cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monthly profile analysis based on a two-axis solar tracker proposal for photovoltaic panels

The concerns due to pollution and depletion of traditional energy sources and increasing consumption motivates the use of renewable energies. Photovoltaic energy presents advantages like low cost for maintenance, installation in remote locations, besides not generating environment impacts during operation. However, the cost of photovoltaic energy sources is greater than traditional ones due to, among other reasons, irradiation losses. The objective of this work is the development of a two-axis solar tracker and performance evaluation of a solar panel, compared to a fixed system. The tracker uses LDRs to identify sun movement direction and engines adjust the panel position, according to the control performed by an electronic device. Each system is composed by a mechanical structure, a solar panel and a resistive load. The electronic device, besides engines controlling, performs the measurement and storage of luminosity and irradiation information over the panel. The evaluation of the two systems occurred for 152 days, between 2016's June and November, in southern Brazil. The panel with tracking system presented average monthly gains varying from 17,20% and 31,1%, indicating that this is an alternative to make photovoltaic energy more attractive.
Overcoming Oxidants and Inflammation: Endothelial Targeting of Antioxidants to Combat Chronic Inflammatory Disease

Abstract In vascular disease, the interactions between chronic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress have shown to be critical in the development of countless critical diseases. The imbalance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) create oxidative stress as the innate antioxidant defense mechanisms are overwhelmed. The vascular endothelium provides a barrier and a regulatory interface between circulating blood and the tissues beneath maintaining the fluidity and flow of circulating blood. As such, the endothelium regulates blood vessel function and in doing so, is a key determinant in vascular health and disease. Endothelial cells represent both a source and a target of ROS in conditions involving vascular oxidative stress and inflammation. Endothelial abnormalities caused by pathological factors including ischemia, infectious agents, cytokines, ROS, and other mediators are implicated in cardiac, pulmonary, cerebral, and peripheral vascular pathologies. Inhibiting or scavenging ROS using antioxidants has thus far not fulfilled its promise as a therapeutic strategy. Indeed, antioxidant therapy trials have largely been ineffective. This is presumably due to a combination of incomplete quenching and suboptimal conditions such as poor localization to specific tissues and organs and loss of antioxidant activity. Using site-specific targeting to localize antioxidants, and nanoparticle technology to protect and contain them may overcome these challenges. This chapter is a brief review of nanoparticle delivery of antioxidants, antioxidant enzymes and their equivalent mimetics to the vasculature. The focus is on those types of therapeutics whose effects either require or can benefit significantly by use of a delivery vehicle. Numerous formulations of nanoparticles and nanocarriers used in vascular delivery have been developed to date. Among the principle ones studied for antioxidant delivery include drug conjugates with targeting species (e.g., antibody, minibody, and peptide) or polymers; liposomes; solid lipid, magnetic and polymeric nanoparticles; and dendrimers. The successful pharmacotherapy of inflammation is a globally important and challenging goal. Solving the delivery issues of successful antioxidant therapy will enable novel anti-inflammatory interventions transforming the management of patients with acute inflammatory conditions, especially those with poor outcomes.
High-Speed, Phase-Dominant Spatial Light Modulation with Silicon-Based Active Resonant Antennas

Spatiotemporal control of optical wavefronts is of great importance in numerous free-space optical applications including imaging in 3D and through scattering media, remote sensing, and generation of various beam profiles for microscopy. Progress in these applications is currently limited due to lack of compact and high-speed spatial light modulators. Here we report an active antenna comprising a free-space coupled asymmetric Fabry–Perot resonator that produces a phase-dominant thermo-optic modulation of reflected light at frequencies approaching tens of kilohertz. As a proof of concept for spatial light modulation, we demonstrate a 6 × 6 array of such active antennas with beam deflection capability. The robust design of our silicon-based active antenna will enable large-scale integration of high-speed, phase-dominant spatial light modulators.
Diplomatic Case Studies

