload as assessed by the MRQ correlates significantly with ratings of overall workload, and with a composite of time demand, mental demand, and stress demand ratings. Because these are important dimensions of other well-accepted workload instruments (i.e., OW, NASA-TLX, and SWAT), the results support the construct validity of the MRQ. Experiment 2 assesses interference between pairings of four laboratory-based tasks, and finds that MRQ-based similarity indices significantly predict the degree of interference between tasks. This outcome supports the criterion validity of the MRQ.
Policy Travels: Exploring Politics, Policy, and Culture from the Ground-Up

Mark Hertsgaard, Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 1998. 372 pp. Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness: Travels Into America's Future. New York, NY: Random House, 1998. 393 pp.
Measurement of the ultrasonic attenuation of fat at high frequency

Rationale and Objectives. High-frequency ultrasound devices are often limited by a decreased depth of acoustic imaging caused by the increased attenuation of tissue at high frequencies. We investigated the role of adipose tissue in this phenomenon. Methods. A substitution technique was used to calculate the ultrasonic attenuation (decibels per centimeter) of fresh samples of sheep rumen, omental fat, and back fat and swine back fat and various concentrations of bovine milk fat at 22°C and 37°C for frequencies of 15 and 20 MHz. Results. The attenuation was significantly higher for sheep adipose tissue than for the intestinal wall, in descending order, omental fat, back fat, and rumen wall (P 0.9). The attenuation of adipose tissues decreased significantly with an increase in temperature (P 0.1). Conclusions. The ultrasonic attenuation of fat may contribute to limitations on the use of high-frequency ultrasound in clinical situations in which adipose tissue is present.
A 0.5 V 900 MHz CMOS Receiver Front End

A 900 MHz RF receiver front end including an LNA, downconversion mixer and associated LO buffers is presented. All circuits operate from a 0.5 V supply without any internal voltage boosting. The circuit is designed in 0.18 mum standard CMOS. It achieves a conversion gain of 12 dB, an IIP3 of -14 dBm and a noise figure of 9 dB. The circuit, including the LO buffers, dissipates 7.4 mW and occupies an active area of 0.43 mm2
Abnormal Air Collections in the Abdomen

When a hollow viscus ruptures, air (and bowel contents) is released into the abdominal cavity. “Free air” will collect in the least dependent (highest) portion of the peritoneum. Pneumoperitoneum has a broad range of etiologies from benign expected postoperative air to life-threatening hollow viscus rupture. Anytime a pneumoperitoneum is identified, it needs to be explained. Often the investigation of pneumoperitoneum begins with abdominal radiographs. If free air is noted, CT is often done to further delineate the extent of free air and determine the source.
The influence of a sensitive period on central auditory development in children with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants

We examined the longitudinal development of the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) in 21 children who were fitted with unilateral cochlear implants and in two children who were fitted with bilateral cochlear implants either before age 3.5 years or after age 7 years. The age cut-offs ( 7 years for late-implanted) were based on the sensitive period for central auditory development described in [Ear Hear. 23 (6), 532.] Our results showed a fundamentally different pattern of development of CAEP morphology and P1 cortical response latency for early- and late-implanted children. Early-implanted children and one child who received bilateral implants by age 3.5 years showed rapid development in CAEP waveform morphology and P1 latency. Late-implanted children showed aberrant waveform morphology and significantly slower decreases in P1 latency postimplantation. In the case of a child who received his first implant by age 3.5 years and his second implant after age 7 years, CAEP responses elicited by the second implant were similar to late-implanted children. Our results are consistent with animal models of central auditory development after implantation and confirm the presence of a relatively brief sensitive period for central auditory development in young children.
Treatment planning for a radiosurgical system with general kinematics

