cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Making wastewater obsolete: Selective separations to enable circular water treatment

Abstract By 2050, the societal needs and innovation drivers of the 21st century will be in full swing: mitigating climate change, minimizing anthropogenic effects on natural ecosystems, navigating scarcity of natural resources, and ensuring equitable access to quality of life will have matured from future needs to exigent realities. Water is one such natural resource, and will need to be treated and transported to maximize resource efficiency. In particular, wastewater will be mined for the valuable product precursors it contains, which will require highly selective separation processes capable of capturing specific target compounds from complex solutions. As a case study, we focus on the nitrogen cycle because it plays a central role in both natural and engineered systems. Nitrogen occurs as several species, including ammonia, a fertilizer and precursor to many nitrogen products, and nitrate, a fertilizer and component of explosives. We describe two applications of selective separations: selective materials and electrochemical processes. Ultimately, this perspective outlines the next thirty years of modular, selective, resource-efficient separations that will play a major role in enabling element-specific circular economies and redefining wastewater as a resource.
The Financial Burden of Applying to Urology Residency in 2020.

OBJECTIVES To determine contemporary costs of preparing for and applying for a urology residency position for the 2019-2020 American Urological Association Match. METHODS An electronic survey was emailed to all urology residency applicants who applied to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School during the 2019-2020 application cycle; it was sent 2 weeks after the Match results were released. We collected information on applicant demographics, interview logistics, and estimated costs incurred applying to residency. RESULTS A total of 26% (64/242) of subjects responded, representing all 8 the American Urological Association sections, international schools, and schools without urology programs. 62% were male, 75% were single, and 52% attended public medical school. Applicants paid for the interview trail using loans (67%), family donations (50%), previous or current income (36%), and scholarships (16%). Subjects completed a median of 2 visiting student rotations (IQR 2-3), applied to 80 programs (IQR 66-99), and attended 16 interviews (IQR 13-18.75). The median cost per applicant for the 2019-2020 Match was $9725 (IQR $6134-12,564). This estimate included expenditures on application fees, visiting student rotations, interview trail travel and lodging, research, interview attire, and professional photos. Subjects who attended public medical school were likely to spend $3546.31 (95% confidence interval: 5630.71-1461.916; P CONCLUSION Urology residency applicants spend almost $10,000 in pursuit of a residency position. These high costs not only contribute to student debt but also may deter applicants from entering the field of urology.
Abstract 17308: Unsupervised K-means Clustering to Identify Signatures of Right Ventricle Dysfunction in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) function is a determinant of mortality in patients with pulmonary hypertension but current assessments are based on individual variables. Unsupervised k-means c...
Multi-Style Transfer with Discriminative Feedback on Disjoint Corpus

Style transfer has been widely explored in natural language generation with non-parallel corpus by directly or indirectly extracting a notion of style from source and target domain corpus. A common shortcoming of existing approaches is the prerequisite of joint annotations across all the stylistic dimensions under consideration. Availability of such dataset across a combination of styles limits the extension of these setups to multiple style dimensions. While cascading single-dimensional models across multiple styles is a possibility, it suffers from content loss, especially when the style dimensions are not completely independent of each other. In our work, we relax this requirement of jointly annotated data across multiple styles by using independently acquired data across different style dimensions without any additional annotations. We initialize an encoder-decoder setup with transformer-based language model pre-trained on a generic corpus and enhance its re-writing capability to multiple target style dimensions by employing multiple style-aware language models as discriminators. Through quantitative and qualitative evaluation, we show the ability of our model to control styles across multiple style dimensions while preserving content of the input text. We compare it against baselines involving cascaded state-of-the-art uni-dimensional style transfer models.
Targeting the NQO1-redox Achilles heel of cancer using small molecule prooxidant redox cyclers.

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA 3339 Constitutively elevated levels of cellular oxidative stress and dependence on mitogenic and anti-apoptotic reactive oxygen species (ROS)-signaling represent a specific vulnerability of malignant cells that can be selectively targeted by novel prooxidant redox chemotherapeutics. Here, we demonstrate that phenothiazinium-based redox cyclers (PRC-compounds) induce selective cancer cell apoptosis by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1)-dependent bioreductive generation of cellular oxidative stress. Using PRC lead compounds derived from methylene blue against human metastatic melanoma cell lines, apoptosis occurred with phosphatidylserine-externalization, loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, cytochrome C release, caspase-3 activation, and massive ROS production. Remarkably, PRC-apoptogenicity against G361 human metastatic melanoma cells was suppressed using the NQO1-inhibitor dicoumarol. The critical role of NQO1 in PRC-apoptogenicity was confirmed, when NQO1-transfected breast cancer cells (MCF7-DT15) stably overexpressing active NQO1 displayed strongly enhanced PRC-sensitivity as compared to vector-control transfected cells with base line NQO1 activity. NQO1 is an antioxidant defense enzyme, and constitutive NQO1 overexpression leading to high specific enzymatic activity is associated with various human malignancies including melanoma, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, pancreas carcinoma, and breast and colon adenocarcinoma. The emerging role of overexpression of NQO1 in redox dysregulation of various human tumors resulting from Keap1 gene point mutations suggests feasibility of selecting NQO1-activated PRC lead compounds as tumor-selective bioreductive chemotherapeutics based on prior tumor genotyping. Moreover, a second class of quinone-based redox cyclers (QRC-compounds) has been identified that induces preferential cancer cell apoptosis by prooxidant mechanisms without dependence on NQO1-bioreductive activation. RT-PCR array expression analysis using the Human Stress and Toxicity PathwayFinder (Superarray) followed by immunoblot confirmation suggests that in human A375 melanoma cells, the redox cycler QRC-26 strongly upregulates heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and heat shock protein 70B’ (Hsp70B’), an Hsp70 subtype induced only under conditions of extreme cellular stress. Feasibility of therapeutic intervention using QRC-26 has been demonstrated in a human A375 melanoma mouse xenograft model. Future research will test the hypothesis that redox phenotyping and genotyping may guide the selection of PRC and QRC redox chemotherapeutics that efficiently target the NQO1-redox Achilles heel of the individual tumor. Supported in part by grants from NIH (R01CA122484; ES06694), ABRC (0721), and NSF (DGE-0114420).
Alternative Winter Farrowing Demonstration Project: Two Year Summary