After a short explanation of case selection and introduction, this chapter discusses three within-cases associated with the grand strategy design input of diplomacy. The analyzed cases are China’s involvement in the Ukraine Crisis, its engagement of the Arctic Council, as well as the ‘One Belt, One Road’ major initiative. Each within-case study contains an introduction, course of events, analysis of relationship with honor and legitimacy, alternative explanations, and a summary.
An agenda for environmental humanities of Asia: problems and debates

The field of environmental humanities (EH) has recently been appearing in many universities and institutions in the United States and Europe. However, it has not yet developed a foundation in Asia and other parts of the world and, beyond environmental history, remains weakly developed in Chinese and Asian studies more broadly. My goal is to clarify the humanities’ relationship with other areas of environmental studies, looking at issues such as the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, its differential impact on communities, the representation of nature, and religion’s role in understanding the environment. By doing so, I aim to develop an agenda that EH may call its own even as it necessitates collaborating with various other areas of inquiry.
Influence of Living Arrangements of Community Dwelling Older Adults on the Association between Social Capital and Health

The influence of living arrangements on the association between neighborhood connectedness and health among older adults remains poorly understood. By living arrangements, we mean whether the elder lives alone or with others. The purpose of this study was to compare relationships between indicators of social capital, a concept measuring neighborhood connectedness, and health outcomes among older adults living alone versus those living with others. A sample of 2314 adults (65 years and older) living in urban and suburban communities of Southeastern Pennsylvania were obtained from the Community Health Database (2010). Social capital indicators (support, participation, cohesion, trust and interaction) were regressed onto health outcomes (self-rated health, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), depressive symptoms and stress) while controlling for age, sex, race, education, poverty, and marital status. Regressions were run after the sample was split according to living arrangements (living alone vs. living with others). The results showed that social capital indicators were associated with self-rated health, depressive symptoms and stress. These associations differed by living arrangements. Participation, trust and interaction were important for elders living alone, while trust and cohesion were important for elders living with others. This study reinforces the need to take into account the living arrangements of community dwelling older adults when examining the relationship between social capital and health.
Fluid resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock.

An organized, practical approach to hemorrhagic shock used at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas has several notable advantages besides the primary benefit of improving survival. It greatly reduces the need for uncrossmatched blood and the possibility of transfusion reactions. Oliguric renal failure complicating shock is virtually eliminated. Rapid intravenous infusion of lactated Ringer's solution is a main feature of this technic.
Ethnic groups, urban places, and retail enterprise: the United States, 1900

This study proposes an entrepreneurship model that (1) uses sociological literature on ethnic stratification to develop a typology of subdominant, marginalized, subordinate, and outcast minority gr...
Estimating Future Performance I: Unbiased Trade Simulation

The title of this chapter is optimistic, perhaps shamefully so. Financial markets are notoriously fickle. They are nonstationary (their statistical properties change over time), vulnerable to unforeseeable outside shocks, polluted by occasional wild swings for no apparent reason, and generally uncooperative. The idea that we can actually estimate the future performance of a trading system to any great degree is ludicrous. But what we often accomplish is to identify trading systems that have a painfully small expected future return, so we can be wary. Naturally, what we would really prefer is the ability to identify systems that have a high likelihood of large future return. And we may occasionally get lucky and enjoy this rare reward. It doesn’t hurt to try. But the reader must understand that the real goal of this chapter is to use rigorous statistical methods to weed out those superficially promising systems that in reality should be discarded, or at least revised before being put to work with real money.
Lifetime Punishments for Mentally Ill Juvenile Rampage School Shooters: No Hope for the Future?:

This study examines the roles of age and mental health in the processing of 10 adolescent rampage school shooters who had shown signs of mental instability prior to their rampage, but were tried an...
Public Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus and Receipt of Vaccination Recommendations.