In radiosurgery a beam of radiation is used as an ablative surgical instrument to destroy brain tumors. Treatment planning consists of computing a sequence of beam configurations for delivering a necrotic dose to the tumor, without damaging healthy tissue or particularly critical structures. In current systems, kinematic limitations severely constrain beam motion. This often results in inappropriate dose distributions. A new radiosurgical system has been implemented to overcome this disadvantage. In this system, a compact radiation source of high energy is moved by a 6-dof robotic arm. We describe algorithms for computing a motion with specified characteristics for this new system. Treatment plans used at test sites with earlier systems are compared to plans computed with the described algorithms. The experience reported shows that full kinematic flexibility combined with treatment planning algorithms allows for better protection of healthy tissue and higher dosage in tumors. >
Sustainability and the Architectural History

In this paper, I will address the challenges of incorporating the discourse of Sustainability into the architectural history curriculum and how Sustainability in the survey can be related to the Sustainability education the design studio. I argue that the inclusion of Sustainability into the architectural survey will necessitate the production of revisionist architectural histories that are written through an environmental paradigm and are able to establish a dialogue with Sustainability education in the design studio. These revisionist histories will occupy the disciplinary territory that is produced at the intersection of architectural and environmental histories
NPHP4 controls ciliary trafficking of membrane proteins and large soluble proteins at the transition zone

ABSTRACT The protein nephrocystin-4 (NPHP4) is widespread in ciliated organisms, and defects in NPHP4 cause nephronophthisis and blindness in humans. To learn more about the function of NPHP4, we have studied it in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. NPHP4 is stably incorporated into the distal part of the flagellar transition zone, close to the membrane and distal to CEP290, another transition zone protein. Therefore, these two proteins, which are incorporated into the transition zone independently of each other, define different domains of the transition zone. An nphp4-null mutant forms flagella with nearly normal length, ultrastructure and intraflagellar transport. When fractions from isolated wild-type and nphp4 flagella were compared, few differences were observed between the axonemes, but the amounts of certain membrane proteins were greatly reduced in the mutant flagella, and cellular housekeeping proteins >50 kDa were no longer excluded from mutant flagella. Therefore, NPHP4 functions at the transition zone as an essential part of a barrier that regulates both membrane and soluble protein composition of flagella. The phenotypic consequences of NPHP4 mutations in humans likely follow from protein mislocalization due to defects in the transition zone barrier.
Coordinating a robot arm and multi-finger hand using the quaternion representation

An algorithm is presented which, given a desired position and normal for each fingertip, computes all the joint angles for the fingers and arm. The primary method for handling this underconstrained problem is to optimize a cost function. Methods are also given for generating good candidates to be optimized. Several new techniques are given for using the quaternion form to optimize rotation. Experimental results from using the algorithm to apply complicated grasps with a Utah/MIT hand-arm system are presented. >
Partitioning Positional and Normal Space for Fast Occlusion Detection

Occlusion detection is a fundamental and important problem in optical sensor inspection planning. Many view-planning algorithms have been developed for optical inspection, however, few of them explicitly develop practical algorithms for occlusion detection. This paper presents a hierarchical space partition approach that divides both positional and surface normal space of an object for fast occlusion detection. A k-d tree is used to represent this partition. A novel concept of δ – occlusion is introduced to detect occlusion for objects in an un-organized point cloud representation. Based on the δ – occlusion concept, several propositions regarding to a range search on a k-d tree have been developed for occlusion detection. Implementation of this approach demonstrated that significant time can be saved for occlusion detection using the partition of both positional and surface normal space.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Heroin addiction, renal failure, and methadone maintenance: A follow-up report

In a previous article the authors reported renal transplantation in a male veteran heroin addict being treated with methadone maintenance. They now report the 5-year follow-up of this patient and his subsequent renal transplant rejection.
Neurological applications of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging an emerging MR imaging modality which has started to be used in clinical setting. Here, we are describing use of quantitative DTI in diagnosis of upper motor neuron diseases: amyotropic lateral sclerosis and primary lateral sclerosis. Upper motor neuron diseases are difficult to diagnose using imaging means. Currently, diagnosis is usually one of exclusion requiring careful clinical examination and series of tests to rule out diseases that may mimic upper motor neuron diseases. Upper motor neuron diseases present with progressive degeneration of corticospinal tract. The relentless disease progression ultimately leads to severe spastic spinobulbar paresis. Since diffusion tensor imaging is sensitive to the changes in tissue microstructure, it is an ideal tool to use in diagnosis of upper motor neuron diseases where the damage in corticospinal tract is microscopic.
Multi-generational income disadvantage and the educational attainment of young adults

