cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterizing Slope Stability of Colluvial Soils in Ohio Using LiDAR Data

Instability of colluvial slopes is a recurring problem along highways throughout Ohio, USA. Colluvial soils in Ohio are typically derived from shale and claystones, which are prevalent in the southern region of the state. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in engineering properties of colluvial soils in relation to bedrock, and to evaluate the use of Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR)-based imagery in differentiating between the types of slope failure that occur in shale-derived versus claystone-derived colluvial soils in Ohio. Fourteen colluvial slopes located along highways and affected by slope movement were sampled in central and southern Ohio. The engineering properties determined to date include slake durability indices of bedrock units and natural water content, grain size distribution, and Atterberg limits of soil samples. Additional laboratory tests will include hydrometer analysis, direct shear tests of rock-to-rock and rock-to-soil contacts and x-ray diffraction analysis on clay fractions of bedrock samples. LiDAR data were used to generate digital elevation models and hillshade maps with contours for identifying different types of slope failure affecting shale-derived versus claystone-derived soils. Preliminary laboratory results indicate that claystones are less durable than shales and, generally, claystone-derived colluvial soils have higher plasticity index values than shale-derived soils. Initial evaluation of LiDAR effectiveness indicates that LiDAR imagery may be useful in differentiating between rotational slides common in claystone-derived soils and translational slides common in shale-derived soils.
Control Flow Refinement and Symbolic Computation of Average Case Bound

This paper presents a new technique for refining the complex control structure of loops that occur in imperative programs. We first introduce a new way of describing program execution patterns – ( + ,·)-path expressions, which is a subset of conventional path expressions with the operators ∨ and ∗ eliminated. The programs induced by ( + ,·)-path expressions have no path interleaving or skipping-over inner loops, which are the two main issues that cause impreciseness in program analysis. Our refinement process starts from a conventional path expression \(\mathcal{E}\) obtained from the control flow graph, and aims to calculate a finite set of ( + ,·)-path expressions \(\{\mathfrak{e}_1, ..., \mathfrak{e}_n\}\) such that the language generated by path expression \(\mathcal{E}\) is equivalent to the union of the languages generated by each ( + ,·)-path expressions \(\mathfrak{e}_i\). In theory, a conventional path expression can potentially generate an infinite set of ( + ,·)-path expressions. To remedy that, we use abstract interpretation techniques to prune the infeasible paths. In practice, the refinement process usually converges very quickly.
Restless Legs Syndrome, Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep, and Depression

Study objectives To review the literature on restless legs syndrome (RLS), periodic limb movements in sleep, and depression. Design Literature review. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTIONS: N/A. Measurements and results We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature searching for publications that included data on depression or antidepressants and RLS or periodic limb movements in sleep. Sixty-two relevant literature references were found and reviewed. Four population-based studies and 9 clinical studies reported significantly higher rates of depression symptoms in individuals with RLS than in controls. Conversely, the prevalence of RLS in patients presenting with depression was reported as elevated in 2 studies. Conflicting data were found regarding the effect of antidepressants on the sensory symptoms of RLS. In contrast, several studies have found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant use is associated with increased periodic limb movements in sleep. Conclusions Depression symptoms are common in adults with RLS. However, the relationship appears complex, with overlap between RLS- and depression-related symptoms confounding the issue. Given what is known at this time, we propose a specific treatment approach to patients with RLS and depression symptoms.
Training School Psychologists for Service Delivery to Children with Severe Emotional Disturbance.

Students with severe emotional disturbance (SED) present one of the most challenging populations for school psychologists. To provide effective service delivery to this population, school psycholog...
Negotiating Performances of “Real” Marriage in Chinese Queer Xinghun

This article explores how marriage is negotiated by Chinese queer subjects who face tension between the heteronormative expectations of their families and their desire to maintain a same-sex relati...
On stability ofm-variateC1 interpolation

A simplicial mesh (triangulation) is constructed that generalizes the two-dimensional 4-direction mesh to ℝm. This mesh, with symmetric, shift-invariant values at the vertices, is shown to admit a bounded C1 interpolant if and only if the alternating sum of the values at the vertices of any 1-cube is zero. This implies that interpolation at the vertices of an m-dimensional, simplicial mesh by a C1 piecewise polynomial of degree m+1 with one piece per simplex is unstable.
Non-responder phenotype reveals microbiome-wide antibiotic resistance in the murine gut