This cross-sectional survey study assesses knowledge of human papillomavirus by age and sex.
Adverse Effects of Androgen Deprivation in Elderly Men with Prostate Cancer

The purpose of this review is to summarize the key literature of complications and adverse effects experienced by elderly men undergoing androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, as well as evidence-based strategies to manage these complications. Current research demonstrates several adverse effects associated with treatment with androgen deprivation therapy, including skeletal complications, possible cardiovascular effects, diabetes and metabolic complications, decreased sexual function and libido, depression, and cognitive decline. Despite the well-known side effect profile of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, little evidence-based guidance for management of these complications exists outside of skeletal health. Prospective studies are needed to determine the effect of androgen deprivation therapy on cardiovascular disease in older adults, and prospective trials are needed to assess diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in this large, vulnerable patient population.
A robust visible near-infrared index for fire severity mapping in Arctic tundra ecosystems

Abstract Tundra fires are projected to increase with anthropogenic climate change, yet our ability to assess key wildfire metrics such as fire severity remains limited. The Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) is the most commonly applied index for fire severity mapping. However, the computation of NBR depends on short-wave infrared (SWIR) data, which are not commonly available from historical and contemporary high-resolution (≤4 m) optical imagery. The increasing availability of visible near-infrared (VNIR) measurements from proximal to spaceborne sensors/platforms has the potential to advance our understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of fire severity within tundra fires. Here we systematically assess the feasibility of using VNIR data for fire severity mapping in ten Alaskan tundra fires (cumulatively burned ~1700 km2). We compared the accuracy of 10 published VNIR-based fire indices using both uni-temporal (post-fire image) and bi-temporal (pre-fire and post-fire image difference) assessments against ground-based fire severity data (Composite Burn Index, CBI) at 109 tundra sites. The Global Environmental Monitoring Index (GEMI) had the highest correspondence with CBI (R2 = 0.77 uni-temporal; R2 = 0.85 bi-temporal), with similar performance to NBR (R2 = 0.77 uni-temporal; R2 = 0.83 bi-temporal). Tundra vegetation types affected NBR but not GEMI, as SWIR reflectance was influenced to a greater extent in shrub than graminoid tundra. We applied GEMI to contemporary high-resolution (i.e. Quickbird 2) and historical meso-resolution imagery (i.e. Landsat Multispectral Scanner) to demonstrate the capability of GEMI for resolving fine-scale patterns of fire severity and extending fire severity archives. Results suggest that GEMI accurately captured the heterogeneous patterns of tundra fire severity across fire seasons, ecoregions, and vegetation types.
DNA Nanostructures as Programmable Biomolecular Scaffolds.

This Review focuses on how to use DNA nanostructures as scaffolds to organize biological molecules. First, we introduce the use of structural DNA nanotechnology to engineer rationally designed nanostructures. Second, we survey approaches used to generate protein–DNA conjugates. Third, we discuss studies exploring DNA scaffolds to create DNA nanodevices to analyze protein structures, to engineer enzyme pathways, to create artificial light-harvesting systems, and to generate nanomachines in vitro and in vivo. Future challenges and perspectives of using DNA nanostructures as programmable biomolecular scaffolds are addressed at the end.
End-to-End QA on COVID-19: Domain Adaptation with Synthetic Training.

End-to-end question answering (QA) requires both information retrieval (IR) over a large document collection and machine reading comprehension (MRC) on the retrieved passages. Recent work has successfully trained neural IR systems using only supervised question answering (QA) examples from open-domain datasets. However, despite impressive performance on Wikipedia, neural IR lags behind traditional term matching approaches such as BM25 in more specific and specialized target domains such as COVID-19. Furthermore, given little or no labeled data, effective adaptation of QA systems can also be challenging in such target domains. In this work, we explore the application of synthetically generated QA examples to improve performance on closed-domain retrieval and MRC. We combine our neural IR and MRC systems and show significant improvements in end-to-end QA on the CORD-19 collection over a state-of-the-art open-domain QA baseline.
Economic policy uncertainty and fund flows to the United States