Abstract We use data from three generations of participants of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the association between intergenerational socio-economic mobility and young adult outcomes. In particular, we investigate whether parents’ childhood conditions are associated with the educational attainment of their young adult children, conditional on young adults’ own childhood conditions. We examine the degree to which different paths leading to the same socio-economic position may differentially influence the outcomes of children raised under otherwise similar circumstances. We find some evidence that, conditional on young adults’ own adolescent conditions, the adolescent conditions of their parents influence their household environment and by extension their educational attainment. This association appears to be concentrated among low-income households.
Qualitative and Task Analytic Methods to Support Comprehensible Intelligent System Design

We argue that a critical component of designing comprehensible intelligent systems is finding the right applications for intelligence and designing intelligent solutions toward those applications. While we do not refute the value of good attention to later stages of human-centered design such as the application of human interface design principles and usability testing as methods for improving comprehensibility, there must also be significant attention to understanding problems in the context of use and how intelligence systems can best address those problems. In light of supporting naturalistic decision-making, we present a review of task analytic and qualitative research techniques that may be useful for better understanding problems in context that will support the design of more comprehensible intelligent systems.
Metal-oxide films for electrochromic applications: present technology and future directions

Many transition metal-oxide films exhibit an electrochromic (EC) effect as they change their optical transmittance upon charge insertion or extraction. These materials may be integrated into multilayer devices, and the optical modulation is then produced by application of a small electrical voltage. Electrochromic films are therefore being developed for application in dynamic or “smart” windows that are at the forefront of emerging energy-saving advances in building technologies. Here we will describe the state-of-the-art technology that is being implemented in commercial applications. It predominantly relies on the use of tungsten oxide-based films (coloring with ion insertion) and nickel oxide-based films (coloring with ion extraction). We also suggest future research directions that are motivated by the need to reduce the production costs of large-area EC windows. Specifically, we describe the possibility of alternative less expensive manufacturing processes, as well as the development of flexible EC devices that allow for an inexpensive “retrofit” installation to existing structures.
A new charge-control model for single- and double-heterojunction bipolar transistors

A new charge-control relation is derived for heterojunction bipolar transistors. The relation is valid for arbitrary doping density profiles and for all levels of injection in the base. It is applicable to both single- and double-heterojunction transistors. The model is an improvement over another recently proposed charge-control model that was valid only for constant doping density and low injection in the base. Large- and small-signal equivalent circuit models are also presented for heterojunction bipolar transistors. Comparisons with numerical and experimental data show excellent agreement. >
Compact quantum cascade laser based atmospheric CO 2 sensor

We have developed a compact sensor system for environmental CO 2 studies based on quantum cascade laser. The sensor targets the strongest fundamental CO 2 ro-vibrational band at 4.24μm and requires only 8mm optical path to provide sensitivity of 2 ppm.
Synchronous pipelined relay stations with back-pressure tolerance

Deep submicron technologies are causing interconnect delays to become a larger fraction of the clock cycle time. A solution to this problem is to pipeline the long wire in order to increase channel throughput and maintain an acceptable clock frequency. The delay of the interconnect is distributed over several clock cycles by inserting relay stations which allow for fully synchronous operation at a higher frequency. We discuss a relay station scheme that takes advantage of storage in the interconnect to minimize system stalls. We also discuss various implementation issues and design choices, such as clock gating. Additionally, we present the results of a system-on-chip crossbar, which we designed to utilize these modules. We believe that this type of approach is crucial for maintaining the overall improvement of performance in future systems and technologies.
Elevated Renovascular Tone in Young Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Role of Cytochrome P-450

