cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Micro thermoelectric cooler: Planar multistage

Abstract A suspended, planar multistage micro thermoelectric (TE) cooler is designed using thermal network model to cool MEMS devices. Though the planar (two-dimensional) design is compatible with MEMS fabrication, its cooling performance is reduced compared to that of a pyramid (three-dimensional) design, due to a mechanically indispensable thin dielectric substrate (SiO2) and technical limit on TE film thickness. We optimize the planar, six-stage TE cooler for maximum cooling, and predict ΔTmax = 51 K with power consumption of 68 mW using undoped, patterned 4–10 μm thick co-evaporated Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films. Improvement steps of the planar design for achieving cooling performance of the ideal pyramid design are discussed. The predicted performance of a fabricated prototype is compared with experimental results with good agreements.
Development of multiplex mass spectrometric immunoassay for detection and quantification of apolipoproteins C-I, C-II, C-III and their proteoforms.

Abstract The impetus for discovery and evaluation of protein biomarkers has been accelerated by recent development of advanced technologies for rapid and broad proteome analyses. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based protein assays hold great potential for in vitro biomarker studies. Described here is the development of a multiplex mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) for quantification of apolipoprotein C-I (apoC-I), apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II), apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) and their proteoforms. The multiplex MSIA assay was fast (∼40 min) and high-throughput (96 samples at a time). The assay was applied to a small cohort of human plasma samples, revealing the existence of multiple proteoforms for each apolipoprotein C. The quantitative aspect of the assay enabled determination of the concentration for each proteoform individually. Low-abundance proteoforms, such as fucosylated apoC-III, were detected in less than 20% of the samples. The distribution of apoC-III proteoforms varied among samples with similar total apoC-III concentrations. The multiplex analysis of the three apolipoproteins C and their proteoforms using quantitative MSIA represents a significant step forward toward better understanding of their physiological roles in health and disease.
Recovery of microorganisms from synovial and pleural fluids of animals using hyperosmolar media

Abstract L-phase (CWD) broth and plate media were used in parallel with conventional microbiological media during a 3-year period for culturing synovial and pleural fluids of animals. Two kinds of recoveries were obtained where parallel conventional methods were negative: (1) parent or normal bacteria, in very low numbers; and (2) Type B CWD variants in equally low numbers. Organisms in group 1 were: Streptococcus zooepidemicus from horses (2X); β-hemolytic streptococci, Lancefield Gp. G (2X); Staphylococcus aureus ; Actinobacillus , and Actinomyces viscosus . Group 2 consisted of Bacteroides sp., Propionibacterium acnes , and three “ Nocardia -like” sp. Catalase + Actinomyces was not recovered equally well on CWD plates as on conventional media with fluids obtained during ampicillin treatment. This occurred in spite of the fact that the CWD media was shown to support growth and reversion of laboratory induced L-phase variants of Nocardia caviae and N. asteroides , and had facilitated recovery of a Bacteroides L-phase variant from a pleural fluid. The nature of this fault in the media is under investigation in this laboratory.
Royal African Company Share Prices during the South Sea Bubble

Abstract Price bubbles provide a unique opportunity to test whether investors act rationally and have sufficient knowledge of the economic environment in which they trade. We focus our attention on the 1720 South Sea bubble episode as experienced by a company not involved in governmental debt financing—the Royal African Company. Following the example of the South Sea Company, the Royal African Company lent its funds to equityholders at a preferential rate. Recognizing this benefit along with the announced dividends explains a large portion of the bubble. Furthermore, the unexplained residual does not behave like an exploding bubble, casting doubt that speculative excess motivated market participants in 1720. Our findings are indeed consistent with investor rationality, and the unexplained residual suggests that we are missing information that was available to the British financial market in 1720.
Coverage probabilities of simultaneous confidence bands and regions for log-location-scale distributions

Abstract A simultaneous confidence band (SCB) for the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of a random variable can be used to assess the statistical uncertainty of the estimated cdf. Cheng and Iles (1983) presented a general approach of constructing an SCB for the cdf of a continuous random variable derived from a 100 ( 1 − α ) % simultaneous confidence region (SCR) for the parameters of the distribution. The Cheng and Iles SCB procedure includes the true cdf with probability at least ( 1 − α ) . This paper identifies the conditions under which the coverage probability for the SCB procedure is exactly ( 1 − α ) . A small simulation illustrates the important theoretical results in the paper.
Linearity Considerations for Low-EVM, Millimeter-Wave Direct-Conversion Modulators