Abstract Broad spectrum antibiotics can cause both transient and lasting damage to the ecology of the gut microbiome. Loss of gut bacterial diversity has been linked to immune dysregulation and disease susceptibility. Antibiotic-resistant populations of cells are known to arise spontaneously in single-strain systems. Furthermore, prior work on subtherapeutic antibiotic treatment in humans and therapeutic treatments in non-human animals have suggested that entire gut communities may exhibit spontaneous resistance phenotypes. In this study, we validate the existence of these community resistance phenotypes in the murine gut and explore how antibiotic duration or diet influence the frequency of this phenotype. We find that almost a third of mice exhibit whole-community resistance to a therapeutic concentration of the β-lactam antibiotic cefoperazone, independent of antibiotic treatment duration or xenobiotic dietary amendment. These non-responder (i.e. resistant) microbiota were protected from biomass depletion, transient ecological community collapse, and lasting diversity loss seen in the susceptible microbiota. There were no major differences between non-responder microbiota and untreated control microbiota at the community structure level. However, gene expression was vastly different between non-responder microbiota and controls during antibiotic treatment, with non-responder communities showing an upregulation of antimicrobial resistance genes and a down-regulation of central metabolism. Thus, non-responder phenotypes appear to combat antibiotic assault through a combination of efflux transporter upregulation and a reduced growth rate across the entire gut community. Future work should focus on what factors are responsible for tipping entire communities from susceptible to resistant phenotypes so that we might harness this phenomenon to protect our microbiota from exposure to therapeutic antibiotic treatment regimes.
Choroidal amelanotic tumours: clinical differentiation of benign from malignant lesions in 5586 cases.

Purpose To investigate demographics and clinical features of patients with amelanotic choroidal tumours. Design Retrospective analysis. Methods Comparison of demographic and clinical features of various amelanotic choroidal tumours based on stratification by patient age, sex and tumour diameter. Included were all patients with amelanotic choroidal tumours evaluated on the Ocular Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, over a 45-year time period. Results A total of 5586 amelanotic choroidal tumours in 4638 eyes of 4441 patients were included with a mean age at presentation of 58 years (median 60, range 0.1–100 years). Most patients were white (95%), female (56%) and with unilateral lesion (96%). By comparison, amelanotic melanoma presented at a younger mean age (57 years) compared with metastasis (60 years, p Conclusion Understanding the demographic and clinical features of amelanotic choroidal melanoma and other amelanotic lesions could lead to an earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
CECI: Compact Embedding Cluster Index for Scalable Subgraph Matching

Subgraph matching finds all distinct isomorphic embeddings of a query graph on a data graph. For large graphs, current solutions face the scalability challenge due to expensive joins, excessive false candidates, and workload imbalance. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for subgraph listing based on Compact Embedding Cluster Index (\idx), which divides the data graph into multiple embedding clusters for parallel processing. The \sub has three unique techniques: utilizing the BFS-based filtering and reverse-BFS-based refinement to prune the unpromising candidates early on, replacing the edge verification with set intersection to speed up the candidate verification, and using search cardinality based cost estimation for detecting and dividing large embedding clusters in advance. The experiments performed on several real and synthetic datasets show that the \sub outperforms state-of-the-art solutions on average by 20.4× for listing all embeddings and by 2.6× for enumerating the first 1,024 embeddings.
PL12.1 Overview on the development of point-of-care tests for detection of antimicrobial resistance – challenges and opportunities

The increasing rates of gonorrhea infections worldwide and the evolving profile of antimicrobial resistance has prompted global public health concerns regarding the successful management of gonorrhea. In the absence of new antimicrobials, the use of point-of-care (POC) tests for identifying infected individuals and guiding precision treatment has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate the effects of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) gonorrhea. However, despite advancements in nucleic acid amplification technologies, there is no commercially available test for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) that we can be implemented at the POC. Genotyping assays for prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility have been developed and are beginning to be implemented in the clinical setting for precision treatment. However, these assays are not at the POC and cannot reliably be used to predict susceptibility to all antimicrobials. While still in the early stages of development, novel phenotypic approaches targeting antimicrobial-reactive markers have shown promise as an approach on which to build rapid AST assays. Due to their speed, diagnostic performance, and portability, microfluidic-based technologies meet several of the diagnostic criteria for the development of rapid AST assays which could be implemented at the POC. Implementation in the clinical setting of these AST POC tests is another major challenge which should be evaluated and implementation strategies developed concurrently to test development. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Resources for Computational Thinking: Co-designing with Teachers

Computational thinking (CT) has become a recent policy agenda in order for students to develop interest and foundational understanding in computing and preparation for an increasingly technological workforce. In order to integrate CT into K-12 education, teachers need professional support. The field has faced common challenges developing professional learning experiences and resources that facilitate the integration of computational thinking in authentic, equitable and sustainable ways. We have worked with a cohort of over eighty teachers from around the United States to co-design and pilot pedagogical resources for computational thinking. In this poster, we summarize our co-design process with teachers and share the resources we developed for computational thinking integration.
WARFARIN TIME IN THERAPEUTIC RANGE TRAJECTORIES IN POTENTIAL SWITCHERS TO DIRECT ORAL ANTICOAGULANTS

Of contemporary warfarin treated atrial fibrillation (AF) patients eligible for direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC), many remain on warfarin. However, expected INR time in therapeutic range (TTR) of potential switchers has not been characterized. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients
Abstract TP433: Effect of Vitamin D and Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements on Stroke Outcomes