Introduction There is growing demand in Iowa for pigs raised outdoors or in a deep-bedded system without the use of antibiotics, growth promotants, or animal by-products. Currently, most producers selling naturally raised pork market their animals to a company that requires adherence to the Animal Welfare Institute’s (AWI) Animal Welfare Standards. One of the key components of these standards is the prohibition of farrowing crates. While a pasture farrowing system is effective during spring, summer, and fall, an alternative system is needed to farrow pigs in the winter for the naturally raised pork market.
A 2.8mW/Gb/s 14Gb/s serial link transceiver in 65nm CMOS

A low power 14Gb/s transceiver using partially segmented voltage-mode driver, charge-based analog front-end, and low power clock and data recovery circuit that also minimizes clock distribution power is presented. Fabricated in a 65nm CMOS process, the transceiver achieves a power efficiency of 2.8mW/Gb/s and BER<10−12 while operating at 14Gb/s with 12dB channel loss.
Concrete Pavement Design, Construction, and Performance

1. Introduction 2. Types of Concrete Pavements 3. Performance 4. Subgrades, Subbases, and Drainage 5. Selection of Concrete Materials 6. Mixture Design and Proportioning 7. Design Fundamentals 8. Highway Pavement Design 9. Light-Duty Pavement Design 10. Airport Pavement Design 11. Industrial Pavement Design 12. Subgrade and Subbase Construction 13. Paving 14. Finishing, Texturing, and Curing 15. Concrete Pavement Maintenance 16. Rehabilitation and Overlays
Ensuring Respect: United Nations Compliance with International Humanitarian Law

introduCtion In an effort to stem violent conflict, the United Nations has increasingly turned to peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations.1 While these forces have had success in mitigating conflict, their efforts have also been tainted by allegations of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). To date, the UN has not developed a comprehensive mechanism to investigate and punish such violations. In order to comply with IHL and to uphold the UN’s mission of promoting international cooperation, the UN must establish a clear framework to enforce the law of war within its own peacekeeping and peace enforcement forces. This article will begin with an introduction to UN peace operations, highlighting some cases of alleged abuse. The second section will examine the applicability of IHL to the UN. First, the section will examine the nuances of IHL by describing the differences between international, non-international, and internationalized armed conflict. It will then demonstrate that the UN is bound by IHL. The article will conclude by examining several potential mechanisms to enforce the UN’s obligations under IHL: international state responsibility; domestic proceedings in the troop-contributing state; human rights mechanisms; claims commissions; the International Criminal Court (ICC); and ombudspersons. Finally, the article will offer brief recommendations for how the UN can ensure its compliance with IHL while adequately supporting victims’ needs.
Metamagnetic transition and magnetothermal properties of ErCo4Ge2

Polycrystalline ErCo4Ge2 was investigated by magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements. The results show that ErCo4Ge2 undergoes a transition from the paramagnetic to the antiferromagnetic (AFM) state around 2.6 K. The second order character of this magnetic transition is confirmed from the lambda-like peak of the heat capacity data. Both χ′ and χ″ of ErCo4Ge2 are strongly dependent on the ac magnetic field frequency and bias dc magnetic field. A field induced metamagnetic transition from AFM to ferromagnetic state is observed below TN. Under a magnetic field change of 50 kOe, the maximum value of the magnetic entropy change (magnetocaloric effect) −ΔSM is 14.2 J/kg K at 2.75 K and the adiabatic temperature change ΔTad is 5.7 K. In particular, a large −ΔSM value of 11.7 J/kg K is achieved for a low magnetic field change of 20 kOe.
New Opportunities for Outer Solar System Science using Radioisotope Electric Propulsion