This paper presents the analysis and implementation of a millimeter-wave (mm-wave) I/Q modulator and determines the impact of I- and Q-channel nonlinearity, PA nonlinearity, and other nonideal circuit implementations on the error vector magnitude (EVM). The modulator is fabricated in 120-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and occupies an area of 5 mm2 . For a 64-QAM constellation at a 42-GHz carrier frequency, the EVM is less than 2.5% at 48-Mbps data rate. The on-chip digital-to-analog conversion resolution is capable of employing digital pre-distortion (DPD) and calibration. An external power amplifier is linearized to improve the EVM with DPD. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the lowest EVM reported at these mm-wave frequencies.
The bacterial flora of neonates in intensive care—monitoring and manipulation

Unlike healthy babies, newborns hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are colonized with bacterial flora that reflects their exposure to pathogens in the NICU, not bacterial acquired from mother in the perinatal period. For example, nosocomial Gram-negative bacilli, such as klebsiella, enterobacter, and citrobacter but not Escherichia coli tend to colonize the gastrointestinal tract. Colonization with Gram-negative bacilli generally is a prerequisite for nosocomial infection with these pathogens, but surveillance cultures may not be a cost effective approach to predicting which babies will ultimately become ill. However, screening cultures to detect the emergence of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacilli facilitate containment and guide empiric antibiotic therapy, and surveillance cultures are necessary to detect colonized babies when nosocomial Gram-negative bacilli become epidemic in the NICU. Such cultures are inexpensive and easy to perform if appropriate selective media are used. Surveillance cultures to detect coagulase-negative staphylococci, which numerous investigators claim are increasingly important NICU pathogens, are of little value since colonization is virtually universal in the first week of life. Documentation of colonization with group B streptococci or Staphylococcus aureus also cannot be justified on a routine basis. Screening for methicillin-resistant S. aureus, however, may be indicated since early detection of these strains can limit dissemination in the NICU. Research aimed at restoring colonization resistance with elements of normal bacterial flora or preventing colonization by nosocomial pathogens is in its infancy.
High accuracy geometric Hermite interpolation

We describe a parametric cubic spline interpolation scheme for planar curves which is based on an idea of Sabin for the construction of C^1 bicubic parametric spline surfaces. The method is a natural generalization of [standard] Hermite interpolation. In addition to position and tangent, the curvature is prescribed at each knot. This ensures that the resulting interpolating piecewise cubic curve is twice continuously differentiable with respect to arclength and can be constructed locally. Moreover, under appropriate assumptions, the interpolant preserves convexity and is 6-th order accurate.
Forosemide magnifies the exercise-induced elevation of plasma vasopressin concentration in horses

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that furosemide administration before exercise would cause greater increases in plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentration in exercising horses than exercise alone. Six adult, clinically normal, unfit mares underwent three randomly ordered 60 minute standard exercise tests on an equine treadmill to examine the effect of furosemide administration on plasma AVP concentration. In one trial, furosemide (1 mg kg-1) was infused four hours before exercise (FUR-4) and a placebo (10 ml saline) was infused two minutes before exercise; in another trial the placebo was infused four hours before exercise and drug was infused two minutes before exercise (FUR-2); in a third trial a placebo was infused four hours and two minutes before exercise (CON). During the treadmill test each mare ran up a fixed 4 degrees incline for one hour at a speed previously determined to produce a heart rate of 65 per cent of each horse's maximum heart rate. Venous blood samples were collected at rest in the stall, immediately before exercise while standing on the treadmill, and at 15 minute intervals during the treadmill test. Plasma AVP concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay. In the CON trial, plasma AVP concentration increased 561 per cent (P < 0.05) from 6.3 +/- 1.0 pg ml-1 (mean +/- SE) at rest to 38.8 +/- 12.8 pg ml-1 at the end of the 60 minute run. During the FUR-2 trial, AVP increased 1185 per cent (P < 0.05) from 5.9 +/- 1.7 pg ml-1 to 75.8 +/- 17.7 pg ml-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Persistence Length and Finite Chain Length Effect on Characteristic Ratios

Characteristic ratios for an unperturbed flexible chain with n bonds of length l can be defined with the mean-square end-to-end distance or the mean-square radius of gyration, Cr,n ≡ 〈r2〉0/nl2 and Cs,n ≡ 〈s2〉0/nl2, respectively. Their approaches to the asymptotic limits at n → ∞ are found to be related by [dCr,n/d(1/n)]1/n=0 = 2{[dCs,n/d(1/n)]1/n=0 − Cs,∞}. Real chains usually have Cr,∞ > 1 and [dCr,n/d(1/n)]1/n=0 1 have values of Cr,n that pass through a maximum at finite n and approach Cr,∞ from above, [dCr,n/d(1/n)]1/n=0 > 0. Syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (sPMMA) is an example. In general, [dCr,n/d(1/n)]1/n=0 = −2 k〈ui·ui+k〉0, where ui ≡ li/li denotes a unit vector parallel with the vector for bond i. Members of this sum with 15 0 in sPMMA. These results have strong implications for the extraction of a “persistence length” from experimental data in the ...
Application Strategies for an Anthraquinone-Based Repellent to Protect Oilseed Sunflower Crops from Pest Blackbirds