The present study examined the role of cytochrome P-450 metabolites of arachidonic acid in elevating renal vascular resistance in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Differences in vascular tone were assessed in the preglomerular vasculature of 3- to 4-week-old prehypertensive SHR (n = 11) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY, n = 10) and Wistar-Lewis (n = 10) rats. Pressure-diameter relations to changes in renal perfusion pressure were compared using the juxtamedullary nephron microvascular preparation perfused in vitro with a physiological salt solution. At a pressure of 60 mm Hg, the basal diameters of the interlobular arteries and proximal and distal afferent arterioles of the SHR averaged 43 +/- 2, 17 +/- 0.3, and 11 +/- 0.4 microns, respectively. The diameters of the interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles were 9% to 14% smaller than those of corresponding vessels in WKY and Wistar-Lewis rats. Addition of P-450 inhibitors, ketoconazole (100 mumol/L) or 7-ethoxyresorufin (1 mumol/L), to the perfusate dilated the afferent arteriole of SHR by 7% to 12%, whereas it increased the diameter by only 0% to 6% in control rats and significantly reduced the differences in the pressure-diameter relation in the preglomerular vasculature of SHR and control rats. Inhibitors of P-450 eliminated the contractile response of afferent arterioles to increases in renal perfusion pressure in all three groups. Removal of calcium from the perfusate eliminated differences in the diameters of the preglomerular vasculature in SHR and normotensive rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PTEN Loss Induces Epithelial—Mesenchymal Transition in Human Colon Cancer Cells

Background: The epithelial-mesenchymal transition is a critical early event in the invasion and metastasis of many types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Chronic inflammation is an inducer of several cancer types and inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in tumor invasion. Materials and Methods: Human colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW480 were transfected with phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) siRNA or non-targeting control (NTC). Invasiveness was measured using a modified Boyden chamber assay and migration was assessed using a scratch assay. Results: PTEN knockdown increased the invasion and migration of CRC cells and the addition of medium containing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) further enhanced the migration and invasion. PTEN knockdown resulted in nuclear β-catenin accumulation and increased expression of downstream proteins c-Myc and cyclin D1. Conclusion: Our study supports the findings of clinical studies identifying an association of PTEN loss with late stage cancer. Cellular factors secreted from the surrounding tumor milieu likely act in concert with genetic changes in the tumor cells and contribute to enhanced tumor invasion. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process that occurs normally during critical phases of embryonic development in mammals, including embryonic neural crest
Adaptation of uterine artery thick- and thin-filament regulatory pathways to pregnancy.

Little is known about the adaptation of uterine artery smooth muscle contractile mechanisms to pregnancy. The present study tested the hypothesis that pregnancy differentially regulates thick- and ...
Interventional Nephrology: Novel Devices that Will One Day Change Our Practice

There is increasing awareness of vascular access dysfunction as a significant contributor to the morbidity associated with chronic hemodialysis. Over the last several years, interventional nephrologists, in conjunction with our colleagues in vascular surgery, have led the way in the creation of novel devices that are designed to help solve the vascular access problem. The purpose of this review is to describe novel devices in the precommercial stage of development that have the potential to revolutionize the field of dialysis vascular access. These devices include bioengineered blood vessels, access monitoring technology, and advanced anastomotic connectors.
United States Federal & State Judicial System, Including Selection, Training, & Discipline of Judges

This 18-page CLE (continuing legal education) brochure is titled “United States Federal & State Judicial System, Including Selection, Training, & Discipline of Judges.” It was presented to a delegation of Chinese judges in 2009. It covers federal judiciary, state judiciary, and federal administrative law judiciary. Topics include (1) establishment and jurisdiction of the federal judiciary; (2) separation of powers and constitutional checks and balances; (3) the Supreme Court of the united States; (4) orientation, training, and CLE programs for judges; and (5) judicial discipline.
MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS MODELING OF TABLA SEQUENCES