Today, our questions and hypotheses about the Solar System's origin have surpassed our ability to deliver scientific instruments to deep space. The moons of the outer planets, the Trojan and Centaur minor planets, the trans-Neptunian objects (TNO), and distant Kuiper Belt objects (KBO) hold a wealth of information about the primordial conditions that led to the formation of our Solar System. Robotic missions to these objects are needed to make the discoveries, but the lack of deep-space propulsion is impeding this science. Radioisotope electric propulsion (REP) will revolutionize the way we do deep-space planetary science with robotic vehicles, giving them unprecedented mobility. Radioisotope electric generators and lightweight ion thrusters are being developed today which will make possible REP systems with specific power in the range of 5 to 10 W/kg. Studies have shown that this specific power range is sufficient to perform fast rendezvous missions from Earth to the outer Solar System and fast sample return missions. This whitepaper discusses how mobility provided by REP opens up entirely new science opportunities for robotic missions to distant primitive bodies. We also give an overview of REP technology developments and the required next steps to realize REP.
Geographic variation of inflammatory bowel disease within the United States

One approach to learn about possible environmental risks in inflammatory bowel disease relates to studying its geographic pattern of occurrence. The geographic variation of inflammatory bowel disease within the United States was analyzed using the accumulated 17.5 million hospital discharges of all U.S. Medicare beneficiaries during two consecutive years. To validate the geographic pattern shown by the Medicare data, hospitalization was compared with mortality from inflammatory bowel disease among different states. Mortality and hospitalization statistics both suggested that the occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease was determined by environmental factors that had a marked geographic variation within the United States. Both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis appeared to be more frequent in northern parts of the United States than in southern and in urban more than rural parts. These trends were observed for men and women and for blacks and whites alike. Similar geographic patterns of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis suggested the influence of one or more identical risk factors for both diseases.
Effect of dopamine on opossum duodenal smooth muscle

Abstract Opossum duodenum was cut into 2 mm × 1.5 cm strips. The strips cut along the oral-caudal axis were called longitudinal strips, while those cut 90 ° to that axis were called circular strips. Dopamine produced contractions in both muscle layers. ED 50 for the longitudinal and circular muscle was 2.8 × 10−6 M and 1.9 × 10−5 M, respectively. The longitudinal muscle was 6.5 times more sensitive to dopamine than the circular muscle. The dopamine-produced contractions were completely blocked by phenoxy-benzamine, 10−4 M, and phentolamine, 10−5 M. Haloperidol, 10−5 M, or bulbocapnine, 10−5 M, completely or partially blocked the contractions produced by dopamine in only one-third of the strips. Tetrodo-toxin, propranolol, atropine, and curare did not affect the dopamine-produced contractions. These studies suggest that dopamine mainly stimulates alpha-excitatory adrenergic receptors in opossum duodenal muscle and that the longitudinal muscle is more sensitive to dopamine. However, we cannot exclude the existence of excitatory dopamine receptors in the opossum duodenal smooth muscle.
Recent trends in the utilization of dental care in the United States

The authors examined trends in the utilization of oral health services in the United States from 1997 to 2010, including breakdowns by age and poverty level. They examined trends in one major driver of utilization: insurance coverage. The results suggest that the recent economic downturn did not result in an overall decrease in the utilization of dental services. Rather, the findings suggest an earlier decline from 2003 to 2008. In this article, the authors report that the overall trend masked significant variation by age and poverty level. Among children, there was steady growth in utilization from 1997 to 2010. This appears to have coincided with a shift away from private insurance toward public coverage and a significant drop in the percentage of uninsured children. Among non-elderly adults, however, utilization has been falling steadily since 1997 among all but the wealthiest income group. During the great recession from December 2007 to June 2009, the decline in utilization accelerated among those in the lowest income group. The decrease in adult utilization appears related to a decrease in private insurance coverage and an increase in public coverage and noninsured rates. As a consequence of these trends in coverage, the authors predict a continued decline in the utilization of dental services among non-elderly adults.
Remembering Beatrice Remembering: Sexual Crime and Silence in Shelley's The Cenci

In The Cenci, Percy Shelley calls attention to the challenges of articulating and proving sexual crime. Placing The Cenci in the historical context of nineteenth-century legal language requirements for survivors, I contend that Beatrice's struggle with remembering and expressing her rape underscores the obstacles that nineteenth-century sexual crime survivors faced when attempting to achieve justice. If justice is measured in part by the level of truth achieved, Beatrice's silence and the partial truths her trial uncovers suggest problems with the conditions created to encourage disclosure in cases of rape. Furthermore, her refusal to admit to her part in her father's murder highlights how repressive processes fail to achieve accountability or provide healing. Taken to the play's most extreme suggestion, her actions outside of the justice system warn that victims may pursue their own drastic outcomes if they are denied adequate recognition and redress within criminal justice structures.
Microvascular endothelium and pericytes: high yield, low passage cultures.

