cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alloy Design of Ordered Intermetallics

Ordered intermetallics based on aluminides and silicides constitute a unique class of metallic materials promising high-temperature properties. However, brittle fracture and poor ductility limited their use as engineering materials in most cases. During the past ten years extensive research has been conducted on ordered intermetallics. As a result, significant progress has been made in identifying various causes of brittle fracture, and their relative importance in different ordered alloys. In some cases this understanding has helped achieve dramatic improvements in ductility. We review here three different classes of brittle fracture in ordered intermetallics and discuss the results in terms of model alloy systems chosen from each class. Ni{sub 3}Al and NiAl are discussed as prototypical ordered alloys prone to intrinsic intergranular brittleness. They are used to review our current understanding of intrinsically weak grain boundaries and the mechanisms by which boron is thought to suppress intergranular fracture. Next, FeAl and Fe{sub 3}Al are discussed as examples of ordered intermetallics that are susceptible to environmental embrittlement at ambient temperature. Recent discoveries in these two alloy systems are reviewed with special emphasis on some of the rather interesting but subtle effects of test environment. Finally, Al{sub 3}X type intermetallic (Al{sub 3}Sc,Al{sub 3}Ti-base, andmore » Al{sub 3}Zr-base alloys) are discussed as examples of ordered alloys that have high symmetry (Ll{sub 2} structure), are relatively soft, yet cleave transgranularly with very little ductility. In all these cases, experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations. 125 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.« less
Evaluation of a technique involving processing with feature extraction to enhance the intelligibility of noise-corrupted speech

Results obtained in an experimental evaluation of speech intelligibility of an adaptive processing technique designed to enhance the intelligibility of speech in noise are presented. The technique relies on speech features extracted from noise-corrupted speech to control a cepstral processor. The speech-processing algorithm has been improved over the fundamental technique described by R.J. Conway and R.J. Niederjohn (1987). The evaluation method makes use of a computer implementation of a modified version of the diagnostic rhyme test. Results for four subject and several signal-to-noise ratios are presented. >
Is it safe to use a kinetic therapy bed for care of patients with cervical spine injuries

Abstract Introduction Bedrest is often used for temporary management, as well as definitive treatment, for many spinal injuries. Under such circumstances patients cannot remain flat for extended periods due to possible skin breakdown, blood clots, or pulmonary complications. Kinetic therapy beds are often used in the critical care setting, although this is felt to be unsafe for turning patients with spine fractures. We sought to evaluate whether a kinetic therapy bed would cause as much spinal motion at an unstable cervical injury as occurs during manual log-rolling on a standard intensive care unit bed. Methods Unstable C5–C6 ligamentous injuries were surgically created in 15 fresh, whole cadavers. Sensors were affixed to C5 and C6 posteriorly and electromagnetic motion tracking analysis performed. In all cases a cervical collar was applied by an orthotist after creation of the injury. The amount of angular motion and linear displacement that occurred at this injured level was measured during manual log-rolling and patient turning using a kinetic therapy bed. For statistical analysis, the range of motion for angles about each axis and displacement in each direction was analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures. Results When comparing manual log-rolling and kinetic bed therapy, significantly more angular motion was created by the log-roll manoeuvre in flexion–extension ( p = 0.03) and lateral bending ( p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in axial rotation between the two methods ( p = 0.80). There were no significant differences demonstrated in medial–lateral and anterior–posterior translation. There was almost two times the axial displacement between manual log-rolling and the kinetic therapy bed and this reached statistical significance ( p = 0.05). Conclusion There is less motion at an unstable cervical injury in flexion–extension, lateral bending, and axial displacement when turning a patient using a kinetic therapy bed as opposed to traditional manual log-rolling. It may be preferable to use a kinetic therapy bed rather than manual log-rolling for patients with cervical spine injuries to decrease unwanted spinal motion. In addition, it may be easier and less physically demanding on nursing staff that must regularly turn the patient if manual log-rolling is implemented.
Calculation of diffraction coefficients of three-dimensional infinite conducting wedges using FDTD

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is applied to obtain the three-dimensional (3-D) dyadic diffraction coefficient of infinite right-angle perfect electrical conductor (PEC) wedges illuminated by a plane wave. The FDTD results are in good agreement with the well-known asymptotic solutions obtained using the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD). In principle, this method can be extended to calculate diffraction coefficients for 3-D infinite material wedges having a variety of wedge angles and compositions.
The sensitivity of terrestrial carbon storage to climate change