Abstract In this letter, we examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on aggregate fund flows to the United States (US). US and global EPU are strongly and negatively related to equity fund flows in the short run. However, initial declines reverse over the medium term and have a positive cumulative effect on equity allocations to the US. EPU is positively related to Treasury flows in the short run that indicates managers reallocate their portfolios following uncertainty shocks. Indeed, we show a negative relation between equity fund flows and Treasury flows. Furthermore, both types of fund flows are more sensitive to US EPU compared to global EPU.
5 Ways Chess Can Make You a Better Law Student and Lawyer

Litigation and other types of law practice are often analogized to the game of chess. For example, strategy and tactics are involved in both fields. This short essay provides 5 more detailed reasons explaining why playing chess can be of great benefit to lawyers and law students. It therefore helps illuminate legal practice, the talents and skills needed to perform well in law school, and the gamesmanship in both fields.The essay draws on my own experiences as a civil rights lawyer, law professor, and amateur chess player. It also discusses the famous 19th Century American chess genius and law graduate Paul Morphy (an alumnus of what is now Tulane School of Law). Perhaps the essay will encourage some lawyers or individuals with law school aspirations to take up chess as well.
Essentialist explanation

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in metaphysical explanation, and philosophers have fixed on the notion of ground as the conceptual tool with which such explanation should be investigated. I will argue that this focus on ground is myopic and that some metaphysical explanations that involve the essences of things cannot be understood in terms of ground. Such ‘essentialist’ explanation is of interest, not only for its ubiquity in philosophy, but for its being in a sense an ultimate form of explanation. I give an account of the sense in which such explanation is ultimate and support it by defending what I call the inessentiality of essence. I close by suggesting that this principle is the key to understanding why essentialist explanations can seem so satisfying.
The Verbal Complex in Subordinate Clauses from Medieval to Modern German

This research monograph is an empirical and theoretical study of clause-final verbal complexes in the history of German. The book presents corpus studies of Middle High German and Early New High German and surveys of contemporary varieties of German. These investigations of the verbal complex address not only the frequencies of the word orders, but also the linguistic factors that influence them. On that empirical basis, the analysis adopted is the classic verb-final approach, with alternative orders derived by Verb (Projection) Raising. Verb Raising in these historical and modern varieties is subject to morphological, prosodic, and sociolinguistic restrictions, suggesting that the orders in question are not driven by narrow syntax but by their effects at the interface with phonology. This study will be of interest to students and scholars studying the diachronic syntax of German, West Germanic dialect syntax, and the relationship between prosody and word order.
Stormwater Runoff Models

Stormwater is a continuing problem for both urban and rural areas. Not only does the excess runoff pose a potential flood hazard causing millions of dollars in damage each year, but it also produces environmental degradation in the form of erosion and sedimentation of lakes and streams and the transportation of water pollutants to these same water bodies. These water quality impacts were discussed in the previous chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to review in a more comprehensive way some of the many computerized stormwater models in use today.
Combined effects of drought and high temperature on water relations of wheat and sorghum