Non-lethal alternatives are needed to manage the damage caused by wild birds to oilseed sunflower crops (Helianthus annuus Linnaeus). We evaluated field residues and experimental applications of an anthraquinone-based repellent (active ingredient 50% 9,10-anthraquinone) to minimize red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus Linnaeus) depredation of oilseed sunflower. Chemical residues from experimental applications of the anthraquinone-based repellent (4.7 l/ha and 9.4 l/ha; low, high) in a ripening oilseed sunflower field were 481 ppm and 978 ppm anthraquinone at the beginning of blackbird damage, and 385 ppm and 952 ppm anthraquinone at the end of blackbird damage, respectively. Prior to harvest, we observed 402 ppm and 462 ppm anthraquinone in the oil, and 27 ppm and 165 ppm anthraquinone in the pomace from crushed sunflower achenes previously sprayed with the low and high applications, respectively. For the purpose of developing application strategies useful for avian repellents, we subsequently investigated blackbird feeding response to oilseed sunflower treated with the anthraquinone-based repellent and either a registered insecticide or a registered fungicide popularly used for ripening sunflower. We observed a positive concentration–response relationship among blackbirds exposed to anthraquinone and the insecticide (a.i. 8.4% esfenvalerate), or anthraquinone and the fungicide (a.i. 23.6% pyraclostrobin). Blackbirds reliably discriminated between untreated sunflower and that treated with 1810 ppm anthraquinone and 0.1% of the insecticide or 1700 ppm anthraquinone and 0.14% of the fungicide during our preference experiments. Given that ripening achenes are inverted from conventional pesticide applications throughout much of the period associated with blackbird depredation, we also evaluated blackbird repellency of the anthraquinone-based repellent applied to involucral bracts (i.e., the back of sunflower heads) of oilseed sunflower. Blackbirds did not discriminate between untreated involucral bracts and those treated with foliar applications comparable to 4.7 l/ha or 9.4 l/ha; blackbirds consumed more achenes from untreated sunflower heads than from those treated with 18.7 l/ha of the anthraquinone-based repellent. Supplemental repellent efficacy studies should investigate blackbird response to anthraquinone-based repellents (e.g., ≥4.7 l/ha) within 10–100 ha sunflower fields and include independent field replicates with predicted bird damage, repellent application strategies developed for protection of ripening crops, pre- and at-harvest repellent residues, and bird damage and crop yield measurements.
The role of nucleotides in human nutrition

Abstract Dietary NT are reported to have significant effects upon lymphoid, intestinal and hepatic tissues, and lipid metabolism (Table 3). The mechanism remains unknown, and the nutritional role of NT remains controversial. However, maintenance of the endogenous NT supply via de novo synthesis and salvage is metabolically costly. Preformed NT supplied by the diet may contribute to tissue NT pools and thus optimize the metabolic function of rapidly dividing tissues such as those of the gastrointestinal and immune systems. An exogenous source of NT may be particularly important for individuals whose dietary intake of NT is low and/or whose tissue needs are increased, for example, rapidly growing infants fed most cow's milk-based formulas and individuals with disease related immunosuppression, intestinal, or liver injury. Under these conditions, dietary NTs may play a role as conditionally essential nutrients. In addition to serving as nucleic acid precursors, NTs and their related metabolic products are potent inter- and intracellular biological mediators. Certain effects of dietary NT may relate to one or more of these important functions. Area for future study include: 1. 1. The absorption and metabolism of nucleic acids, NTs, NSs, bases, and related metabolic products in humans, and the effects of age and disease upon these activities. 2. 2. Dietary NT effects upon gut-associated lymphoid tissues. 3. 3. The content of nucleic acid, NTs, NSs, bases, and their related metabolic products in human milk. 4. 4. The relative contribution of nucleic acid, NTs, NSs, and free bases to observed biologic effects, and the effects of individually administered purine and pyrimidine compounds.
Biasing Mixed-Valence Transition Metal Complexes in Search of Bistable Complexes for Molecular Computing

Mixed-valence ruthenium complexes as possible quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) devices are discussed with respect to the effects of a driver, or biasing charge, on the system. The hybrid density functional method B3LYP was used with a 3-21G basis set, the only all-electron basis set available for ruthenium. Three different mixed-valence complexes have been investigated as representatives of each Robin and Day class, class I, II, and III. The input and output of a QCA device is not current, but charge polarization. The more localized classes, I and II, displayed the largest amount of polarization, while the more delocalized class III complex displayed the least polarization. This type of computational analysis can be extended to study the effects of different bridging and ancillary ligands, therefore this type of analysis is useful in the design of better molecular implementations of QCA devices.
Backside films and charging during via etch in LOCOS and STI technologies