The role of the terrestrial biosphere in controlling atmospheric CO2 levels during climate perturbations is estimated. Simulations are used to calculate the local geographical distribution of vegetation during the last glacial maximum. The known changes in sea level at this time, together with the simulated climate-driven spatial arrangement of vegetation, result in a mass transfer of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the atmosphere ranging from 30 Gt (corresponding to 15 ppm CO2) to -50 Gt (25 ppm). Thus, although the biosphere may have contributed to the decrease in atmospheric CO2 at 80 ppm, known to have occurred at 18 kyr, it does not seem to have been a dominant factor. For simulations run with twice the present-day CO2 levels, strong negative feedbacks appear which remove 235 Gt of carbon from the atmosphere.
First-year benthic recovery of a headwater stream following a 3-year insecticide-induced disturbance

SUMMARY 1. A headwater stream (C54) was treated seasonally (twelve times from December 1985 to October 1988) with the insecticide methoxychlor for 3 years, resulting in 72 and 75% reductions of insect abundances and biomass, respectively. Following treatment, monthly benthic abundances and biomass were measured in the treated stream and a nearby reference stream (C55) in order to assess recovery. Seasonal average abundances and biomass were calculated from samples taken from December 1988—December 1989, the first post-treatment year of C54. 2. Non-insect abundances and biomass were higher in the recovering stream during the winter + spring and summer periods, but were similar to the reference stream by autumn. Abundances and biomass of collector—filterers, scrapers, and shredders were all lower in the recovering stream during winter + spring; however filterers and scrapers were similar to reference stream values by the end of the recovery year. No distinct differences were seen between collector-gatherers and predators throughout the year. 3. Univoltine and multivoltine taxa, along with treatment-resistant taxa, were the most important contributors to recovery of C54. Taxa with longer generation times, life histories which were more vulnerable to timing of treatments, and/or poor dispersal abilities were poorly represented during first-year recovery. 4. Abundance data alone were not sufficient for a complete analysis of recovery. Biomass estimates reflected differences in taxonomic composition and developmental stages between streams after 1 year of recovery.
A Hierarchy of Attitudes Toward Exceptionality

The responses of 122 university students to 24 statements expressing attitudes toward the school integration and community integration of 11 groups of exceptionality and the normal were submitted to an ordering-theoretic data-analysis procedure. The nonlinear hierarchy of contingent relationships among the exceptionalities in each attitude domain were interpreted with reference to previous research and contemporary special education theory and practice. The results illustrate the usefulness of ordering theory, a new measurement model, for building a theory concerning the interrelated network of attitudes toward exceptionalities.
Image denoising using a neural network based non-linear filter in wavelet domain

Images are often corrupted as a result of various factors that can occur during acquisition and transmission processes. Image denoising is aimed at removing or reducing noise, so that a good-quality image can be obtained for various applications. The paper presents a neural network based denoising method implemented in the wavelet transform domain. A noisy image is first wavelet transformed into four subbands, then a trained layered neural network is applied to each subband to generate noise-removed wavelet coefficients from their noisy ones. The denoised image is thereafter obtained through the inverse transform on the noise-removed wavelet coefficients. Simulation results demonstrate that this method is very efficient in removing noise. Compared with other methods performed in the wavelet domain, it requires no a priori knowledge about the noise and needs only one level of signal decomposition to obtain very good denoising results.
Study of nuclei far from stability with the AYE-Ball array

The coupling of a Compton-suppressed Ge (CsGe) detector array to a recoil mass separator (RMS) has seen limited use in the past due to the low efficiency for measuring recoil-γ ray coincidences (< 0.1%).With the building of new generation recoil separators and gamma-ray arrays, a substantial increase in detection efficiency has been achieved. This allows for the opportunity to measure excited states in nuclei with cross-sections approaching 100 nb. In this paper, results from the coupling of a modest array of CsGe detectors (AYE-Ball) with a recoil separator (FMA) will be presented.
Cleaner technologies as an aspect of sustainable tourism : Caribbean case studies

of a Dissertation Submitted to the College of Business and Economic Development of the University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Sexual Attitudes in a Group of Older Women

(1981). Sexual Attitudes in a Group of Older Women. Issues in Mental Health Nursing: Vol. 3, No. 1-2, pp. 109-122.
Interaction between the Negative Regulator of Splicing Element and a 3′ Splice Site: Requirement for U1 Small Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein and the 3′ Splice Site Branch Point/Pyrimidine Tract

The negative regulator of splicing (NRS) from Rous sarcoma virus suppresses viral RNA splicing and is one of several cis elements that account for the accumulation of large amounts of unspliced RNA for use as gag-pol mRNA and progeny virion genomic RNA. The NRS can also inhibit splicing of heterologous introns in vivo and in vitro. Previous data showed that the splicing factors SF2/ASF and U1, U2, and U11 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) bind the NRS, and a correlation was established between SF2/ASF and U11 binding and activity, suggesting that these factors are important for function. These observations, and the finding that a large spliceosome-like complex (NRS-C) assembles on NRS RNA in nuclear extract, led to the proposal that the NRS is recognized as a minor-class 5' splice site. One model to explain NRS splicing inhibition holds that the NRS interacts nonproductively with and sequesters U2-dependent 3' splice sites. In this study, we provide evidence that the NRS interacts with an adenovirus 3' splice site. The interaction was dependent on the integrity of the branch point and pyrimidine tract of the 3' splice site, and it was sensitive to a mutation that was previously shown to abolish U11 snRNP binding and NRS function. However, further mutational analyses of NRS sequences have identified a U1 binding site that overlaps the U11 site, and the interaction with the 3' splice site correlated with U1, not U11, binding. These results show that the NRS can interact with a 3' splice site and suggest that U1 is of primary importance for NRS splicing inhibition.
Defects related to electrical-leakage in TMOS structures