Drought and high temperature are major factors limiting crop production. The two stresses occur together in many regions, but they usually are investigated separately. This study tested the hypothesis that high temperature interacts with drought to affect water relations, and the effect is greater in heat-sensitive wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) than in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). Wheat and sorghum were grown in soil that was well watered or not watered in controlled chambers at 15/10, 25/20, 35/30 and 40/35 °C day/night. Soil water content (SWC), leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf water potential (Ψ), leaf osmotic potential (π), leaf turgor potential (P) and osmotic adjustment (OA) were determined at 2-d intervals. All values held nearly constant at all temperatures when soil was well watered but were affected strongly by high temperature when water was withheld. The combined stresses reduced SWC, RWC, Psi and π, and unevenly raised P over time, particularly in sorghum. Sorghum also exhibited marked OA at high temperature, which was usually lethal to wheat. High temperature appeared to interact with drought to affect water relations by altering SWC and not by influencing OA. The results demonstrated that crops maintain nearly stable water relations regardless of temperature when moisture is ample, but high temperature strongly affects water relations when water is limiting. Increasing the thermotolerance of wheat might improve its potential to acclimate to both high temperature and drought.
From customer satisfaction to customer delight: Creating a new standard of service for the hotel industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a typology of customer delight in the hotel industry. By doing so, it identifies patterns by which hotels delight their guests. The paper explores the Torres and Kline model in light of the data and proposes an addition to the model. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis is utilized to analyze letters of customer feedback provided by several hotels. A codebook was created, letters were coded by two raters and inter-rater reliability was calculated. Findings – The most frequently mentioned codes included: taking care of the guest's needs, exceptional friendliness, professionalism of staff, employees going outside of the call of duty and problem-solving skills. Based on this information the authors propose the following delight types: fulfillment delight, charismatic delight, professional delight, comparative delight, problem resolution delight. It was also found that the culture of an organization has an impact on the type of delight that is most p...
The Use of Repeated Reading with Computer Modeling to Promote Reading Fluency with Students Who Have Physical Disabilities

The ability to read fluently is a critical skill that allows the reader to concentrate on the meaning of the text. It also can contribute to a successful reading experience. However, students with ...
The Failure of Reduction and How to Resist Disunity of the Sciences in the Context of Chemical Education

The failure, by philosophers of science, to reduce special sciences such as chemistry to quantum mechanics has produced many responses including the notion of supervenience and that of the disunity of the sciences. This article criticizes these responses and proposes an alternative one, namely the autonomy of chemistry. After examining the history of the atomic orbital model I argue that chemical educators should legitimately continue to view terms such as orbital and configuration in a realistic manner although they are deemed to be strictly non-referring in quantum mechanics. Such a view of autonomous though related levels is opposed in particular to the increasingly prevalent notion of disunified sciences.
The DSN VLBI System, Mark 1-79

Very long baseline interferometry is a new capability being implemented in the DSN to support flight project navigation requirements and provide station frequency standard stability monitoring of sufficient accuracy to effectively validate hydrogen maser performance. A description of the system and the phases of its implementation are provided.
Analysis of risk factors for flap loss and salvage in free flap head and neck reconstruction.

Background Risk factors and techniques for free flap salvage in head and neck reconstruction are poorly described. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of all head and neck free flaps performed from 2000 to 2010. Results Overall, 151 of 2296 flaps (6.6%) underwent salvage for microvascular complications. Age, comorbidities, surgeon experience (p = .88), vein grafts, and supercharging (p = .45) did not affect flap salvage. Muscle-only flaps (p = .002) were associated with significantly worse outcomes. Coupled venous anastomoses were superior to handsewn anastomoses (p = .03). Arteriovenous thrombosis had worse outcomes than a venous or arterial thrombosis alone (p 3 days) had significantly worse outcomes (p = .003). Flap salvage was 60.3% successful with 60 total flap losses (2.6%). Conclusion Although flap salvage should be attempted, multiple attempts are not recommended, especially for muscle-only flaps. Combined arteriovenous and late thrombosis has a dismal prognosis regardless of different salvage techniques. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
A Transactional and Collaborative Approach to Reducing Effects of Bottom Trawling