Cultured microvascular endothelial cells (MEC) have become a valuable model for studies of microvascular physiology and pathology. Most current techniques involve manual removal of undesirable cell types or cloning, require one to several months, and yield high population doubling level cultures derived from a relatively small sample of the original population. We have devised a technique to more rapidly produce larger numbers of MEC. This method provided primary cultures consisting predominantly of MEC within 1 wk. The technique involves selective aspiration of gray matter from the bovine cerebral cortex followed by homogenization, sieving, enzymatic dissociation, and then dense plating (104 to 105 vessel fragments/cm2) onto gelatin- or fibronectin-coated plastic. Typical yields were 0.1 to 0.5 × 106 fragments/g of aspirated gray matter. The optimal culture medium for these cells was 15% equine plasma derived serum, 20% conditioned medium, 2% retinal extract, 60% fresh medium, and 500 μg/ml heparin. Cells attached within 24 h, well-spread colonies were present within 1 to 2 d, and cultures approached confluence within 2 to 3 d. Alkaline phosphatase staining confirmed the microvascular origin of the material plated. Morphology, Factor VIII-related antigen staining and 1,1′-dioctacecyl-3,3,3′3,-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate acetylated low density lipoprotein uptake suggested that MEC predominated. Cultures could be passaged and additionally purified by sequential exposure to pancreatin and trypsin-EDTA. Pancreatin selectively removed MEC colonies leaving a relatively homogeneous pericyte population. The relative ease with which such cultures can be produced should facilitate the in vitro study of brain microvascular function and may also provide insights useful for growing MEC from other vascular beds.
SERUM ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE RESPONSE TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF CORTISONE IN RATS

CORTISONE administration was noted to have a variable effect on rat serum alkaline phosphatase (1, 2). Alkaline phosphatase in rachitic rats fell when the rats received cortisone (1). A fall in alkaline phosphatase was also demonstrable after cortisone administration in normal rats. However, some of the animals in the same group had marked elevations of serum alkaline phosphatase (2). Winter et al. reported an increase in alkaline phosphatase in rats given cortisone (3). Cortisone has also been reported to increase the activity of some of the alkaline phosphatases in the liver (4, 5). One infant with hypoglycemia, glycosuria and depressed serum alkaline phosphatase was given cortisone for the hypoglycemia. Coincident with the rise in blood glucose the serum alkaline phosphatase rose to normal levels (6). Fraser and Laidlaw reported a similar elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase in a child with hypophosphatasia who was treated with cortisone (7). On the other hand patients treated with cortisone
Children, Terrorists, and Cultural Resistance in Don DeLillo's Falling Man

While Don DeLillo's early novels explore the mindset of children and their engagement with cultural politics, little has been studied with regard to DeLillo's foray back into the representation of stridently individualistic children in Falling Man. This essay, which articulates a symbiotic relationship in many of the actions between Justin Neudecker and terrorist Hammad, argues that Falling Man offers a polyvocal fluidity and exploration to children antithetical in the novel's adult characters.
Gas-phase polychlorinated biphenyl and hexachlorocyclohexane concentrations near the Great Lakes: a historical perspective.

The Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN) has been measuring gas-phase, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations at sites near Lakes Michigan and Superior for over a decade. Data through 2000 were used in this study to investigate PCB temporal trends in the Great Lakes atmosphere. Decreasing trends were found at both sites, and half-lives of approximately 20 yr were calculated using IADN data. However, when these data were supplemented by historical data for Lakes Michigan and Superior dating back to 1977, half-lives dropped to 10 and 6 yr, respectively. These latter half-lives agreed well with half-lives in other environmental compartments. Exponential curves fitted to the historical and IADN data indicated little decline in PCB concentrations in the basin since the mid-1990s. A similar historical analysis of α- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) data indicated that IADN data were the best predictor of trends, resulting in half-lives of around 4 yr for both compounds. γ-HCH concentrations,...
Differential effects of cordycepin triphosphate and 9β-d arabinofuranosyladenine triphosphate on tRNA and 5 S RNA synthesis in isolated nuclei

Abstract Although cordycepin 5′-triphosphate (3′-dATP), at low concentrations, preferentially inhibits chromatin-associated poly(A) synthesis in isolated nuclei, higher levels of the inhibitor prevent both rRNA (RNA polymerase I activity) and hnRNA (RNA polymerase II activity) synthesis in vitro (Rose, K.M., Bell, L.E. and Jacob, S.T. (1977) Nature 267, 178–180). The present studies demonstrate that this nucleotide can also inhibit tRNA and 5 S RNA synthesis (RNA polymerase III activity). At 50–200 μg/ml, 3′-dATP inhibits incorporation of [3H]UTP into tRNA and 5 S RNA by approximately 65%, whereas the syntheses of these RNAs were completely blocked when [3H]GTP was used as the substrate. These data suggest the formation of poly(U) in the tRNA and 5 S RNA regions, which is resistant to 3′-dATP. In contrast, another ATP analog, Ara-ATP, which selectively inhibits poly(A) synthesis, does not block tRNA and 5 S RNA synthesis in isolated nuclei. The production of these RNA species in isolated nuclei is also insensitive to Ara-CTP and 2′-dATP. These data suggest that 3′-dATP exerts general inhibitory effects on RNA synthesis and further substantiate the conclusion that Ara-ATP is a selective inhibitor of the polyadenylation reaction in vitro.
Cosorption of aromatic N-heterocycles and pyrene by smectites in aqueous solutions☆