Films on the back of wafers affect charging during via etch for two CMOS technologies. One technology is LOCOS-based (local oxidation of silicon), with the backside conductive during critical process steps. The other is STI-based (shallow trench isolation), with the backside insulated during key steps. The conductive backside causes charging damage during via etch, as evidenced by threshold voltage shifts and the increased hot-electron sensitivity of monitoring devices. Data from large and small vias indicate that the electron-shading mechanism of charging damage is responsible for the effect.
Organization and Labor-Based Party Adaptation: The Transformation of Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective

This article examines the capacity of Latin American labor-based parties to adapt to the challenges of economic liberalization and working class decline. It presents an organizational approach to explaining party change, highlighting the ways in which informal and weakly institutionalized structures may contribute to party adaptation. It argues that loosely structured labor-based parties, such as many mass populist parties, possess a distinctive advantage in adapting to environmental change. Though a source of inefficiency and even internal chaos, populist legacies such as fluid internal structures, nonbureaucratic hierarchies, and centralized leaderships yield a high degree of strategic flexibility. The argument is applied to the case of the Argentine Justicialista Party (PJ), a mass populist party that adapted with striking success to the socioeconomic changes of the 1980s and 1990s. The weakly institutionalized nature of Peronism's party-union linkage facilitated the dismantling of traditional mechanisms of labor participation, which resulted in the Pj's rapid transformation from a labor-based party into a predominantly patronage-based party. At the same time, the Pj's nonbureaucratic hierarchy and weakly institutionalized leadership bodies provided President Carlos Menem with substantial room for maneuver in developing and carrying out a radical neoliberal strategy that, while at odds with Peronism's traditional program, was critical to its survival as a major political force. The conclusion places the Peronist case in comparative perspective by examining the cases of five other Latin American labor-based parties.
Rotator cuff healing after continuous subacromial bupivacaine infusion: an in vivo rabbit study

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of continuous subacromial bupivacaine infusion on supraspinatus muscle and rotator cuff tendon healing using gross, biomechanical, and histologic analyses. Materials and methods Thirty-three New Zealand White rabbits underwent unilateral supraspinatus transection and rotator cuff repair (RCR). Rabbits were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) RCR only, (2) RCR with continuous saline infusion for 48 hours, or (3) RCR with continuous 0.25% bupivacaine with epinephrine (1:200,000) infusion for 48 hours. Rabbits were euthanized postoperatively at 2 weeks (for histologic assessment) or 8 weeks (for biomechanical and histologic assessment). Results Tensile testing showed a significantly higher load to failure in intact tendons compared with repaired tendons ( P Conclusions The healing supraspinatus tendons exposed to bupivacaine infusion showed similar histologic and biomechanical characteristics compared with untreated and saline-infused RCR groups. Muscle histology showed fiber damage at 2 weeks for the saline and bupivacaine-treated groups, with no apparent disruption at 8 weeks, suggesting a recovery process. Therefore, subacromial bupivacaine infusion in this rabbit rotator cuff model does not appear to impair muscle or tendon after acute injury and repair.
Energy Efficient Adaptive Modulation in Wireless Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, an energy efficient adaptive modulation scheme is proposed for a wireless cognitive radio ad hoc network, where each node is equipped with cognitive radio and the network is an OFDMA system operating on time slots. In each slot, the users with new traffic demand will sense the spectrum and locate the available subcarrier set. Then they choose subcarriers with favorable channel condition individually while avoid introducing harmful interference to the existing users. Given the delay requirement, an adaptive modulation strategy is proposed for each individual user to minimize the energy consumption per bit over the available subcarrier set by selecting the optimal constellation size. The optimal solution of energy efficient adaptive modulation is derived by using Dinkelback- type algorithm, and a sub-gradient search algorithm is proposed to locate the optimal constellation size. Furthermore, a sub- optimal constant bit allocation strategy is presented to address the delay constraints and a distributed power control is performed to manage the co-channel interference among new users when needed. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
Reliability of human annotation of semantic roles in noisy text

This paper addresses the question of how to obtain consistent semantic annotation on the basis of a set of noisy texts. Many potential real-world applications of semantic computing are faced with the need to handle texts which are not well-edited, and for which a resource-intensive treebanking effort is not feasible. Student-produced short answers contain many grammatical and lexical errors, making consistent annotation a challenge. Nevertheless, this paper demonstrates that semantic role annotation can be done in a consistent and useful manner even under these constraints.
The relationship between errors and size in knowledge-based systems