Private-sector financial and legal transactions have long been used to protect terrestrial habitats and working landscapes, but less commonly to address critical threats in marine environments. Transferrable and marketable fishing privileges, including permits and quotas, make it possible to use private-sector trans- actions as conservation strategies to address some fishery management issues. Abating the effects of bottom trawling on the seafloor and bycatch and discard associated with the practice has proven challenging. On the Central Coast of California, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Environmental Defense Fund, local fishers and local, state, and federal authorities worked collaboratively to protect large areas of the seafloor from bottom trawling for groundfish while addressing economic impacts of trawl closures. Contingent on the adoption of trawl-closure areas by a federal regulatory agency, TNC used private funds to purchase federal groundfish trawl permits and vessels from willing sellers. Trawl-closure areas were designed collaboratively by combining regional biological diversity and fisheries data with local fishers' knowledge. The private transactional strategy wasdesignedtoremedysomedeficienciesinpreviousfederalbuyouts,tomitigateeconomicimpactsfromtrawl closures, and to carefully align with a public regulatory process to protect "essential fish habitat" under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This collaborative effort protected 1.5 million ha (3.8 million acres) of seafloor, reduced trawl effort in the area by 50%, and set a precedent for collaborative partnershipsbetweenconservationandfishinginterests.Thisisthefirsttimealargeconservationorganization has taken an ownership position in a fishery and demonstrates how nongovernmental organizations can invest in fisheries to improve environmental and economic performance.
Primary Prevention of Failure to Thrive: Social Policy Implications

Although FTT occurs in children of all social classes, researchers have consistently noted that clinical populations of children with FTT are drawn disproportionately from low income families (Evans, Reinhart & Succop, 1972; Glaser, Heagarty, Bullard & Pivchik, 1968; Mitchell, Gorrell & Greenberg, 1980; Pollitt, 1975; Shaheen, Alexander, Truskowsky & Barbero, 1968). The mechanisms which link poverty to growth failure in childhood are varied and complex; biology, psychopathology, and prevailing socioeconomic conditions interact to produce FTT. The biologic sequelae of poverty begin prenatally. Low income mothers are at increased risk of bearing low birthweight infants (MacMahon, Kover & Feldman, 1972), infants who constitute 10–40% of reported clinical series of children later hospitalized with FTT (Mitchell et al. 1980; Shaheen et al. 1968; Oates & Yu, 1971), but only 7% of all newborns. Children reared in poverty bear an increased burden of post-natally acquired illnesses, any one of which may interfere with growth (Holmes, Hassanein, Miller, 1983). Finally, the Preschool Nutrition Survey (Owen et al., 1974), the Ten State Nutrition Survey (Garn & Clark, 1975), and the Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare, 1975) all link poverty to the primary biologic risk for FTT - diets of inadequate quality and quantity (Goldbloom, 1982).
Sexual differentiation and hormonal regulation of the laryngeal synapse in Xenopus laevis

In Xenopus laevis frogs, sex differences in adult laryngeal synapses contribute to sex differences in vocal behavior. This study explores the development of sex differences in types of neuromuscular synapses and the development and hormone regulation of sex differences in transmitter release. Synapses in the juvenile larynx have characteristics not found in adults: juvenile muscle fibers can produce subthreshold or suprathreshold potentials in response to the same strength of nerve stimulation and can also produce multiple spikes to a single nerve stimulus. Juvenile laryngeal muscle also contains the same synapse types (I, II, and III) as are found in adult laryngeal muscle. The distribution of laryngeal synapse types in juveniles is less sexually dimorphic than the distribution in adults. Analysis of quantal content indicates that laryngeal synapses characteristically release low amounts of transmitter prior to sexual differentiation. Quantal content values from male and female juveniles are similar to values for adult males and are lower than values for adult females. When juveniles are gonadectomized and treated with exogenous estrogen, quantal content values increase significantly, suggesting that this hormone may increase transmitter release at laryngeal synapses during development. Gonadectomy alone does not affect quantal content of laryngeal synapses in either sex. Androgen treatment decreases quantal content in juvenile females but not males; the effect is opposite to and smaller than that of estrogen. Thus, muscle fiber responses to nerve stimulation and transmitter release are not sexually dimorphic in juvenile larynges. Transmitter release is strengthened, or feminized, by the administration of estradiol, an ovarian steroid hormone. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comparison of conventional laparoscopic and hand-assisted oncologic segmental colonic resection.

Background Laparoscopically assisted colon resection has evolved to be a viable option for the treatment of colorectal cancer. This study evaluates the efficacy of hand-assisted laparascopic surgery (HALS) as compared with totally laparoscopic surgery (LAP) for segmental oncologic colon resection with regard to lymph node harvest, operative times, intraoperative blood loss, pedicle length, incision length, and length of hospital stay in an attempt to help delineate the role of each in the treatment of colorectal cancer.
The art of writing a Runge-Kutta code. II.