TMOS devices for power applications use ion-implantation for doped layers. Implant-damage can increase electrical leakage of devices. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the effect of dose (4E14--2E15 cm{sup {minus}2}) and energy (20--40 keV) of p{sup +} implants on damage related to leakage in TMOS structures. TEM reveals a high density of boron implant-induced defects such as end-of-range and peak-of-implant damage, boron implant-induced stacking faults and dislocations. End-of-range defects also arise from an arsenic implant, and mask-edge defects arise where arsenic-amorphized Si and crystalline Si meet in the source region. Some defects extend >0.5 {micro}m into the substrate. The density and the extent of defect penetration decrease with decreasing implant-dose and energy. These data correlate well with the electrical data, which show that I{sub dss} leakage decreases with decreasing p{sup +} implant-energy and dose.
Credentials for Peripheral Angioplasty: Comments on Society of Cardiac Angiography and Intervention Revisions

SETTING credentials for physician qualifications to perform peripheral vascular angioplasty and stent placement has become contentious. Credentialing is the process by which hospitals determine which physicians are both competent and permitted to perform particular procedures. Competency is determined by the physician having performed a sufficient number of training cases with acceptable outcomes. Standards for credentials to perform peripheral vascular interventions have been published by multiple sources, including the Society of Interventional Radiology, the American College of Radiology, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Intervention, and the Society for Vascular Surgery, as well as independent business organizations. These standards do not necessarily agree with each other (Table) and may be motivated by political and economic interests. The Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has recently published revised guidelines for the performance of peripheral vascular interventions (5). The revision deals with three purported needs: (i) the need for specialty specific training, (ii) the medical need for cardiologists to treat iliac and renal lesions as part of good cardiac care, and (iii) the need for tiered categories of competency allowing an interventional cardiologist to perform renal or iliac interventions after only three proctored cases. Unrestricted competency to treat any peripheral lesion would still require documented performance of 100 peripheral arterial diagnostic angiograms and 50 peripheral angioplasty procedures. The following comments address each of these purported needs individually.
Evidence for orographic wave heating in the equatorial thermosphere at solar maximum

Fabry Perot interferometer observations of equatorial 630 nm airglow thermospheric winds and temperatures were made at Arequipa, Peru (16.5 S, 71.5 W) during the solar maximum years of 1989 and 1990. Examination of the thermospheric winds measured from Doppler shifts of the 630 nm airglow emission in the two directions east and west of Arequipa shows that the zonal wind is often significantly weaker over the Andes (east) than over the Pacific (west) in winter. Between 19 LT and 24 LT, the typical reductions in speed found were ∼40 to 70 m/s. In the same time period the temperature results show elevated values of ∼200-500 K for the three directions (north, east, and zenith) over mountainous terrain compared with those of the two directions (west and south) over water. This effect fades near equinoctial periods. Examination of the standard deviation of the temperature ohservations for the five directions showed an increase in this value above the measurement error hy a factor of three for the direction toward the Andes (East) but not for the direction over water (South) ; this elevation is consistent with wave activity as a source of the heating. Viscous dissipation of waves propagating into the thermosphere region from below is suggested as an explanation for the localized regions of heating.
The Manganese-Calcium Cluster of the Oxygen-Evolving System: Synthetic Models, EPR Studies, and Electronic Structure Calculations

Manganese plays a variety of roles in enzymes [1], such as for example arginase, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of arginine, forming urea and ornithine as products [2–4]. Given the biological accessibility of at least three oxidation states — MnII, MnIII, and MnIV — it is not surprising that manganese is also involved in important redox reactions [5]. Beside the well-known manganese superoxide dismutase and manganese catalase enzymes where Mn plays a role that can also be served by Fe or other metals, manganese exclusively acts as an oxidizer of water in the pentanuclear Mn4Ca cluster of Photosystem II. This cluster carries out the fourelectron oxidation of two H2O molecules to O2, providing nearly all of the free molecular oxygen in our atmosphere.
Plasma pyridoxal and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentrations in response to ingestion of water or glucose polymer during a 2-h run.