Abstract Previous researchers in knowledge-based systems verification have concentrated on developing various approaches and computational tools to find errors in knowledge bases. However, unlike software engineering for traditional systems, there has been little investigation of the relationship between errors and system size. In addition, there has been little analysis of the relationship between the occurrence of different types of errors. Thus, this paper investigates the empirical relationships between knowledge-based system size and number of errors, and between the number and existence of different kinds of errors. It is found that, in general, system size is statistically significantly correlated with two of those error types, and with total errors. Further it is found that the size of “smaller” systems is not correlated with total number of errors, but the size of “larger” systems is correlated with total number of errors. As a result, this evidence indicates that it can be important to use a modular approach in the development of such systems. In addition, it is found that the number of different types of errors have a statistically significant correlations with each other. Further, the existence of different errors types are statistically related. As a result, errors signal the existence of other errors.
The effect of fluorine in an advanced CMOS process with triple (1.6/2.2/5.2 nm) nitrided gate oxide

Fluorine is introduced into the PFET and NFET of a triple-oxide (1.6/2.2/5.2 nm) 90 nm nitrided-oxide CMOS technology. While the effects on the PFET gate oxide are relatively subtle, the NFET is very significantly affected. The effective thickness of the oxide increases by 0.5 nm, much of the nitrogen is removed, and the structural integrity of the film is compromised. Electrical data, SIMS, TEM, and HRTEM analysis are used to characterize the films.
Deflecting the trajectory and changing the narrative: how self-affirmation affects academic performance and motivation under identity threat.

To the extent that stereotype and identity threat undermine academic performance, social psychological interventions that lessen threat could buffer threatened students and improve performance. Two studies, each featuring a longitudinal field experiment in a mixed-ethnicity middle school, examined whether a values affirmation writing exercise could attenuate the achievement gap between Latino American and European American students. In Study 1, students completed multiple self-affirmation (or control) activities as part of their regular class assignments. Latino American students, the identity threatened group, earned higher grades in the affirmation than control condition, whereas White students were unaffected. The effects persisted 3 years and, for many students, continued into high school by lifting their performance trajectory. Study 2 featured daily diaries to examine how the affirmation affected psychology under identity threat, with the expectation that it would shape students’ narratives of their ongoing academic experience. By conferring a big-picture focus, affirmation was expected to broaden construals, prevent daily adversity from being experienced as identity threat, and insulate academic motivation from identity threat. Indeed, affirmed Latino American students not only earned higher grades than nonaffirmed Latino American students but also construed events at a more abstract than concrete level and were less likely to have their daily feelings of academic fit and motivation undermined by identity threat. Discussion centers on how social-psychological processes propagate themselves over time and how timely interventions targeting these processes can promote well-being and achievement.
Compiler techniques for energy saving in instruction caches of speculative parallel microarchitectures

We present a new software scheme, called compiler-assisted I-cache prediction (CIP) for energy reduction in instruction caches. With the help of compiler-supplied information, the processor is able to turn off substantial portions of the I-cache. The necessary cache sets are only turned on during the execution of individual code sections. The CIP scheme is based on the processor's ability to predict code sections that are about to execute and on the compiler's ability to precisely inform the hardware about the size of these code sections. Our techniques grew out of work with optimizing compilers for speculative parallel microarchitectures. The use of this target machine class is further motivated by the fact that speculative processors have the potential to overcome limitations in the compiler parallelization of many applications, especially non-numerical programs. Speculative microarchitectures are also among the most promising emerging architectures that can take advantage of the ever-increasing levels of chip integration. We will show that our new techniques can lead up to 90% I-cache energy savings in general-purpose applications without significant execution overhead. We believe that this is a substantial step towards the goal of making such chips integral parts of mobile computing devices, such as laptops, palm tops, and cellular phones.
Novel ultrasonic motor using torsional/ longitudinal vibration

Longitudinal-torsional mode converters have greatly simplified the structure of ultrasonic motors using a combined torsional/ longitudinal vibration, making miniaturization more practical. A previous design of this type of motor used a multi-layer piezoelectric actuator. In this paper, we report on the performance of motors using wafer-type actuators. This motor design requires a reduced volume of piezoelectric material.
Comparison of energy-based endpoint detectors for speech signal processing

Accurate endpoint detection is a necessary capability for the construction of speech databases from field recordings. We describe the implementation of two endpoint detection algorithms which use signal features based on energy and rate of zero crossings. We have made extensive use of object-oriented concepts and data-driven programming to make our code re-usable for a variety of applications, including speech recognition. A uniform user-interface for both algorithms has been developed using a novel virtual class methodology. We also present a comparison of the two algorithms using an objective evaluation paradigm we have developed. A small locally prepared database has been used for the purpose of evaluation.
Joining Composite Materials and Structures: Some Thought-Provoking Possibilities