We describe a system that attempts to predict the continuation of a symbolically encoded tabla composition at each time step using a variable-length n-gram model. Using cross-entropy as a measure of model fit, the best model attained an entropy rate of 0.780 in a cross-validation experiment, showing that symbolic tabla compositions can be effectively encoded using such a model. The choice of smoothing algorithm, which determines how information from different-order models is combined, is found to be an important factor in the models performance. We extend the basic n-gram model by adding viewpoints, other streams of information that can be used to improve predictive performance. First, we show that adding a short-term model, built on the current composition and not the entire corpus, leads to substantial improvements. Additional experiments were conducted with derived types, representations derived from the basic data type (stroke names), and cross-types, which model dependencies between parameters, such as duration and stroke name. For this database, such extensions improved performance only marginally, although this may have been due to the low entropy rate attained by the basic model.
The Design of Miniature Isolator Under Wide Range of Temperature

The design of a L-band isolator working with high-field was reported. The isolator features a working band of higher than 200MHz, temperature range of -55 to 85℃, transmission loss of less than 0.4dB, reverse loss of higher than 22dB, VSWR of less than 1.20, diminsion of not larger than 25×25×10mm.
Impact of 1 wk of diabetes on the regulation of myocardial carbohydrate and fatty acid oxidation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing exogenous palmitate concentration on carbohydrate and palmitate oxidation in hearts from control and 1-wk diabetic rats. Hearts wer...
Dietary Associations with a Breast Cancer Risk Biomarker Depend on Menopause Status.

ABSTRACTWe investigated how timing influences the role of diet in breast cancer risk with a cross-sectional study of pre-malignant change in breast tissue. Women with an elevated risk of developing breast cancer (33 premenopausal and 32 postmenopausal) completed the National Cancer Institute's food frequency questionnaire and underwent random periareolar fine-needle aspiration for evaluation of cytologic atypia, an established risk biomarker. Fatty acid composition of breast adipose was measured in 32 (49%) subjects. We found that premenopausal and postmenopausal women had similar diets, but the associations between atypia and intake of total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and soy differed by menopause status (both P interaction < 0.001). Total n-3 PUFA intake was inversely associated with atypia among premenopausal women (P < 0.0001), but not among postmenopausal women (P = 0.91); associations were similar for soy (P = 0.0003 and P = 0.48, respectively). This pattern of dietary interaction with m...
Social Networks and Virtual Communities

From prehistoric years, before even the formation of language, human beings tended to form communities in order to have more chances to survive in the primitive and hostile environment. Progressively the communities were expanded and developed by acquiring a more concrete structure with disperse roles and duties and were held together by family or kinship ties. At the same time the communication tools such as gesture, oral and later written language as well as different attitudes, customs and habits were further evolved to the contemporary mosaic of cultures and languages. With the advancement of sciences and especially sociology, scientists started studying the human need for belonging and living for a specific purpose.
What Does It Take to Close a Comprehensive Child Welfare Systems Reform Lawsuit? A Case Study Approach

ABSTRACTThis study utilized qualitative methods to detail how key stakeholders view the long-term outcomes of child welfare litigation in four states. The question at the core of this study is, “Does litigation produce long-term positive change in child outcomes and, if so, what factors contribute and are the changes sustained?” Findings indicate that several common factors contribute to sustainable positive outcomes: (1) leadership, (2) direct interventions, (3) policy/administrative interventions, and (4) settlement agreement characteristics. Results indicated that many reforms did not sustain postlitigation. Regardless of concerns about sustainability, participants indicated that child outcomes did improve as a result of litigation.
Hole-dominated transport in InSb nanowires grown on high-quality InSb films

We have developed an effective strategy for synthesizing p-type indium antimonide (InSb) nanowires on a thin film of InSb grown on glass substrate. The InSb films were grown by a chemical reaction between S b 2 S 3 and I n and were characterized by structural, compositional, and optical studies. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies reveal that the surface of the substrate is covered with a polycrystalline InSb film comprised of sub-micron sized InSb islands. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) results show that the film is stoichiometric InSb. The optical constants of the InSb film, characterized using a variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometer (VASE) shows a maximum value for refractive index at 3.7 near 1.8 eV, and the extinction coefficient (k) shows a maximum value 3.3 near 4.1 eV. InSb nanowires were subsequently grown on the InSb film with 20 nm sized Au nanoparticles functioning as the metal catalyst initiating nanowire growth. The InSb nanowires with diameters in the range of 40–60 nm exhibit good crystallinity and were found to be rich in Sb. High concentrations of anions in binary semiconductors are known to introduce acceptor levels within the band gap. This un-intentional doping of the InSb nanowire resulting in hole-dominated transport in the nanowires is demonstrated by the fabrication of a p-channel nanowire field effect transistor. The hole concentration and field effect mobility are estimated to be ≈1.3 × 1017 cm−3 and 1000 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively, at room temperature, values that are particularly attractive for the technological implications of utilizing p-InSb nanowires in CMOS electronics.
Optical imaging of the valley Hall effect in two-dimensional semiconductors