The simultaneous sorption of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, pyrene, and the aromatic N-heterocycles, quinoline and acridine, by aqueous suspensions of either Na-montmorillonite or Na-hectorite was examined. In all cases, pyrene sorption in the absence of sorbed N-heterocyles was not detected. In the presence of sorbed N-heterocycles, pyrene sorption increased with increased surface concentrations of quinoline or acridine. The pH-dependent sorption of quinoline and acridine caused an apparent pH dependence in pyrene sorption. Fluorescence emission spectra indicated that the acridinium ion was the dominant form of sorbed acridine on hectorite. Fluorescence emission spectra of pyrene, cosorbed with quinoline by hectorite, indicated that the surface-bound pyrene resided in an environment of lower polarity than bulk H2O. A linear isotherm for pyrene sorption on Na-montmorillonite was obtained at a quinoline surface concentration of 27.19 cmol kg−1, while the pyrene sorption isotherm was curvilinear when there was only 4.67 cmol kg−1 quinoline present on the clay surface. In all experiments, the value of Koc for pyrene sorption decreased with increased surface concentrations of N-heterocycles. We postulate that pyrene sorption at low concentrations of quinoline or acridine is due to the adsorption of pyrene by sorbed N-heterocycles. Increased concentrations of quinoline or acridine promote sorption of pyrene through a partition reaction with sorbed N-heterocycles.
Some effects of Physalia physalis toxin on active Na+ transport across frog skin.

Abstract 1. 1. Physalia toxin increases the permeability of frog skin to Na + . 2. 2. The effect is inhibited by ouabain.
Electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization based on carbon-nanotubes loaded with CdS tags

An effective method for amplifying electrical detection of DNA hybridization based on carbon-nanotubes (CNT) carrying a large number of CdS particle tracers is described. Such use of CNT amplification platforms is combined with an ultrasensitive stripping-voltammetric detection of the dissolved CdS tags following dual hybridization events of a sandwich assay on a streptavidin modified 96-well microplate. Anchoring of the monolayer-protected quantum dots to the acetone-activated CNT was accomplished via hydrophobic interactions. SEM images indicate that the nanocrystals are attached along the CNT sidewall, with a loading of around 500 particles per CNT. A substantial (∼500-fold) lowering of the detection limit is obtained compared to conventional single-particle stripping hybridization assays, reflecting the CdS loading on the CNT carrier. A large excess (250-fold) of non-complimentary oligonucleotides have minimal effect on the response. Such use of CNT as carriers for multiple electrochemical tags offers great promise for ultrasensitive detection of other biorecognition events.
Some topics in the molecular dynamics ensemble

The molecular dynamics method generates averages in an ensemble with constant particle number, volume, energy, and total momentum. For this ensemble, we obtain the exact ideal gas partition function and momentum distribution function, show that a ’’correction’’ applied in the past to equation‐of‐state data of hard core particles is not needed, and rederive a known relationship between potential energy fluctuations and the heat capacity.
Effects of non-invasive pressure support ventilation (NI-PSV) on ventilation and respiratory effort in very low birth weight infants.

Background Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is used to provide support to non-intubated infants, but it often fails. Pressure support ventilation (PSV) is a mode of synchronized ventilation that can supplement the spontaneous breathing effort, but it is unknown if it is effective in non-intubated very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Objectives To compare the acute physiological effects of non-invasive PSV (NI-PSV) versus NCPAP on tidal volume (VT), minute ventilation (VE), gas exchange, breathing effort, and chest wall distortion in VLBW infants. Methods Stable preterm infants of birth weight less 1,250 g were studied during consecutive 2 hr periods of NCPAP and NI-PSV in random sequence. VT, VE, and thoraco-abdominal synchrony were measured using respiratory inductance plethysmography. Breathing effort was measured by esophageal manometry. Gas exchange was measured by pulse oximetry and transcutaneous PCO2. Results Fifteen infants of birth weight (mean ± SD) 808 ± 201 g and 25.9 ± 1.8 weeks gestational age were studied while on NCPAP 5.3 ± 0.6 cm H2O and on NI-PSV with 7.9 ± 1.3 cm H2O above NCPAP of pressure support. There were no differences in VT, VE, PCO2 or hypoxemia episodes. Peak and minute inspiratory effort were significantly reduced in NI-PSV mode as compared to NCPAP. There was a significant reduction in indices of chest wall asynchrony in NI-PSV mode. Conclusion When compared to NCPAP, NI-PSV did not increase minute ventilation, but it effectively unloaded the patient's respiratory pump as indicated by a lower inspiratory effort and reduced chest wall distortion. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:704–710. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Incorporating Self-Interference Suppression for Full-duplex Operation in Opportunistic Spectrum Access Systems