The effects of ingesting a glucose polymer solution (GP) or water (W) on plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) and pyridoxal (PL) concentrations were compared in six men (age: 30 +/- 2 y; VO2max: 57.4 +/- 3.2 mL.kg-1.min-1) under running (R) and control (C) conditions. Subjects ran for 2 h at 60-65% of VO2max for R and remained standing for C. For both R and C, 200 mL W or GP was ingested before (0-time) and every 30 min while running (30, 60, and 90 min). Plasma PLP decreased to 95% and 87% of 0-time at 180 min for WC and GPC and increased to 126% and 119% at 90 min and to 124% and 119% at 120 min for WR and GPR. By 60 min postrun, plasma PLP was 98% (WR) and 101% (GPR) of 0-time. There were no significant differences between W and GP conditions. Changes in PLP were not related to plasma volume or blood glucose, free fatty acids, lactate, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, or alanine aminotransferase. No significant changes in plasma PL were noted. Exercise induces an increase in plasma PLP, perhaps due to transfer of B-6 vitamers from liver to skeletal muscle.
A comparison of decoherence-free subsystem/subspace for partially-broken symmetry

We study the performance of the 3-quhit decoherence-free subsystem and the 4-quhitdecoherence-free subspace in the presence of partially correlated noise. We characterizetheir performance in terms of the average and worst-case fidelity, as a function of the ratioof the interqubit distance to the correlation length of the noise, and find that, in general,more symmetric arrangements (triangles or squares) lead to better performance. Overall,we find the 3-quhit code to perform better than the 4-quhit code by about a factor of 2in the average infidelity. We observe that this is related to the greater robustness of thiscode against uncorrelated (independent) errors.
Reduced arginine availability and nitric oxide synthesis in cancer is related to impaired endogenous arginine synthesis.

Reduced plasma arginine (ARG) concentrations are found in various types of cancer. ARG and its product nitric oxide (NO) are important mediators in the immune function and the defense against tumor cells. It remains unclear whether the diminished systemic ARG availability in cancer is related to insufficient endogenous ARG synthesis, negatively affecting NO synthesis, and whether a dietary amino acid mixture is able to restore this. In 13 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 11 healthy controls, whole body ARG and CIT rates of appearance were measured by stable isotope methodology before and after intake of a mixture of amino acids as present in whey protein. The conversions of CIT to ARG (indicator of de novo ARG synthesis) and ARG to CIT (marker of NO synthesis), and ARG clearance (reflecting ARG disposal capacity) were calculated. Plasma isotopic enrichments and amino acid concentrations were measured by LC-MS/MS. Conversions of CIT to ARG and ARG to CIT ( P <0.05), and CIT rate of appearance ( P =0.07) were lower in NSCLC. ARG rate of appearance and clearance were comparable suggesting no enhanced systemic ARG production and disposal capacity in NSCLC. After intake of the mixture, ARG rate of appearance and concentration increased ( P <0.001), and ARG to CIT conversion was restored in NSCLC. In conclusion, an impaired endogenous ARG synthesis plays a role in the reduced systemic ARG availability and NO synthesis in advanced NSCLC. Nutritional approaches may restore systemic ARG availability and NO synthesis in cancer, but the clinical implication remains unclear.
Collection and liquefaction of guinea pig semen.

SummaryA method and an apparatus for routine electroejaculation of guinea pigs were developed, the semen coagulum or “vaginal plug ”examined, and the coagulation process described. A series of prot...
Pseudo-single-bunch with adjustable frequency: a new operation mode for synchrotron light sources.

We present the concept and results of pseudo-single-bunch (PSB) operation---a new operational mode at the advanced light source---that can greatly expand the capabilities of synchrotron light sources to carry out dynamics and time-of-flight experiments. In PSB operation, a single electron bunch is displaced transversely from the other electron bunches using a short-pulse, high-repetition-rate kicker magnet. Experiments that require light emitted only from a single bunch can stop the light emitted from the other bunches using a collimator. Other beam lines will only see a small reduction in flux due to the displaced bunch. As a result, PSB eliminates the need to schedule multibunch and timing experiments during different running periods. Furthermore, the time spacing of PSB pulses can be adjusted from milliseconds to microseconds with a novel ``kick-and-cancel'' scheme, which can significantly alleviate complications of using high-power choppers and substantially reduce the rate of sample damage.
Rapid Algorithm Integration in the JPSS CGS