Valley Hall effect, in which a transverse valley current is formed under a longitudinal electrical bias in the absence of a magnetic field, is imaged by Kerr rotation microscopy and controlled electrically in 2D MoS2.
Risk Factors: Aging

Aging, by itself, is a nonmodifiable risk factor for ischemic stroke. Aging is not an unchanging point that progressively moves forward on a timeline. The aging process brings forth changes affecting every organ system in the body that can markedly modify an animals’ response to disease/injury. This is especially problematic when assessing the ability of an animal to suffer an insult and then measure recovery. This review brings forth some of the risk factors associated with aging and illustrates how these complications factor into worsened health outcomes following ischemic stroke. In stroke research, the elephant in the room is that age is the primary risk factor for stroke, yet most preclinical stroke research is conducted using young animals. Simply put, aged animals suffer different outcomes following a neurological injury and the mechanisms engaged to facilitate recovery are often widely different. This review advocates for increased awareness of the role aging plays in ischemic stroke and the complexity involved in constructing experimental designs in preclinical studies that can be translated into effective clinical use.
Health-Related Quality of Life for Women Ever Experiencing Infertility or Difficulty Staying Pregnant.

Information on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for women with infertility is limited and does not account for the co-occurrence of chronic conditions or emotional distress. We used data from state-added questions on reproductive health included in the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in seven states. HRQOL indicators included: self-reported health status; number of days in the past 30 days when physical and mental health was not good; number of days in the past 30 days that poor physical or mental health limited activities. We computed rate ratios for HRQOL for women ever experiencing infertility or difficulty staying pregnant compared with women never reporting these conditions; interactions with chronic conditions and depressive disorders were assessed. Of 7,526 respondents aged 18–50 years, 387 (4.9%) reported infertility only and 339 (4.3%) reported difficulty staying pregnant only. Infertility was associated with an increase in average number of days with poor physical health for women with chronic conditions [rate ratio (RR) 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–3.29] but was protective for women without chronic conditions (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.29–0.75). Difficulty staying pregnant was associated with an increase in average number of days of limited activity among both women with chronic conditions (RR 2.14, 95% CI 1.32–3.45) and women with depressive disorders (RR 1.72 95% CI 1.14–2.62). Many HRQOL measures were poorer for women who had infertility or difficulty staying pregnant compared to their counterparts; the association was modified by presence of chronic conditions and depressive disorders.
Sedimentation Velocity Analysis with Fluorescence Detection of Mutant Huntingtin Exon 1 Aggregation in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans

At least nine neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by the aggregation induced by long tracts of glutamine sequences have been identified. One such polyglutamine-containing protein is huntingtin, which is the primary factor responsible for Huntington’s disease. Sedimentation velocity with fluorescence detection is applied to perform a comparative study of the aggregation of the huntingtin exon 1 protein fragment upon transgenic expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. This approach allows the detection of aggregation in complex mixtures under physiologically relevant conditions. Complementary methods used to support this biophysical approach included fluorescence microscopy and semidenaturing detergent agarose gel electrophoresis, as a point of comparison with earlier studies. New analysis tools developed for the analytical ultracentrifuge have made it possible to readily identify a wide range of aggregating species, including the monomer, a set of intermediate aggregates, an...
Information-processing-driven interfaces in hybrid large-area electronics systems