Custom-engineered functionally-specific properties leading to greatly enhanced design versatility have drawn designers to composites, but will make these materials-of-preference only if better ways can be found for producing better joints. The very micro- and macrostructure that gives rise to the unparalleled properties possible with composites exacerbates the inherent weaknesses virtually always associated with joints. Prevailing methods of mechanical fastening and adhesive or thermal bonding (welding) are nonoptimal, if not inappropriate, extensions of methods used for joining conventional metallic or polymeric structures with little real change in over two millennia. This paper challenges the old paradigm of joining being a pragmatic process performed as a last step in manufacture and proposes that it must increasingly become an enabling technology that is integrated with material and structure synthesis. Four new ways to think about joining composites are proposed, and a possibility for each approach is presented to provoke thinking among design and process engineers.
Doppler-Derived Myocardial Systolic Strain Rate Is a Strong Index of Left Ventricular Contractility

BACKGROUND: Myocardial fiber strain is directly related to left ventricular (LV) contractility. Strain rate can be estimated as the spatial derivative of velocities (dV/ds) obtained by tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE). The purposes of the study were (1) to determine whether TDE-derived strain rate may be used as a noninvasive, quantitative index of contractility and (2) to compare the relative accuracy of systolic strain rate against TDE velocities alone. METHODS AND RESULTS: TDE color M-mode images of the interventricular septum were recorded from the apical 4-chamber view in 7 closed-chest anesthetized mongrel dogs during 5 different inotropic stages. Simultaneous LV volume and pressure were obtained with a combined conductance-high-fidelity pressure catheter. Peak elastance (Emax) was determined as the slope of end-systolic pressure-volume relationships during caval occlusion and was used as the gold standard of LV contractility. Peak systolic TDE myocardial velocities (Sm) and peak (epsilon'(p)) and mean (epsilon'(m)) strain rates obtained at the basal septum were compared against Emax by linear regression. Emax as well as TDE systolic indices increased during inotropic stimulation with dobutamine and decreased with the infusion of esmolol. A stronger association was found between Emax and epsilon'(p) (r=0.94, P<0.01, y=0.29x+0.46) and epsilon'(m) (r=0.88, P<0.01) than for Sm (r=0.75, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: TDE-derived epsilon'(p) and epsilon'(m) are strong noninvasive indices of LV contractility. These indices appear to be more reliable than S(m), perhaps by eliminating translational artifact.
EFFECTS OF SOIL NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY ON INVESTMENT IN ACQUISITION OF N AND P IN HAWAIIAN RAIN FORESTS

We determined the influence of nutrient availability on the mechanisms used by plants to acquire nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil. Extracellular acid phosphatase production, mycorrhizal colonization, and N and P uptake capacities were measured in control, N-, and P-fertilized forests in three sites that varied in nutrient status from N limited to relatively fertile to P limited. Nitrogen fertilization increased extracellular phosphatase activity in all sites. Phosphorus additions consistently reduced phosphatase activity, mycorrhizal colonization, and P uptake capacity across sites. Our results indicate that these plants efficiently allocate resources to nutrient acquisition as suggested by an economic model. Investment in acquisition of a nutrient was greatest when that nutrient was limiting to growth, and plants appeared to allocate excess N to construction of extracellular phosphatases to acquire P. This increase in phosphatase production with N fertilization implies that even P-limited systems might respond to N deposition with greater productivity.
Real-time problem localization for synchronous transactions in HTTP-based composite enterprise applications

Loosely-coupled composite enterprise applications based on modern Web technologies are becoming increasingly popular. While composing such applications is appealing for a number of reasons, the distributed nature of the applications makes problem determination difficult. Stringent service level agreements in these environments require rapid localization of failing and poorly performing services. We present in this paper a method that performs real-time transaction level problem determination by tracking synchronous transaction flows in HTTP based composite enterprise applications. Our method relies on instrumentation of service requests and responses to transmit downstream path and monitoring information in realtime. Further, our method applies change-point based techniques on monitored information at the point of origin of a transaction, and quickly detects anomalies in the performance of invoked services. Since our method performs transaction level monitoring, it avoids the pitfalls associated with techniques that use aggregate performance metrics. Additionally, since we use change-point based techniques to detect problems, our method is more robust than error-prone static threshold based techniques.
Financing Infrastructure in the 21st Century City

The collapse or perilous crumbling of our infrastructures, the basic building blocks of the nation's economy, underscores the investment and fiscal policies that confront the nation's leaders as well as the nation's cities' leaders. In this article, the authors focus on one key dimension of the “infrastructure crisis,” namely, the critical issues surrounding the financing of city infrastructure and a proposed set of sustainable options available to policy makers, particularly examining trends toward decentralization and fragmentation of governmental and financial institutions and toward market-based and consumer- or customer-oriented policies. Urban policy makers today find themselves in the position of negotiating with neighboring communities, competitive markets, and citizens in a fragmented governance system. What appears to be little more than organized chaos has evolved over decades into the complex, if not always rational, system of infrastructure finance and governance in which cities and other loc...
Gatekeepers for pragmatic clinical trials