Introduction: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and low marine omega-3 fatty acid (n-3) intake are associated with increased stroke risk in observational studies. Among stroke patients, low s...
Multistability in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition network

The transitions between epithelial (E) and mesenchymal (M) cell phenotypes are essential in many biological processes like tissue development and cancer metastasis. Previous studies, both modeling and experimental, suggested that in addition to E and M states, the network responsible for these phenotypes exhibits intermediate phenotypes between E and M states. The number and importance of such states is subject to intense discussion in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) community. Previous modeling efforts used traditional bifurcation analysis to explore the number of the steady states that correspond to E, M and intermediate states by varying one or two parameters at a time. Since the system has dozens of parameters that are largely unknown, it remains a challenging problem to fully describe the potential set of states and their relationship across all parameters. We use the computational tool DSGRN (Dynamic Signatures Generated by Regulatory Networks) to explore the intermediate states of an EMT model network by computing summaries of the dynamics across all of parameter space. We find that the only attractors in the system are equilibria, that E and M states dominate across parameter space, but that bistability and multistability are common. Even at extreme levels of some of the known inducers of the transition, there is a certain proportion of the parameter space at which an E or an M state co-exists with other stable steady states. Our results suggest that the multistability is broadly present in the EMT network across parameters and thus response of cells to signals may strongly depend on the particular cell line and genetic background.
T Cell Subpopulations Following Thermal Injury Effect of the Acute Stress Response

In his now famous treatise of 1897, “Adaptation in Pathological Processes,” Doctor William Welch discussed the dynamic physiologic and evolutionary mechanisms at work in an organism’s adaptive response to various 1ife-threatening pathologic processes. In his paper, Doctor Welch aptly suggested: that the adaptability of this mechanism to bring about useful adjustments has been in large part determined by the factors of organic evolution, but that in only relatively few cases can we suppose these evolutionary factors to have intervened on behalf of morbid states. For the most part, the agencies employed are such as exist primarily for physiologic uses, and while these may be all that are required to secure a good pathologic adjustment, often they have no special “fitness for this purpose”
chapter 4 – The respiratory system

Publisher Summary This chapter emphasizes on the people and ideas used in their recent history of respiratory physiology. It corresponds with several of the major scientists in this area over the past 50 years, who have shared their personal motivation to study respiration and exercise, their own perception of their contributions, and the important questions that remain unanswered in the field. The Englishman, John Mayow (1645-1679) modeled the lung and thorax mechanical interactions and recognized the principle of elastic lung recoil. The Scottish physician, Johannas Carson made the first measurements of lung elasticity in the early nineteenth century and described the battle between muscle and elastic forces as: “Breathing is in a great measure the effect of this interminable contest between the elasticity of lungs and the irritability of the diaphragm.” The golden age of the quantitation of breathing mechanics spanned around the 1940s-1960s. The scientific giants of this era in breathing mechanics research—most of them physicians—included Wallace Fenn (1893-1971), Herman Rahn (1912-1990), Jere Mead, and Arthur Otis, and a little later, Richard Riley, Moran Campbell, Joseph Milic-Emili, Solbert Permutt, Peter Macklem, and Robert Hyatt. In the past decade, some progress has been made in estimating the oxygen and blood flow required by the respiratory muscles for exercise hyperpnea. Hyatt's fundamental concepts of flow limitation revealed the complexity of the nature of the mechanical loads, which occur once expiratory flow limitation begins during exercise. In the late eighteenth century, it was shown that O2 uptake and CO2 output in humans actually increased with muscular exercise. The resulting studies on the non-steady state of exercise made it clear that the challenges to the exchange of pulmonary gases are different for O2 uptake and CO2 output during the phase in which the mixed-venous gas tensions change as a result of increased muscle gas exchange.
Claw size predicts dominance within and between invasive species of crayfish

During aggression, animals signal their physical abilities to deter opponents from fighting. Competitors that have a coevolved system of communication can resolve the outcome of a fight without paying the cost of engaging in potentially injurious fighting. Invasive species complicate the dynamics of competition, because such species may not have a coevolved system of communication. For example, many species of crayfish have invaded freshwater ecosystems, where they compete with species never encountered before. We studied the traits used to escalate aggression within and between two species of invasive crayfish in Arizona, Procambarus clarkii and Faxonius virilis. Through staged encounters, we found that individuals of both species escalated aggression according to their relative claw size. Furthermore, claw size (instead of claw strength) determined the outcome of interactions that escalated to physical combat. Despite P. clarkii and F. virilis presumably not having a coevolved system of communication, claw size predicted the outcome of interspecific aggression. In crayfish and other species that have invasive potential, future investigations into intraspecific versus interspecific communication dynamics are warranted as they may shed light on the successes and failures of past and present species introductions.
COVID-19 ensemble models using representative clustering