In the development of human-centric systems, access to a large number of human information signals is required. Such signals can be acquired from both ambient and on-person (wearable) sensors. Large-area electronics (LAE) provide distinct capabilities for creating the required diverse, distributed and conformal sensors. However, the large volume of and complex correlation to target information within the captured data requires significant processing and inference. This makes an LAE-CMOS hybrid system well-suited to such applications. Interfacing between the two technologies is a challenge in hybrid system design. We demonstrate an emerging solution space based on information-processing-oriented interfaces, through two case studies: 1) an image sensing and compression system based on random projection [1]; 2) an electroencephalogram (EEG) acquisition and biomarker-extraction system using compressive-sensing circuits [2].
A strategy for evaluating pathway analysis methods.

Researchers have previously developed a multitude of methods designed to identify biological pathways associated with specific clinical or experimental conditions of interest, with the aim of facilitating biological interpretation of high-throughput data. Before practically applying such pathway analysis (PA) methods, we must first evaluate their performance and reliability, using datasets where the pathways perturbed by the conditions of interest have been well characterized in advance. However, such ‘ground truths’ (or gold standards) are often unavailable. Furthermore, previous evaluation strategies that have focused on defining ‘true answers’ are unable to systematically and objectively assess PA methods under a wide range of conditions. In this work, we propose a novel strategy for evaluating PA methods independently of any gold standard, either established or assumed. The strategy involves the use of two mutually complementary metrics, recall and discrimination. Recall measures the consistency of the perturbed pathways identified by applying a particular analysis method to an original large dataset and those identified by the same method to a sub-dataset of the original dataset. In contrast, discrimination measures specificity—the degree to which the perturbed pathways identified by a particular method to a dataset from one experiment differ from those identifying by the same method to a dataset from a different experiment. We used these metrics and 24 datasets to evaluate six widely used PA methods. The results highlighted the common challenge in reliably identifying significant pathways from small datasets. Importantly, we confirmed the effectiveness of our proposed dual-metric strategy by showing that previous comparative studies corroborate the performance evaluations of the six methods obtained by our strategy. Unlike any previously proposed strategy for evaluating the performance of PA methods, our dual-metric strategy does not rely on any ground truth, either established or assumed, of the pathways perturbed by a specific clinical or experimental condition. As such, our strategy allows researchers to systematically and objectively evaluate pathway analysis methods by employing any number of datasets for a variety of conditions.
Numerical representation of binary relations with a multiplicative error function

Abstract This paper studies the case of the representation of a binary relation via a numerical function with threshold (error) depending on both compared alternatives. The error is considered to be multiplicative, its value being either directly or inversely proportional to the values of the numerical function. For the first case, it is proved that a binary relation is a semiorder. Moreover, any semiorder can be represented in this form. In the second case, the corresponding binary relation is an interval order.
HspB1 and Hsc70 chaperones engage distinct tau species and have different inhibitory effects on amyloid formation

The microtubule-associated protein tau forms insoluble, amyloid-type aggregates in various dementias, most notably Alzheimer's disease. Cellular chaperone proteins play important roles in maintaining protein solubility and preventing aggregation in the crowded cellular environment. Although tau is known to interact with numerous chaperones, it remains unclear how these chaperones function mechanistically to prevent tau aggregation and how chaperones from different classes compare in terms of mechanism. Here, we focused on the small heat shock protein HspB1 (also known as Hsp27) and the constitutive chaperone Hsc70 (also known as HspA8) and report how each chaperone interacts with tau to prevent its fibril formation. Using fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy, we show that the two chaperones inhibit tau fibril formation by distinct mechanisms. HspB1 delayed tau fibril formation by weakly interacting with early species in the aggregation process, whereas Hsc70 was highly efficient at preventing tau fibril elongation, possibly by capping the ends of tau fibrils. Both chaperones recognized aggregation-prone motifs within the microtubule-binding repeat region of tau. However, HspB1 binding remained transient in both aggregation-promoting and non-aggregating conditions, whereas Hsc70 binding was significantly tighter under aggregation-promoting conditions. These differences highlight the fact that chaperones from different families play distinct but complementary roles in the prevention of pathological protein aggregation.