The NOAA-NASA jointly-acquired Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES). The ground system, known as the ‘Common Ground System (CGS)’, and developed by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) provides command, control, and communications (C3) and data processing and product delivery. The CGS currently flies the Suomi NPP (S-NPP) satellite and routes mission data to U.S. ground facilities, where it processes the data into mission products and provides them to US weather centrals. The CGS also supports various levels of data acquisition, routing and processing for multiple other missions across the globe today, with plans for incorporation of more missions in the future. CGS’s data processing capability (the Interface Data Processing Segment, or IDPS) processes the satellite data from S-NPP and provides environmental data products (including Sensor Data Records (SDRs) and Environmental Data Records (EDRs)) to the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF). As data processing algorithms evolve, these changes will have to migrate into the operational system. In the past, operationalizing science algorithms and integrating them into active systems often required months of work. In order to significantly shorten the time and effort required for this activity, Raytheon has developed tools, processes, and techniques to enable rapid algorithm integration into the CGS. These include the Algorithm Development Library (ADL), the Binary Algorithm Adapter (BAA), and the Accelerated Release Cycle (ARC). This paper describes the tools and processes CGS has implemented to speed the science to operations implementation process, as well as comparisons between implementation timelines before and after the tools were in place.
Dynamics of the 3MLCT in Ru(II) Terpyridyl Complexes Probed by Ultrafast Spectroscopy: Evidence of Excited-State Equilibration and Interligand Electron Transfer

Ground- and excited-state properties of [Ru(tpy)2]2+, [Ru(tpy)(ttpy)]2+, and [Ru(ttpy)2]2+ (where tpy = 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine and ttpy =4′-(4-methylphenyl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine) in room temperature acetonitrile have been investigated using linear absorption, electrochemical, and ultrafast transient pump–probe techniques. Spectroelectrochemistry was used to assign features observed in the transient spectra while single wavelength kinetics collected at a variety of probe wavelengths were used to monitor temporal evolution of the MLCT excited state. From these data, the excited-state lifetime of each complex was recovered and the rate limiting decay step was identified. In the bis-heteroleptic complex [Ru(tpy)(ttpy)]2+, photoexcitation to the 1MLCT manifold generates both tpy-localized and ttpy-localized excited states. Accordingly, interligand electron transfer (ILET) from tpy-localized to the ttpy-localized 3MLCT excited states is observable and the time scale has been measured to be 3 ps. For the homol...
Preliminaries and Incidence Geometry (I)

This chapter contains a brief summary of several types of mathematical knowledge needed to read this book, including the elements of logic, set theory, mapping theory, and algebraic structures such as number systems and vector spaces. Definitions of basis, dimension, linear mappings, isomorphism, matrices and determinants are given; there is also discussion of the roles of axioms, theorems, and definitions in a mathematical theory. The main development of the book begins here with the statement of eight incidence axioms and proof of a few theorems including one from Desargues.
Teaching Public Finance Administration Online: A Case Study

This article reports the case study results of an online MPA public finance administration course. The course differed from other formats in that it was conducted primarily through texts and electr...
Measuring War in Early Modern East Asia, 1368–1841: Introducing Chinese and Korean Language Sources

How much war was there in early modern East Asia? This article empirically corroborates characterizations of relations between Sinic East Asian polities as being unusually peaceful and stable, which we attribute to the participants’ shared subscription to a common and accepted hierarchy framed by a Confucian worldview. More broadly, we provide direct empirical evidence that international hierarchies derive their stability from cultural consensus rather than simply asymmetries in material power. We make these claims by addressing the extent, range, and patterns of war in early modern East Asia by introducing and describing an extensive dataset of over 1,100 entries that measures war and other violence in early modern East Asia from 1368 to 1841 and relies principally on both Chinese and Korean language sources. The combination of these two Asian language sources forms the basis of a unique dataset that will substantially widen and complement the largely Chinese or English language sources that are generally used in debating war in early modern East Asia. Asia was composed of much more than simply China, and bringing in scholarship from other areas of early modern East Asia reflects a trend of moving past national studies to research the region more holistically.
Phytoextraction of contaminated urban soils by Panicum virgatum L. enhanced with application of a plant growth regulator (BAP) and citric acid

Lead (Pb) contamination in soil represents a threat to human health. Phytoextraction has gained attention as a potential alternative to traditional remediation methods because of lower cost and minimal soil disruption. The North American native switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) was targeted due to its ability to produce high biomass and grow across a variety of ecozones. In this study switchgrass was chemically enhanced with applications of the soil-fungicide benomyl, chelates (EDTA and citric acid), and PGR to optimize phytoextraction of Pb and zinc (Zn) from contaminated urban soils in Atlanta, GA. Exogenous application of two plant hormones was compared in multiple concentrations to determine effects on switchgrass growth: indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and Gibberellic Acid (GA3), and one PGR benzylaminopurine (BAP), The PGR BAP (1.0 μM) was found to generate a 48% increase in biomass compared to Control plants. Chemical application of citric acid, EDTA, benomyl, and BAP were tested separately and in combination in a pot experiment in an environmentally controlled greenhouse to determine the efficacy of phtyoextraction by switchgrass. Soil acidification by citric acid application resulted in highest level of aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) in plants foliage resulting in severe phytotoxic effects. Total Pb phytoextraction was significantly highest in plants treated with combined chemical application of B + C and B + C + H. Suppression of AMF activities by benomyl application significantly increased concentrations of Al and Fe in roots. Application of benomyl reduced AMF colonization but was also shown to dramatically increase levels of septa fungi infection as compared to Control plants.
Analytical Microbiology: A Perspective