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been various attempts to develop realistic models to both predict the spread of the disease and evaluate policy measures aimed at mitigation. Different models that operate under different parameters and assumptions produce radically different predictions, creating confusion among policy-makers and the general population and limiting the usefulness of the models. This newsletter article proposes a novel ensemble modeling approach that uses representative clustering to identify where existing model predictions of COVID-19 spread agree and unify these predictions into a smaller set of predictions. The proposed ensemble prediction approach is composed of the following stages: (1) the selection of the ensemble components, (2) the imputation of missing predictions for each component, and (3) representative clustering in application to time-series data to determine the degree of agreement between simulation predictions. The results of the proposed approach will produce a set of ensemble model predictions that identify where simulation results converge so that policy-makers and the general public are informed with more comprehensive predictions and the uncertainty among them.
Waiting to Be Seen: Provider-Patient Communication in the Emergency Room about Miscarriage

Miscarriage refers to “the spontaneous loss of an intra-uterine pregnancy prior to 22 completed weeks of gestational age” (Zegers-Hoschschild et al., 2017, p. 405). Around 20% of known pregnancies ...
Stealthy DGoS Attack Against Network Tomography: The Role of Active Measurements

As a tool to infer the internal state of a network that cannot be measured directly, network tomography has been extensively studied under the assumption that the measurements truthfully reflect the end-to-end performance of measurement paths, which makes the resulting solutions vulnerable to manipulated measurements. In this work, we investigate the impact of manipulated measurements via a recently proposed attack model called the stealthy DeGrading of Service (DGoS) attack , which aims at maximally degrading the performance of targeted paths without exposing the manipulated links to network tomography. While existing studies on this attack assumed that network tomography only measures the paths actively used for data transfer (via passive measurements), our model allows network tomography to measure a larger set of paths, e.g., by sending probes on some paths not carrying data flows. By developing and analyzing the optimal attack strategy, we quantify the maximum damage of such an attack. We further develop a defense strategy by formulating and solving a Stackelberg game to select the best set of measurement paths under a budget constraint. Our evaluations on real topologies validate the efficacy of the proposed defense strategy while identifying areas for further improvement.
The Supportive Accountability Inventory: Psychometric properties of a measure of supportive accountability in coached digital interventions.

Abstract Background One of the most widely used coaching models is Supportive Accountability (SA) which aims to provide intervention users with clear expectations for intervention use, regular monitoring, and a sense that coaches are trustworthy, benevolent, and have domain expertise. However, few measures exist to study the role of the SA model on coached digital interventions. We developed the Supportive Accountability Inventory (SAI) and evaluated the underlying factor structure and psychometric properties of this brief self-report measure. Method Using data from a two-arm randomized trial of a remote intervention for major depressive disorder (telephone CBT [tCBT] or a stepped care model of web-based CBT [iCBT] and tCBT), we conducted an Exploratory Factor Analysis on the SAI item pool and explored the final SAI's relationship to iCBT engagement as well as to depression outcomes. Participants in our analyses (n = 52) included those randomized to a receive iCBT, but were not stepped up to tCBT due to insufficient response to iCBT, had not remitted prior to the 10-week assessment point, and completed the pool of 8 potential SAI items. Results The best fitting EFA model included only 6 items from the original pool of 8 and contained two factors: Monitoring and Expectation. Final model fit was mixed, but acceptable (χ2(4) = 5.24, p = 0.26; RMSR = 0.03; RMSEA = 0.091; TLI = 0.967). Internal consistency was acceptable at α = 0.68. The SAI demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity. The SAI at the 10-week/mid-treatment mark was significantly associated with the number of days of iCBT use (r = 0.29, p = .037), but, contrary to expectations, was not predictive of either PHQ-9 scores (F(2,46) = 0.14, p = .89) or QIDS-C scores (F(2,46) = 0.84, p = .44) at post-treatment. Conclusion The SAI is a brief measure of the SA framework constructs. Continued development to improve the SAI and expand the constructs it assesses is necessary, but the SAI represents the first step towards a measure of a coaching protocol that can support both coached digital mental health intervention adherence and improved outcomes.
A Combinatorial Approach towards Adaptability of 22 Functional Cas12a Orthologs for Nucleic Acid Detection in Clinical Samples

Reliable, efficient, and cheap detection of infectious diseases, especially in the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, is of increasing importance. CRISPR/Cas systems have the capabilities to be optimized for this purpose. There is a broad diversity among Cas12a nucleases with immense detection capability, but only a few have been purified and studied biochemically. Here we present the investigation of 22 Cas12a orthologs, with a focus on their cis- and trans-cleavage activity, and thermal stability in combination with non-canonical crRNAs. We noticed that some non-canonical crRNA:Cas12a effector complexes outperformed its corresponding wild-type crRNA:Cas12a complex in trans-cleavage assays. In particular, TsCas12a, ErCas12a, and ArCas12a showed an increase in thermal stability in binary complex compared to its wild-type structure and apo form. Moreover, Cas12a was observed to have the ability to recruit segments of truncated crRNAs providing insights into crRNA:Cas12a catalytic complex with potential for further applications. We also discovered that ErCas12a, BsCas12a, BoCas12a, and TsCas12a possess robust trans-cleavage activity with a shorter PAM sequence requirement. Finally, we applied these effector complexes to discriminately detect SARS-CoV-2 and its B.1.1.7 lineage in clinical nasopharyngeal swabs, saliva samples, and tracheal aspirates. Our findings further expand the toolbox for next-generation CRISPR-based diagnostics.
The root cause analysis on failed patient-specific measurements of pencil beam scanning protons using a 2D detection array with finite size ionization chambers