To successfully implement a pragmatic clinical trial, investigators need access to numerous resources, including financial support, institutional infrastructure (e.g. clinics, facilities, staff), eligible patients, and patient data. Gatekeepers are people or entities who have the ability to allow or deny access to the resources required to support the conduct of clinical research. Based on this definition, gatekeepers relevant to the US clinical research enterprise include research sponsors, regulatory agencies, payers, health system and other organizational leadership, research team leadership, human research protections programs, advocacy and community groups, and clinicians. This article provides a framework to help guide gatekeepers' decision-making related to the use of resources for pragmatic clinical trials. Relevant ethical considerations for gatekeepers include (1) concern for the interests of individuals, groups, and communities affected by the gatekeepers' decisions, including protection from harm and maximization of benefits; (2) advancement of organizational mission and values; and (3) stewardship of financial, human, and other organizational resources. Separate from these ethical considerations, gatekeepers' actions will be guided by relevant federal, state, and local regulations. This framework also suggests that to further enhance the legitimacy of their decision-making, gatekeepers should adopt transparent processes that engage relevant stakeholders when feasible and appropriate. We apply this framework to the set of gatekeepers responsible for making decisions about resources necessary for pragmatic clinical trials in the United States, describing the relevance of the criteria in different situations and pointing out where conflicts among the criteria and relevant regulations may affect decision-making. Recognition of the complex set of considerations that should inform decision-making will guide gatekeepers in making justifiable choices regarding the use of limited and valuable resources.
Writing for Screen Readers

Many legal readers read legal documents on screens instead of on paper. This piece identifies three traits of screen readers and offers four tips for creating documents screen readers will appreciate.
Epstein-Barr virus-associated malignancies.

(1987). Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Malignancies. CRC Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 105-136.
A switchable peroxidase mimic derived from the reversible co-assembly of cytochrome c and carbon dots†

We describe a straightforward tactic to boost the inherently low peroxidase-like activity of the heme-protein equine cytochrome c (cyt c) following its electrostatic assembly onto the carbon nanodot surface. This represents the first time that carbon nanodot interaction has been demonstrated to switch a protein into a high-performance enzyme for speeding up a reaction it was not evolved to catalyze. The dramatic enhancement in peroxidase-like activity stems in part from favorable local perturbations within the heme microenvironment of cyt c which are influenced by the chemistry presented at the carbon dot surface. That is, the observed peroxidase activity is clearly moderated by the choice of molecular precursors used to prepare the carbon dots, a choice which ultimately determines the surface charges present. An exceptional catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) of 8.04 (±1.74) × 107 M−1 s−1 was determined for carbon dot/cyt c co-assemblies, close to the theoretical diffusion-controlled limit. Notably, the activity of the carbon dot/cyt c assembly can be switched off simply by increasing the ionic strength which results in dissociation into non-catalytic components.
Learned vs. Commercial?The Commodification of Nature in Early Modern Natural History Specimen Exchanges in England, Germany, and the Netherlands

Using two sets of correspondences centered around specimen exchanges, this paper analyzes daily practices of naturalists to shed light on ambiguities and contradictions in early modern European naturalists’ conception of commodified nature, which mere reading of literature on ideal conduct would not allow us to capture. Keenly aware of the difference between the code of reciprocity and gift giving in the learned world on one hand, and the code of monetary profit making in commercial transactions on the other, correspondents nonetheless recklessly crossed the boundary between the two, and kept the distinction between the different codes ambiguous: naturalists claimed natural specimens as gifts, while at the same time they profited from them monetarily. The concept of nature as objects of reciprocal gift exchanges reflected the hierarchy in the world of learning; this reciprocal conduct was alleged to be proper for scholars, in contrast with profit-motivated merchants. The conception of nature as objects of reciprocal gift exchanges also allowed European naturalists to collectively imagine colonial nature as a gift from non-European people and to claim individual rights to own and profit from it. Consequently the academic hierarchy and the colonization project reinforced each other in the daily practice of commodifying nature based on the halfhearted claim of nature as gift, and practical acceptance of profit-making out of the natural specimens themselves.
Studies on the Toxicity of Protamine

Summary1. Intravenous administration of the protamine, salmine sulfate, to untreated guinea pigs and rats produced death at dose levels of 6-12 mg/100 g. Intraperitoneal injection delayed these effects. 2. The addition of salmine sulfate to whole blood or plasma resulted in the formation of a flocculent protein precipitate. Addition to whole blood caused hemagglutination in the human, dog, cat, and rat. 3. The addition of salmine sulfate to whole blood perfusing isolated organs caused cessation of flow. Addition of comparable amounts to Ringer's fluid and serum perfusing organs was without effect upon the rate of Mow. 4. These experiments suggest the possibility that protamines exert toxic effects through embolic vascular phenomena.
Amelioration of automobile detection system of rotor of the air conditioning's compressor