The term “Analytical Microbiology” describes the application of analytical chemistry to identification, structure elucidation, systematics, diagnosis, and detection in microbiology. The most widely applied instrumental chemical techniques have been the various forms of gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). These and other analytical techniques (e.g., high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) and the “hyphenated” methods (including GG-MS, HPLC-MS and MS-MS) can be used to detect trace levels and to identify monomers, oligomers, or polymers derived from microorganisms. Chemical information from these analyses can be of great benefit in medicine, ecology, biotechnology, as well as in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Classical microbiological or biochemical procedures may not be sufficiently sensitive, selective, quantitative, or rapid in some instances. Instrumental approaches, hitherto considered the realm of the chemist, have found application in microbiological analysis. We perceive four major areas in analytical microbiology where chromatography and mass spectrometry are having impact.
Development and delivery of an interdisciplinary course in mobile health (mHealth)

Abstract Background Interdisciplinary practice is a primary focus within the United States health care system. Despite the existence of interdisciplinary educational efforts in pharmacy for many years, the practice only recently entered mainstream health care education. Informatics offers interdisciplinary educational opportunities. Mobile health (mHealth), an informatics sub-discipline, is the use of mobile devices for health and wellness activities. We used the mHealth domain as the context for an interdisciplinary learning experience for pharmacy and computer science and software engineering (CSSE) students. Educational activity Educational activities focused on creating an mHealth course sequence and an mHealth application (app). Students worked in teams to complete various assignments, including developing and presenting a course proposal, building a purchase plan for mHealth equipment, developing an mHealth app prototype, delivering a disease state presentation (pharmacy students only), developing use case scenarios (CSSE students only), and completing peer evaluations. Critical analysis of the educational activity Course evaluations were only available from pharmacy students. They indicated an overall favorable rating (mean 3.27–3.55; 4=strongly agree). Survey data collected after students entered the workforce indicated that students felt better prepared than their colleagues to work with individuals from other disciplines (mean 4.82; 5=strongly agree). Students also indicated using the knowledge from course proposal development in their careers (mean 4.27; 5=strongly agree). Through team interactions, students learned from each other while overcoming challenges related to terminology and content areas. Skills learned through team interactions reflect real-world processes and are expected to support students’ future professional responsibilities.
The agenda-setting power of fake news: A big data analysis of the online media landscape from 2014 to 2016

This study examines the agenda-setting power of fake news and fact-checkers who fight them through a computational look at the online mediascape from 2014 to 2016. Although our study confirms that content from fake news websites is increasing, these sites do not exert excessive power. Instead, fake news has an intricately entwined relationship with online partisan media, both responding and setting its issue agenda. In 2016, partisan media appeared to be especially susceptible to the agendas of fake news, perhaps due to the election. Emerging news media are also responsive to the agendas of fake news, but to a lesser degree. Fake news coverage itself is diverging and becoming more autonomous topically. While fact-checkers are autonomous in their selection of issues to cover, they were not influential in determining the agenda of news media overall, and their influence appears to be declining, illustrating the difficulties fact-checkers face in disseminating their corrections.
Challenges and Solutions for Applying the Travel Cost Demand Model to Geographically Remote Visitor Destinations: A Case Study of Bear Viewing at Katmai National Park and Preserve

ABSTRACTRemote and unique destinations present difficulties when attempting to construct traditional travel cost models to value recreation demand. The biggest limitation comes from the lack of variation in the dependent variable, defined as the number of trips taken over a set time frame. There are various approaches that can be used for overcoming limitations of the traditional travel cost model in the context of remote destinations. This study applies an adaptation of the standard model to estimate recreation benefits of bear viewing at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, which represents a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many visitors. Results demonstrate that visitors to this park’s Brooks Camp area are willing to pay an average of US$287 per day of bear viewing. Implications of these findings for valuing recreation at other remote destinations are discussed.
Next-generation sequencing technologies and their application to the study and control of bacterial infections.

Abstract Background With the efficiency and the decreasing cost of next-generation sequencing, the technology is being rapidly introduced into clinical and public health laboratory practice. Aims The historical background and principles of first-, second- and third-generation sequencing are described, as are the characteristics of the most commonly used sequencing instruments. Sources Peer-reviewed literature, white papers and meeting reports. Content and implications Next-generation sequencing is a technology that could potentially replace many traditional microbiological workflows, providing clinicians and public health specialists with more actionable information than hitherto achievable. Examples of the clinical and public health uses of the technology are provided. The challenge of comparability of different sequencing platforms is discussed. Finally, the future directions of the technology integrating it with laboratory management and public health surveillance systems, and moving it towards performing sequencing directly from the clinical specimen (metagenomics), could lead to yet another fundamental transformation of clinical diagnostics and public health surveillance.
Characterization of Cellulose-Degrading Microbiota from The Eastern Subterranean Termite and Soil