The aim of this report is to present the root cause analysis on failed patient-specific quality assurance (QA) measurements of pencil beam scanning (PBS) protons; referred to as PBS-QA measurement. A criterion to fail a PBS-QA measurement is having a 94%, 94 to >88%, and 3% per mm dose gradient with respect to depth on the failed measurements. We utilized a 2D/three-dimensional (3D) gamma index analysis toolkit to investigate the effect of depth dose gradient. By utilizing this 3D toolkit, 43.1% of the failed measurements were improved. A feature among measurements that remained sub-optimal after re-analysis was a sharp >3% per mm lateral dose gradient that may not be well handled using the detector size of 5.0 mm in-diameter. An analysis of the sampling of finite size detectors using one-dimensional (1D) error function showed a large dose deviation at locations of low-dose areas between two high-dose plateaus. User error, large depth dose gradient, and the effect of detector size are identified as root causes. With the mitigation of the root causes, the goals of patient-specific QA, specifically detecting actual deviation of beam delivery or identifying limitations of the dose calculation algorithm of the treatment planning system, can be directly related to failure of the PBS-QA measurements.
Synthesis and characterization of isomeric biphenyl-containing poly(aryl ether bisketone)s, 3. Polymers derived from 3,4′-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl and bisphenols†

A series of high-molecular-weight amorphous and semicrystalline poly(aryl ether bisketone)s were prepared from bisphenols and 3,4′-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl via nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Model compound studies were carried out with several substituted monohydric phenols, 3,4′-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl and 3,4′-bis(4-Chlorobenzoyl)biphenyl. The dihalo-substituted aromatic ketones were synthesized by the reaction of 3,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid with thionyl chloride, followed by Friedel-Crafts acylation with the appropriate aryl halide. The required dicarboxylic acid was prepared starting from 4-bromotoluene and 3-methylcyclohexanone. Potassium carbonate mediated reaction of the monomers in dimethylacetamide or diphenyl sulfone gave high-molecular-weight polymers in excellent yield. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers are in the 170 to 190°C range. In addition, the polymers exhibit excellent thermal stability, as evidenced by both dynamic and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis, and afford tough films by compression molding.
China Environment Fund: Doing Well by Doing Good (TN)

In early 2010, Cleantech investment pioneer Tsing Capital was planning for the China Environment Fund IV and considering how to maintain its commitment to social and environmental practices. Tsing Capital embraced its philosophy of "Doing Well by Doing Good" and developed a proprietary system to manage social & environmental functions throughout the investment process. Some of the specific questions examined in the case are: with a more diversified investor base, how could the firm balance the different expectations of investors and continue to achieve "Doing Well by Doing Good"? Despite the increasing importance of social & environmental practices, they also had a cost for the firm and its portfolio companies. How could the firm most effectively motivate its portfolio companies to actively integrate social & environmental practices with their strategies?Learning Objective: To examine the process of socially responsible investment and discuss the tactics of how a company balances financial, social and environmental returns.
Frequent Loss of Expression and Loss of Heterozygosity of the Putative Tumor Suppressor Gene DCC in Prostatic Carcinomas

The putative tumor suppressor gene DCC has been shown to be frequently lost or expressed at low levels in colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal carcinomas. In the present study, the DCC gene and its mRNA expression in human and rat prostatic carcinoma cells as well as in prostatic carcinoma tissues were examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and polymerase chain reaction-loss of heterozygosity. The DCC gene was present and expressed in normal prostatic cells. However, its expression was decreased or undetectable in all prostatic carcinoma cells from either humans (4 cell lines) or rats (5 cell lines). In patients, 12 of 14 cases (86%) showed reduced DCC expression and 5 of 11 informative cases (45%) showed loss of heterozygosity at the DCC locus. These results demonstrate that loss of DCC expression and loss of heterozygosity at the DCC locus are a frequent feature of prostatic carcinoma cells.
Valence bands, oxygen in planes and chains, and surface changes for single crystals of M2CuO4 and MBa2Cu3Ox (M=Pr,Nd,Eu,Gd).