Inspired by recent developments in full-duplex (FD) communications, we consider an opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) network in which secondary users (SUs) are capable of partial/complete self-interference suppression (SIS). This enables them to operate in either simultaneous transmit-and-sense (TS) or simultaneous transmit-and-receive (TR) modes, with the goal of achieving improved primary user (PU) detection and/or higher SU throughput. We first consider an overlay OSA setup, and we study the TS and TR modes. We also explore the spectrum awareness/efficiency tradeoff and determine an efficient adaptive strategy for the SU link. We then consider a spectrum underlay model, with the objective of optimizing SUs' transmission powers so as to maximize the sum-throughput of $K$ FD secondary links subject to a PU outage constraint. Operating in an FD fashion is not always efficient for SUs. Hence, we propose an optimal policy for switching between FD and half-duplex. The criteria for this policy depend mainly on the SIS capabilities of SUs. Finally, we propose a mode selection algorithm for the switching process. Numerical results indicate that operating in the TS mode can reduce the PU outage probability by up to 100% compared with the classical listen-before-talk scheme.
Brief announcement: improved asynchronous group mutual exclusion in token-passing networks

Group mutual exclusion (GME) was first introduced by Joung in 1998 as a generalization of the n-process mutual exclusion problem, and subsequently modeled as the Congenial Talking Philosophers problem. GME allows processes requesting for the same resource to concurrently access the shared resource. However, a process requesting a resource that is different from the one currently being used will not be able to access the requested resource at the same time. At any time, only one resource may be in use.There have been two solutions to the GME problem for a ring network. The first solution proposed by Wu and Joung [2] had an unbounded message size problem, while the second solution proposed by Cantarell et. al. [1] attempted to provide an upper-bound for the message size. However, in doing so, the second solution generated an unbounded number of messages. Hence, in this work we present a GME algorithm for a token-passing network that solves both of the problems found in the two previous solutions by providing an upper bound both to the number of messages and to message size.
Experimental Consolidation of Carbonate Mud: ABSTRACT

About 200 compression and heating experiments simulating diagenesis and low-grade metamorphism have been performed on samples of CaCO3 sediments obtained from the banks west of Andros Island in the Bahamas; the mud consists mainly of aragonite needles, 0.1µ by 1µ, and ovoid pellets, about 100µ across. The ranges of conditions and the precisions of the experiments were as follows: pressure P, 1-3,000 bars, ±10%; temperature T, 25°-400°C., ±10%; and time t, 3 hours to 2 months, ±1%. The chemical compositions of the sea water in the mud and the vapor driven off were not determined. Consolidation is effected by compaction of grains, recrystallization, and by increase of integranular bonding. Pressure of 30 bars causes a compaction of about 20% for a given temperature; at T = 25° C. the density increases from that of the initial mud, 1.7 g/cm3, to a final 2.0 g/cm3; essentially, some of the interstitial water is squeezed out. Heating at T between 100° and 200° C., under P 1 day, lithifies the mud, apparently during inversion of aragonite to calcite; electron micrographs show coalescence, increasing with time, of the original needles to rounded grains and then to a subhedral, interlocking texture; the product has a compressive strength >100 bars. Higher pressure, P>100 bars, causes increasing breakage of the aragonite needles. About 30 experiments on aragonitic mud from Kapingamarangi Atoll in the Caroline Islands produced results similar to those obtained on the Bahamas mud. However, in none of 6 experiments performed on deep-sea, coccolithic, calcite ooze from near the Hawaiian Islands could the sample be lithified, even at T = 400° C., P = 1,000 bars, t = 11 days; apparently consolidation of calcite sediment requires the circulation of dissolving water. End_of_Article - Last_Page 544------------
Treatment of sperm with extracellular adenosine 5’-triphosphate improves the in vitro fertility rate of inbred and genetically modified mice with low fertility

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the most important techniques used for assisted reproduction in mouse colony management. As with natural mating, where mice have varying fertility indices, fertility rates of genetically modified (GM) [transgenic (Tg), knock out (KO) and congenic (Cg)] mice are influenced by their genetic background. Lines of GM mice that have poor fertility have a concomitant poor IVF outcome. Treatment of mouse sperm with extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATPe) enhanced in vitro fertilization rates in outbred and hybrid mice. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of using extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate-treated sperm for IVF of inbred wild type, and genetically modified mouse lines, for which standard IVF did not work well. The IVF was performed using the GM mice on C57BL/10SnJ, C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ and NFS/N background strains and wild type (WT) mice such as C57BL/6N, BALB/cAnN, and B6129SF1 strains. Oocytes from superovulated females were fertilized in vitro with sperm from the same background strain, and either treated or not treated with ATPe. The ATPe treatment enhanced IVF outcome in most of the GM and some WT strains, as indicated by the percentage of embryos that progressed to the two-cell stage. There was no marked difference between ATPe treated and control groups for the development rate of two-cell embryos to blastocysts in culture, or in the number of pups born after transfer of two-cell embryos into recipient females. The observed improvement of the IVF results following ATPe treatment of transgenic and KO mouse sperm were a potential solution for improving the outcome of assisted reproduction techniques used for rederivation or for gamete banking.
Regulatory factor X1-induced down-regulation of transforming growth factor β2 transcription in human neuroblastoma cells.