Background: While there have been a lot of studies on the termite gut microbiota, there has been very little research directly on the cellulose-degrading microbiota in termites or their soil environment. This study addresses this problem by profiling cellulose-degrading bacteria and archaea in the selective cellulose cultures of two samples of the eastern subterranean termite ( Reticulitermes flavipes ) and one soil sample collected at the same location as one of the termite samples. Methods: All the cultures were examined for cell concentration and remaining cellulose after the culture was completed. The 16S rRNA pyrotag sequencing method was used to identify the prokaryotic microbiota for the three cultures and one termite colony without culture. The MOTHUR, SSU-ALIGN, RDPTools, phyloseq, and other R packages were used for sequence and statistical analyses. Results: Biochemical analyses of the cultures suggested high efficiency of cellulose degradation. Comparative analyses between the cultured and uncultured termite gut microbiota revealed a significant difference. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were found to be the two most abundant phyla of cellulose-degrading bacteria from the three cultures, but different classes within each phylum dominated the different samples. Shared and sample-specific cellulose-degrading taxa, including a core set of taxa across all the cultures, were identified. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the importance of using selective cellulose culture to study the cellulose-degrading microbial community. It also revealed that the cellulose-degrading microbiota in the eastern subterranean termite is significantly influenced by the microbiota in the surrounding soil environment. Biochemical analyses showed that the microbial communities enriched from all the selective cultures were efficient in degrading cellulose, and a core set of bacteria have been identified as targets for further functional analyses.
Steroid hormone-induced prostate carcinogenesis in the Noble (NBL) rat: the effects of an aromatase inhibitor and catechol estrogens

120 While it is known that estrogens regulate various functions in males, their role in prostate carcinogenesis remains unclear. To better understand the possible role of estrogens in the etiology of this disease, we have conducted studies in the Noble (NBL) rat, a strain that develops prostate tumors following chronic treatment (6-12 months) with steroid hormones. Treatment with testosterone (T) by s.c. Silastic tubing (approx. 45 microg/day) results in approx. 35-40% dorsolateral prostate (DLP) tumor incidence; the addition of estradiol-17β (E 2 , approx. 1.6 μg/day s.c.) increases tumor incidence to 100%. Inflammatory changes and dysplasia (= intraepithelial neoplasia) in the lateral prostate are evident after 13-16 weeks in T+E 2 -treated rats. Because T can be converted to E 2 by the enzyme aromatase, estrogens and their putatively carcinogenic catechol metabolites may play a role in this model. Therefore, we tested the effect of aromatase inhibition by letrozole in male NBL rats. Letrozole (up to 133 μg/day) or catechol estrogens (approx. 4.8 μg/day) were given by s.c. implant (Innovative Technologies) for 3 weeks with and without T. Letrozole reversed the T-induced increased weight selectively in the DLP in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting conversion of T to E 2 as a mechanism of action for T-induced weight increase and possibly carcinogenicity in the DLP. However, LC-MS-MS analysis of serum and tissue samples from these animals revealed complex patterns and considerable inter-individual variability in estrogen metabolites, with no discernible pattern that could explain the DLP weight differences. The catechol estrogen metabolites 2-hydroxyestradiol and 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE 2 ) were neither toxic (no effect on growth) nor estrogenic (no pituitary enlargement) when given to male rats for up to 13 weeks by s.c implant. After 3 weeks, levels of these catechol estrogens and their metabolites were increased by approx. 2- to 4-fold in serum and prostate tissue in these rats. Furthermore, considerably increased levels of the N7-guanine and N3-adenine DNA adducts of 4-hydroxyestrogen were found in the serum and prostate of rats given 4-OHE 2 . In addition, there was no evidence of inflammatory changes and dysplasia seen in the lateral prostate following T+E 2 treatment. These data indicate that (1) aromatase inhibition may not a suitable approach to study the role of estrogen metabolism in testosterone-induced prostate carcinogenesis, and (2) 4-hydroxylated estrogen metabolites cause DNA adducts but appear not to be sufficient for induction of pre-neoplastic lesions that occur in the prostate of T+E 2 treated NBL rats, perhaps because these metabolites lack estrogenic activity. (Supported by Grants No. CA104334, CA49210, and DAMD17-02-1-0660.)
Universality of the Sodium Ion Binding Mechanism in Class A G-Protein-Coupled Receptors.