X-ray photoemission results for single crystals of ${M}_{2}$${\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ (M=Pr,Eu,Gd), M${\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{x}}$ (M=Nd,Gd), and CuO are sintered ${\mathrm{La}}_{1.85}$${\mathrm{Sr}}_{0.15}$${\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{6.9}$ show valence-band spectra within 10 eV of the Fermi energy that are remarkably similar in appearance, with contributions that reflect Cu-O hybrid states and the rare-earth 4f states. For ${\mathrm{Pr}}_{2}$${\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{NdBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{x}}$, there are two distinct 4f features due to ligand screening in the photoemission final state. The rare-earth 5p core-level emission overlaps the O 2s emission and reveals complex 5p-4f multiplet interactions. All O 1s spectra show a dominant peak at \ensuremath{\sim}528 eV that can be resolved into features separated by \ensuremath{\sim}0.7 eV. These reflect inequivalent oxygen bonding configurations in the lattice and are associated with the planes and chains for the 1:2:3 compounds and the planes and off-planes for the 2:1:4 compounds. The lower-binding-energy feature is associated with the Cu-O chains of the 1:2:3 compounds and the Cu-O planes of the 2:1:4 compounds. In addition to the O 1s main line for the Cu-O planes there is also a weak satellite. Time dependent studies of the Cu 2p and O 1s emission indicate surface modification, dependent upon the quality of the cleave. The effects of surface changes and the presence of imperfections are discussed in the context of surface studies and surface superconductivity.
Susceptibility comparison of two kinds of Culex pipiens pallens strain to normal used insecticides.

Objective To compare the susceptibility of lab strain Culex pipiens pallens to three normal used insecticides,and then select one lab strain that was more susceptible. Methods WHO standard bioassay was used to determine LC50 of different strain.Resistance level was defined according to the resistance ratio(LC50 of Xi'an strain divided by LC50 of Beijing susceptible strain).Results LC50 of beta-cypermethrin for Xi'an strain was lower than that for Beijing susceptible strain.LC50 of abate and deltamethrin for Xi'an strain was higher than that for Beijing susceptible strain.Resistance ratio of beta-cypermethrin,abate and deltamethrin were 0.9,1.5 and 2.5 respectively.Conclusion Compared with Beijing susceptible strain,Culex pipiens pallens of Xi'an strain retains a higher resistance level.
TRADE INSTABILITY AND DISTANCE BETWEEN TRADING COUNTRIES

Using a simple model, the hypothesis that trade instability is positively rel ated to distance between countries is developed. It is tested with se veral regressions using U.S. export and import data. The hypothesis i s strongly borne out by the export data, with that for imports being less conclusive, although it too is generally supportive. The analysi s includes other factors affecting instability. In some cases, result s for these are found to depend on the model used. This illustrates a possible problem with reliance on a single specification in analyses of trade instability. Copyright 1987 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Magnetic Fusion for Space Propulsion

Magnetic fusion could enable the efficient, large-scale exploration and development of the Solar System. Several conceptual fusion reactor design studies indicate that magnetic fusion may be attrac...
Maternal Allostatic Load, Caretaking Behaviors, and Child Dental Caries Experience: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Linked Mother-Child Data From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Objectives. We evaluated the associations between chronic maternal stress measured by allostatic load (AL), maternal caretaking behaviors, and child dental caries experience. We also assessed the role of socioeconomic status in these associations.Methods. We used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988–1994). We included children aged 2 to 6 years who linked to a maternal record (n = 716 maternal–child pairs). The main exposure was maternal AL index (0, 1, or ≥ 2). The primary outcome of interest was child dental caries experience (none or any). We evaluated the association between maternal AL and (1) maternal caretaking behaviors, and (2) child caries status and the role of socioeconomic status in these relationships.Results. Children of mothers with an AL index of at least 2 were significantly more likely to have not been breastfed and to have dental caries than were children of mothers with a normal AL before adjusting for measures of socioeconomic status.Conclusions....
Multilocus Sequence Analysis Reveals Genetic Diversity in Xanthomonads Associated With Poinsettia Production.

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola is traditionally identified as the primary causal agent of bacterial leaf spot on poinsettia (family Euphorbiaceae). Sixty-seven strains of xanthomonads isolated from lesions associated with several species within the family Euphorbiaceae were collected over a 64-year period. The pathogenicity of these strains was compared on several potential hosts and they were analyzed by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) using six housekeeping genes. The 67 Xanthomonas strains associated with poinsettia production were separated into three distinct clades based on MLSA. The first clade identified contained the X. axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola reference strain (LMG849PT). A second clade was more closely related to X. hortorum pv. pelargonii (LMG7314PT) and the third clade contained the X. codiaei type strain (LMG8678T). This analysis indicated that there may also be other closely related pathovars or species of Xanthomonas that can infect poinsettia. Strains from the three cl...
The association of overweight and obesity with spirometric values in minority children referred for asthma evaluation.