Regulatory factor X (RFX) proteins are transcription factors. Seven mammalian RFX proteins have been identified. RFX1 is the prototype RFX. However, its biological functions are not known. Here, RFX1 overexpression reduced fetal bovine serum-stimulated proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line. This inhibition is associated with decreased transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Exogenous TGFβ2 increased cell proliferation and phospho-ERK in cells overexpressing RFX1. An anti-TGFβ2 antibody and PD98059, an ERK activation inhibitor, inhibited SH-SY5Y cell proliferation. TGFβ2 promoter activity was decreased in cells overexpressing RFX1. Chromosome immunoprecipitation assay showed that RFX1 bound the TGFβ2 promoter. RFX1 down-regulation increased TGFβ2 in SH-SY5Y and HCN-1A cells, a normal human neuronal cell line. More importantly, TGFβ2 concentrations were negatively correlated with RFX1 levels in human medulloblastoma tissues with a R2 of 0.464. These results suggest that RFX1 reduces cell proliferation through inhibiting the TGFβ2-ERK signaling pathway. RFX1 blocks TGFβ2 expression through its direct action on TGFβ2 transcription. This effect also appears in human brain tumor tissues. Because TGFβ is known to be involved in cancer development, our results provide initial evidence to suggest that RFX1 may play an important role in human tumor biology. Background: Biological functions of regulatory factor X1 (RFX1) are not clear. Results: RFX1 decreases transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) transcription and exogenous TGFβ2 reverses the inhibitory effects of RFX1 on cell proliferation. Conclusion: RFX1 inhibits neuroblastoma cell proliferation through direct down-regulation of TGFβ2 transcription. Significance: This might be the first evidence of RFX1 regulation of TGFβ2 transcription and cell proliferation.
Searching for threshold shifts in spawner-recruit data

Relationships between spawning fish (S) and surviving offspring (recruits, R) are typically assumed to be contin- uous and nonlinear. However, R may change abruptly with small changes in S if population-, community-, or ecosystem- scale processes trigger low adult reproduction and cause populations to shift abruptly to regimes of low recruitment. We simulated R with low mean and variation below a known S threshold and high mean and variation of R above it. We com- pared simulations with published S-R relationships. For all data, we fit a conventional Ricker-type S-R model, a logistic depensatory model, and also searched for an S breakpoint with a nonparametric test. The Ricker and logistic models often fit discontinuous simulated data. The nonparametric test found the S threshold in simulated data, although its accuracy de- pended on underlying distributions. The Ricker and logistic models and the nonparametric test identified apparent relation- ships within published data, sharing common results in <50% of the data sets. Although population models often assume continuous relationships, discontinuous threshold changes in R with small changes in S may occur. Identification of the conditions that reproductive state changes abruptly in fish populations may be necessary to develop risk-averse regulatory policies. Resume´ : On assume generalement que les relations entre les poissons reproducteurs (S) et les rejetons survivants (recrues, R) sont continues et non lineaires. Cependant, R peut changer abruptement ala suite de petites modifications de S si les processus qui operent al'echelle de la population, de la communauteou de l'ecosysteme declenchent une reproduction adulte faible et forcent les populations a passer rapidement dans un regime de recrutement faible. Nous avons fait des sim- ulations dans lesquelles R possede une moyenne et une variation faibles sous un seuil connu de S et une moyenne et varia- tion elevees au-dessus du seuil. Nous avons comparenos simulations avec des relations S-R de la litterature. Sur l'ensemble des donnees, nous avons ajusteun modele S-R classique de type Ricker et un modele logistique aeffet Allee et avons rechercheun point de rupture de S avec un test non parametrique. Le modele de Ricker et le modele logistique s'ajustent souvent aux donnees simulees discontinues. Le test non parametrique a trouvele seuil de S dans les donnees si- mulees, bien que la precision depende des distributions sous-jacentes. Le modele de Ricker, le modele logistique et le test non parametrique ont identifiedes relations apparentes dans les donnees publiees, obtenant des resultats communs dans <50 % des ensembles de donnees. Bien que les modeles demographiques presupposent souvent des relations continues, il peut se produire chez R des discontinuites et des seuils a cause de petits changements de S. Il peut etre necessaire d'iden- tifier les conditions sous lesquelles l'etat reproductif des populations de poissons change abruptement afin de mettre sur pied des politiques de reglementation qui minimisent les risques. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Microbial Release from Seeded Beach Sediments during Wave Conditions

Beach sands can sustain indigenous and introduced populations of enterococci. The objective of this study was to evaluate wave action in promoting the release of introduced bacteria. To accomplish this objective this study developed a method to assess attachment and identified conditions under which introduced bacteria are integrated into the sand. A new "shearing assay" showed that attachment of the introduced spike mimicked that of the natural sand when the spike was allowed to integrate into the sand for 24h at room temperature at a sand moisture content of 20%. Experiments in a wave flume showed that waves were capable of releasing about 60% of the total bacteria added. This suggests that for the range of wave conditions evaluated (height: 1.9-10.5 cm, period:1-2.7s), waves were incapable of releasing all of the bacteria. Further study is needed to evaluate bacteria attachment mechanisms.
Feeding behaviour of the Madagascar leaf‐nosed snake, Langaha madagascariensis (Serpentes: Colubridae: Pseudoxyrhophiinae), with an alternative hypothesis for its bizarre head structure