The allosteric modulation of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) by sodium ions has received significant attention as crystal structures of several receptors show Na+ ions bound to the inactive conformations at the conserved Asp2.50 . To date, structures from 24 families of GPCRs have been determined, though mechanistic insights into Na+ binding to the allosteric site are limited. We performed hundreds-of-microsecond long simulations of 18 GPCRs and elucidated their Na+ binding mechanism. In class A GPCRs, the Na+ ion binds to the conserved residue 2.50 whereas in class B receptors, it binds at 3.43b, 6.53b, and 7.49b. Using Markov state models, we obtained the free energy profiles and kinetics of Na+ binding to the allosteric site, which reveal a conserved mechanism of Na+ binding for GPCRs and show the residues that act as major barriers for ion diffusion. Furthermore, we also show that the Na+ ion can bind to GPCRs from the intracellular side when the allosteric site is inaccessible from the extracellular side.
The Associations Between Mental Health Status, Hypertension, and Hospital Inpatient Visits in Women in the United States.

BACKGROUND Poor mental health status is more prevalent in women and may be related to poor hypertension outcomes and increased hospital inpatient visits. This study aims to find the association between mental health status and hypertension in women and the combined effect of mental health status and hypertension on hospital inpatient visits in women in the United States. METHODS The household component of 2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS) was analyzed (N = 9,137). Kessler (K6) scale for mental health status (poor, good/excellent), hypertension (yes, no), and hospital inpatient visits (yes, no) were examined. A combined effect variable for mental health status and hypertension was created. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS After adjusting for confounders, women who reported poor mental health had significantly higher odds of hypertension compared to women who reported good/excellent mental health (AOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.68). Further, women who reported hypertension coupled with poor mental health had higher odds of having hospital inpatient visits compared to women who reported no hypertension coupled with good/excellent mental health in the adjusted analysis (AOR = 3.03, 95% CI = 1.96, 4.69). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant association between mental health status and hypertension in women. Further, poor mental health status coupled with hypertension leads to increase hospital inpatient visits for women. It is important that health professionals focus on utilizing available screening tools to assess mental health status of women for early detection and to manage the disorder.
Wait a Minute! A fast, Cross-VM Attack on AES

In cloud computing, efficiencies are reaped by resource sharing such as co-location of computation and deduplication of data. This work exploits resource sharing in virtualization software to build a powerful cache-based attack on AES. We demonstrate the vulnerability by mounting Cross-VM Flush+Reload cache attacks in VMware VMs to recover the keys of an AES implementation of OpenSSL 1.0.1 running inside the victim VM. Furthermore, the attack works in a realistic setting where different VMs are located on separate cores. The modified flush+reload attack we present, takes only in the order of seconds to minutes to succeed in a cross-VM setting. Therefore long term co-location, as required by other fine grain attacks in the literature, are not needed. The results of this study show that there is a great security risk to OpenSSL AES implementation running on VMware cloud services when the deduplication is not disabled.
Assembly of three-dimensional binary superlattices from multi-flavored particles

Binary superlattices constructed from nano- or micron-sized colloidal particles have a wide variety of applications, including the design of advanced materials. Self-assembly of such crystals from their constituent colloids can be achieved in practice by, among other means, the functionalization of colloid surfaces with single-stranded DNA sequences. However, when driven by DNA, this assembly is traditionally premised on the pairwise interaction between a single DNA sequence and its complement, and often relies on particle size asymmetry to entropically control the crystalline arrangement of its constituents. The recently proposed “multi-flavoring” motif for DNA functionalization, wherein multiple distinct strands of DNA are grafted in different ratios to different colloids, can be used to experimentally realize a binary mixture in which all pairwise interactions are independently controllable. In this work, we use various computational methods, including molecular dynamics and Wang–Landau Monte Carlo simulations, to study a multi-flavored binary system of micron-sized DNA-functionalized particles modeled implicitly by Fermi–Jagla pairwise interactions. We show how self-assembly of such systems can be controlled in a purely enthalpic manner, and by tuning only the interactions between like particles, demonstrate assembly into various morphologies. Although polymorphism is present over a wide range of pairwise interaction strengths, we show that careful selection of interactions can lead to the generation of pure compositionally ordered crystals. Additionally, we show how the crystal composition changes with the like-pair interaction strengths, and how the solution stoichiometry affects the assembled structures.
Effects of CpG DNA on Th1/Th2 Balance in Asthma

Asthma is a disease whose prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and cost have increased in the past two decades worldwide. These changes have led to increased attention to the causes of asthma and asthma exacerbations; it is now appreciated that airway inflammation is central to the problem of asthma. Recent international guidelines for the management of asthma emphasize that anti-inflammatory therapies are necessary for most asthma patients, and this focus is slowly improving compliance from asthmatics and their health-care providers. Unfortunately, current anti-inflammatory treatment in asthma is non-specific. In this chapter, the Th1/Th2 paradigm of inflammation, which may govern the eosinophilic inflammation found in asthma, is described. Data are presented that demonstrate that CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) are capable of modulating the Th2-mediated inflammatory response in a murine model of asthma. These studies suggest that CpG DNA may be useful in the prevention and treatment of asthma.