Background. Overweight, obesity, and asthma are more prevalent in minority children; yet, the association of overweight and obesity with spirometric values in asthmatic minorities is not well characterized. Objective. To study the relationship between weight, ethnicity, and spirometric values in children referred for asthma evaluation to a large inner-city hospital in Bronx, NY. Methods. Retrospective review of spirometry done at the first pulmonary clinic visit of 980 asthmatic children, aged 7–20 years, was conducted. Linear regression analysis was performed to elucidate the association of overweight and obesity with pulmonary function among Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics compared with their normal weight counterparts. Results. More African Americans (58%) and Hispanics (65.4%) were overweight and obese than Whites (51.2%) (p < .05). Compared with their normal weight counterparts, percent forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio was lower in both over...
Cognitive Aging in Zebrafish

National Institutes of Health (MH065528, AG02264); Chaikin-Wile foundation; Ellison Medical Foundation
The Use of OKT3 in Cadaveric Renal Transplantation for Rejection That Is Unresponsive to Conventional Anti-Rejection Therapy

Thirty-one recipients of cadaver kidney transplants were given OKT3 monoclonal anti-T cell antibody for rejection treatment after conventional therapy had failed. Seventy-four percent of steroid or steroid and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) resistant rejections reversed with a standard course of OKT3. Rejections reversed in 85% of 26 patients treated within 90 days of transplantation. Late rejections treated more than 90 days after transplantation were poorly responsive to OKT3 and graft survival for this group of five patients was poor (20%). However, for those patients treated with OKT3 for early resistant rejection, actuarial 4-year graft survival was 66%. Actuarial 4-year patient survival was 97%, and the incidence of serious infection was low. Acute rejections in cadaver transplantation are common and a small percentage of rejections are resistant to steroids and ATG. OKT3 has proven to be useful for reversing these resistant rejections without causing significant morbidity from infection or death.
Static leakage reduction through simultaneous V/sub t//T/sub ox/ and state assignment

Standby leakage current minimization is a pressing concern for mobile applications that rely on standby modes to extend battery life. In this paper, we propose new leakage current reduction methods in standby mode. First, we propose a combined approach of sleep-state assignment and threshold voltage (V/sub t/) assignment in a dual-V/sub t/ process for subthreshold leakage (I/sub sub/) reduction. Second, for the minimization of gate oxide leakage current (I/sub gate/) which has become comparable to I/sub sub/ in 90-nm technologies, we extend the above method to a combined sleep-state, V/sub t/ and gate oxide thickness (T/sub ox/) assignments approach in a dual-V/sub t/ and dual-T/sub ox/ process to minimize both I/sub sub/ and I/sub gate/. By combining V/sub t/ or V/sub t//T/sub ox/ assignment with sleep-state assignment, leakage current can be dramatically reduced since the circuit is in a known state in standby mode and only certain transistors are responsible for leakage current and need to be considered for high-V/sub t/ or thick-T/sub ox/ assignment. A significant improvement in the leakage/performance tradeoff is therefore achievable using such combined methods. We formulate the optimization problem for simultaneous state/V/sub t/ and state/V/sub t//T/sub ox/ assignments under delay constraints and propose both an exact method for its optimal solution as well as two practical heuristics with reasonable run time. We implemented and tested the proposed methods on a set of synthesized benchmark circuits and show substantial leakage current reduction compared to the previous approaches using only state assignment or V/sub t/ assignment alone.
Bioethical considerations in translational research: primate stroke.

Controversy and activism have long been linked to the subject of primate research. Even in the midst of raging ethical debates surrounding fertility treatments, genetically modified foods and stem-cell research, there has been no reduction in the campaigns of activists worldwide. Plying their trade of intimidation aimed at ending biomedical experimentation in all animals, they have succeeded in creating an environment where research institutions, often painted as guilty until proven innocent, have avoided addressing the issue for fear of becoming targets. One area of intense debate is the use of primates in stroke research. Despite the fact that stroke kills more people each year than AIDS and malaria, and less than 5% of patients are candidates for current therapies, there is significant opposition to primate stroke research. A balanced examination of the ethics of primate stroke research is thus of broad interest to all areas of biomedical research.
Experimental investigation of the flow field in the head-end star slot section of a solid rocket motor

A test program has been developed to investigate the complex flowfield in the head-end, star grain section of a solid rocket motor. Documentation of the flowfield pattern is to be obtained using both flow visualization techniques and quantitative methods, including static pressure measurements, heat transfer coefficient measurements, and hot-wire anemometry. A cold-flow, one-tenth-scale model based on the geometry of the Space Shuttle SRM head-end section and its single-port igniter, along with two models of a four-port igniter, have been constructed. The scale factor is derived from a scaling analysis which matches Reynolds number between the model and the full-scale flowfield in the star grain section. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 14 x 14 inch trisonic wind tunnel will be utilized for the cold flow tests. Since the work is still in progress, no results are included.
Antigen and Lipopolysaccharide Play Synergistic Roles in the Effector Phase of Airway Inflammation in Mice