Abstract Feeding behaviour of the Madagascar leaf‐nosed snake (Langaha madagascariensis) is described and an alternative use for its unusual nasal appendage is hypothesized. Langaha madagascariensis employs a sit‐and‐wait foraging strategy and stalking prey is initiated once a snake is conscious of potential prey. Stalking is preceded by hooding, swaying anterior portion of its body laterally, tongue flicking, and advancing toward prey. Strikes are typically made at an extremely close distance, sometimes while a snake places its nasal extension directly onto the back of the prey's head. Prey was always grasped anterior to the pectoral girdle behind the head or neck region. Once prey is seized, it may be coiled around and is usually pulled off its perch and left to dangle in mid‐air, while being worked into the back of the mouth toward the snake's rear fangs. Langaha madagascariensis also exhibits hooding while stalking prey. These hooding and swaying behaviours along with its cryptic colour patterns, migh...
Are IFRS-based and US GAAP-based accounting amounts comparable? $

Abstract This study examines whether application of IFRS by non-US firms results in accounting amounts comparable to those resulting from application of US GAAP by US firms. IFRS firms have greater accounting system and value relevance comparability with US firms when IFRS firms apply IFRS than when they applied domestic standards. Comparability is greater for firms that adopt IFRS mandatorily, firms in common law and high enforcement countries, and in more recent years. Earnings smoothing, accrual quality, and timeliness are potential sources of the greater comparability. Although application of IFRS has enhanced financial reporting comparability with US firms, significant differences remain.
Science education in an urban elementary school: Case studies of teacher beliefs and classroom practices

Through a case study approach, the state of science education in an urban elementary school was examined in detail. Observations made from the perspective of a science education specialist, an educational psychologist, and an expert elementary teacher were triangulated to provide a set of perspectives from which elementary science instruction could be examined. Findings revealed that teachers were more poorly prepared than had been anticipated, both in terms of science content knowledge and instructional skills, but also with respect to the quality of classroom pedagogical and management skills. Particularly significant, from a science education perspective, was the inconsistency between how they perceived their teaching practice (a “hands-on,” inquiry-based approach) and the investigator-observed expository nature of the lessons. Lessons were typically expository in nature, with little higher-level interaction of significance. Implications for practice and the associated needs for staff development among urban elementary teachers is discussed within the context of these findings. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed85:89–110, 2001.
On the segregation of protein ionic residues by charge type

Based on ubiquitous presence of large ionic motifs and clusters in proteins involved in gene transcription and protein synthesis, we analyzed the distribution of ionizable sidechains in a broad selection of proteins with regulatory, metabolic, structural and adhesive functions, in agonist, antagonist, toxin and antimicrobial peptides, and in self-excising inteins and intron-derived proteins and sequence constructs. All tested groups, regardless of taxa or sequence size, show considerable segregation of ionizable sidechains into same type charge (homoionic) tracts. These segments in most cases exceed half of the sequence length and comprise more than two-thirds of all ionizable sidechains. This distribution of ionic residues apparently reflects a fundamental advantage of sorted electrostatic contacts in association of sequence elements within and between polypeptides, as well as in interaction with polynucleotides. While large ionic densities are encountered in highly interactive proteins, the average ionic density in most sets does not change appreciably with size of the homoionic segments, which supports the segregation as a modular feature favoring association.
Isospin diffusion in heavy-ion collisions and the neutron skin thickness of lead

The correlation between the thickness of the neutron skin in $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ and the degree of isospin diffusion in heavy-ion collisions is examined. The same equation of state is used to compute the degree of isospin diffusion in an isospin-depedent transport model and the neutron skin thickness in the Hartree-Fock approximation. We find that skin thicknesses less than 0.15 fm are excluded by the isospin diffusion data.
Regulation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels of neuronal cells by chronic changes in membrane potential

Abstract The regulation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels by chronic changes in membrane potential was studied by measuring the binding of [3H]nitrendipine to membranes from PC12 pheochromocytoma cells. Depolarization of the cells by elevation of extracellular K+ caused up to a 45% loss of [3H]nitrendipine binding sites within 4 days without any change inKd. Repolarization of the cells caused a return to control binding within 1–2 days, showing that either decreases or increases in membrane potential can cause reversible changes in [3H]nitrendipine binding sites.
Dynamic strain measurements with a luminescent photoelastic coating

Over the past few years, the luminescent photoelastic coating technique has been extended to acquire principal strain measurements on static, three-dimensional structural components under load. The approach uses oblique incident excitation and digital imaging of the luminescence; subsequent analysis is performed on a three-dimension grid compatible with finite element analysis. This paper discusses the initial efforts to extend the technique for dynamically loaded specimens in which the excitation is strobed in synchronization with the load application cycle.