With the increase of new varieties of compressors,the permissible error for the distinction of diverse rotors of the compressors should be less and less,which brings higher accuracy requirement to the detection system.The traditional method of calibration,with complicated operation and bad accuracy,cannot satisfy the requirement.To solve these problems,we adopt utilizing the self-potential of the detection system as the main means,optimize manipulate arrangement and implement amelioration to the traditional method of calibration.The operating result demonstrates that this amelioration is effective and it has great significance to the improvement of the efficiency of calibration operation and accuracy,decrease of incorrect estimation,guarantee of the products'quality.
Fluorochemical emulsion APE-LM substantially improves cardiac preservation

We determined the efficacy of a novel fluorochemical emulsion for long-term hypothermic preservation of hearts. Rat hearts were preserved for 12 h at 12 degrees C with use of continuous low-pressure coronary perfusion with one of three oxygenated media (n = 6 hearts/groups): an "extracellular" crystalloid solution; APE-LM, a novel fluorochemical emulsion of perfluoroperhydrophenanthrene in egg yolk phospholipid; and FC-43, the Fluosol-43 (Oxypherol) fluorochemical emulsion of perfluorotributylamine in Pluronic F68. The emulsion media contained the same components as the crystalloid medium. All three media contained 0.5% albumin. An isolated working heart perfusion system was used to quantify the function of preserved hearts and controls (fresh hearts, n = 6). The APE-LM-preserved hearts were not significantly different from control hearts in contractile function, output, and energetics during a 4-h 37 degrees C reperfusion period. The control and APE-LM-preserved hearts had significantly better performance than crystalloid- and FC-43-preserved hearts. All preserved hearts gained fluid during preservation. The edema of APE-LM-preserved hearts, but not that of the other two preserved groups, was reversed during 37 degrees C reperfusion. These data provide the first evidence that a unique fluorochemical emulsion improves long-term preservation of cardiac tissue and produces significantly better recovery of cardiac function after preservation. This salutary effect was specifically associated with APE-LM emulsion and may result from its high O2 capacity, its biologically compatible emulsifier, and its superior physical properties, which include very small emulsion particle size (0.1-0.15 micron), low viscosity, and minimal toxicity.
Strategic Shareholder and Member Voting Agreements under Texas Business Entity Law

After re-telling the legal history of voting agreements in Texas, this article recommends that they be treated simply as contracts and specifies how the convoluted Texas statute should be changed to reach that goal.
Abstract A09: A bioinformatics workflow to identify neoantigens using next-generation sequencing

Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of research that represents tremendous promise for cancer patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that tumor-specific neoantigens can persistently stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which may eradicate cancer cells in a favorable immune microenvironment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a key technology enabling advances in this field. Here we present a complete bioinformatics workflow using tumor/normal whole-exome sequencing (WES) and tumor-only whole-transcriptome sequencing (WTS) to predict neoantigens presented by cancer cells. We evaluate existing WES probe designs for MHC class I genes and show that accurate four-digit HLA typing can be achieved using standard WES solutions, thus allowing for a simplified experimental workflow by removing the need for targeted HLA assays. Final neoantigen candidates are prioritized based on in silico peptide-HLA binding predictions, variant allele frequencies for clonal somatic mutations, tumor RNA expression, and self-similarities between mutant peptide to wildtype peptide. This workflow will be available through BaseSpace® Sequence Hub, which can be accessed via an intuitive web-based interface or Linux-based command line tool, providing any researcher with rapid analysis of NGS data and neoantigen predictions. Citation Format: Shile Zhang, Alex So, Shannon Kaplan, Kristina Kruglyak. A bioinformatics workflow to identify neoantigens using next-generation sequencing. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2016 Oct 20-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2017;5(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A09.
Radiative effects during the assembly of direct collapse black holes

We perform a post-processing radiative feedback analysis on a 3D ab initio cosmological simulation of an atomic cooling halo under the direct collapse black hole (DCBH) scenario. We maintain the spatial resolution of the simulation by incorporating native ray-tracing on unstructured mesh data, including Monte Carlo Lyman-alpha (Ly{\alpha}) radiative transfer. DCBHs are born in gas-rich, metal-poor environments with the possibility of Compton-thick conditions, $N_H \gtrsim 10^{24} {\rm cm}^{-2}$. Therefore, the surrounding gas is capable of experiencing the full impact of the bottled-up radiation pressure. In particular, we find that multiple scattering of Ly{\alpha} photons provides an important source of mechanical feedback after the gas in the sub-parsec region becomes partially ionized, avoiding the bottleneck of destruction via the two-photon emission mechanism. We provide detailed discussion of the simulation environment, expansion of the ionization front, emission and escape of Ly{\alpha} radiation, and Compton scattering. A sink particle prescription allows us to extract approximate limits on the post-formation evolution of the radiative feedback. Fully coupled Ly{\alpha} radiation hydrodynamics will be crucial to consider in future DCBH simulations.