T helper (Th) cells play major roles in orchestrating asthmatic airway inflammation, but the molecular mechanisms controlling Th-cell recruitment to the airways remain incompletely defined. Innate immunity contributes importantly to the recruitment of effector T cells into sites of inflammation. To understand better the role of innate immune signals in the development of airway inflammation, we used a murine model in which lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contaminating the antigen is thought to trigger Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). To investigate the importance of the TLR4-signaling pathway in induction of lung inflammation, we compared recruitment of adoptively transferred ovalbumin-specific Th1 and Th2 cells in wild-type and TLR4 mutant (TLR4m) mice after intranasal or aerosol challenge. Intranasal challenge of TLR4m mice with ovalbumin resulted in decreased recruitment of Th1 and Th2 cells compared with that of wild-type mice. The numbers of Th1 and Th2 cells recruited to the airways of TLR4m mice were less profoundly reduced after aerosol ovalbumin challenge. Comparing the effects of altering the dose of ovalbumin with that of LPS suggested that both contribute to the magnitude of the response in wild-type mice. Our findings demonstrate the importance of both antigen and endotoxin acting in a synergistic manner in the development of airway inflammation.
Metabolizable energy intake during long-term calorie restriction in rhesus monkeys

Calorie restriction (CR) is a dietary intervention shown to increase maximum life-span. The aim of this study was to compare the metabolizable energy of the pelleted semi-purified diet with estimated energy intake from food weight. Energy density of diet, urine and feces were measured by bomb calorimetry in rhesus monkeys (23-29 years old) on CR (CR, n=11) and control (C, n=9). Food moisture was measured to be 2-fold higher (9±1%) than indicated on the label (∼5%). The measured gross energy of diet was 4.4kcal/g dry weight of CR and 4.5kcal/g dry weight of C diets. In a two-day trial, food intake (mean±SD) was 112±20g and 136±26g of dry mass/d in the CR and C monkeys, respectively (p = 0.003). The fraction of the diet absorbed (CR=0.91; C=0.95) was different (p<0.001) between CR and C monkeys. Using these coefficients, the metabolizable energy intake averaged over 6 months was 450±53 kcal/d and 534±97 kcal/d in CR and C monkeys, respectively (Diff=16%; p=0.03). These values were compared with energy expenditure (EE), as measured annually by indirect calorimetry (490±61 kcal/d in CR and 532±62kcal/d in C monkeys). Adjusted for changes in body composition (2±10kcal/d in CR and 7±12kcal/d in C), energy balance was not different from zero in CR (-42±42kcal/d) and C (9±61kcal/d) monkeys. Use of diet weight is a reasonable estimate of the level of CR when food waste is assessed.
STRAIN-GAGE MISALIGNMENT ERRORS—A SPECIAL CASE OF INTEREST

The significance of gage-misalignment errors is frequently negligible; perhaps because in stress analysis more significant sources of errors frequently dominate, and in transducer design the state of strain is controlled favorably by the designer. In the example presented, seemingly insignificant gage misalignment errors can cause significant errors. The major factor contributing to this problem is the orientation of the strain gages in the bridge at angles approaching 45 deg to the principal strain axes. As pointed out in TN-511, this orientation results in the greatest sensitivity to misalignment errors.
Polymyxin B-Mediated Lysis of Tumor Cells

Polymyxin B (PmB) in the concentration range of 10-50 micrograms/ml is used routinely in immunological studies to neutralize low levels of contaminating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in media or reagents. While using PmB for such a purpose unexpected results were obtained, which led to the finding that low levels of PmB are cytotoxic to certain tumor cells. Further examination of a panel of 10 tumor cell lines revealed that in an 18-hour 51Cr release assay, EL4 cells and EL4/ADM cells were very sensitive (lysed by > or = 10 micrograms PmB/ml), C1498 cells and REH cells were moderately sensitive (lysed by > or = 20 micrograms PmB/ml) and cells of the remaining 6 lines were resistant (lysed only by 100 micrograms/ml) to PmB. A similar pattern of sensitivity was observed when 3H-thymidine incorporation was used as a measure of PmB effects in cell proliferation. The PmB concentration needed to kill 50% of the tumor cells in a suspension differed greatly among lines; thus for cells of a resistant line 8-fold more PmB was required for 50% killing than for those of a sensitive line. PmB toxicity toward EL4 cells was shown to increase to a plateau level with increasing time of exposure; however, the higher the concentration the earlier the plateau was reached. LPS may prevent PmB toxic effects since PmB binds to the lipid A portion of the LPS molecule, but 100 micrograms LPS/ml was only able to reduce the toxicity of 10 and 20 micrograms PmB/ml, and not that of 50 or 100 micrograms PmB/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Theoretical Model for Squeeze Film Dampers Operating with Air Entrainment

A continuum model of the evolution of air ingestion and entrainment for open-ended squeeze film dampers is proposed in this paper. Hydrodynamic lubrication theory is extended to lubrication with mixture of a Newtonian liquid and an ideal gas. The solution to the universal Reynolds equation is determined numerically using a control volume method (Elrod algorithm) and the forth-order Range-Kutta method. This method conserves mass throughout the computational domain including air ingestion and entrainment. Excellent agreement is found with the experimental works of Diaz and San Andres for the squeeze film damper [1, 2].