All those factors bearing on the creation of a high quality Runge-Kutta code for the solution of ordinary differential equations are studied. A code, RKF45, is presented as a concrete realization of the conclusions of the study.
Transplantation and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Canine Neural Progenitor Cell Grafts in the Postnatal Dog Brain

Cellular transplantation in the form of bone marrow has been one of the primary treatments of many lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). Although bone marrow transplantation can help central nervous system manifestations in some cases, it has little impact in many LSD patients. Canine models of neurogenetic LSDs provide the opportunity for modeling central nervous system transplantation strategies in brains that more closely approximate the size and architectural complexity of the brains of children. Canine olfactory bulb-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) isolated from dog brains were expanded ex vivo and implanted into the caudate nucleus/thalamus or cortex of allogeneic dogs. Canine olfactory bulb-derived NPCs labeled with micron-sized superparamagnetic iron oxide particles were detected by magnetic resonance imaging both in vivo and postmortem. Grafts expressed markers of NPCs (i.e. nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein), but not the neuronal markers Map2ab or β-tubulin III. The NPCs were from dogs with the LSD mucopolysaccharidosis VII, which is caused by a deficiency of β-glucuronidase. When mucopolysaccharidosis VII canine olfactory bulb-NPCs that were genetically corrected with a lentivirus vector ex vivo were transplanted into mucopolysaccharidosis VII recipient brains, they were detected histologically by β-glucuronidase expression in areas identified by antemortem magnetic resonance imaging tracking. These results demonstrate the potential for ex vivo stem cell-based gene therapy and noninvasive tracking of therapeutic grafts in vivo.
Two Functional Thioredoxins Containing Redox-sensitive Vicinal Dithiols from the Chlamydomonas Outer Dynein Arm

We describe here the molecular cloning and analysis of the Mr 14,000 and 16,000 outer arm dynein light chains (DLCs) from Chlamydomonas flagella. Within the outer arm, the Mr 14,000 DLC apparently is associated with the intermediate chains at the base of the soluble dynein particle; the Mr 16,000 DLC interacts directly with the a dynein heavy chain. Sequence analysis indicates that both molecules are novel members of the thioredoxin superfamily and share approximately 30% sequence identity with thioredoxin from Penicillium. Both DLCs have a perfect copy of the thioredoxin active site (WCGPCK); the Mr 16,000 DLC also contains the canonical P-loop motif (AX4GKS). There is a single gene for both DLCs within Chlamydomonas and only single messages that were upregulated more than 10-fold upon deflagellation were observed on Northern blots. Both recombinant DLCs were specifically eluted from a phenylarsine oxide matrix with beta-mercaptoethanol indicating that they contain vicinal dithiols competent to undergo reversible oxidation/reduction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that outer (but not inner) arm dynein may he purified on the basis of its affinity for phenylarsine oxide suggesting that the predicted redox-sensitive vicinal dithiols exist within the native complex.
Bioprosthetic Leaflet Erosion After Percutaneous Mitral Paravalvular Leak Closure

Transcatheter closure of prosthetic paravalvular leaks is increasingly performed at experienced centers ([1–3][1]). The lack of devices dedicated to paravalvular leak closure has not deterred the off-label use of various occluder devices. These images illustrate the potential complexity of
Mapping lipopolysaccharide response loci in mice using recombinant inbred and congenic strains.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces proliferation of splenic B-cells, and this response was found to be significantly lower in A/J than in C57BL/6J (B6) mice. Several strains and substrains mirrored the high and low responses of B6 and A/J. Assessment of 26 AXB/BXA recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains identified 23 strains with a low (A/J-like), high (B6-like), or intermediate response. The three remaining RI strains exhibited a novel hyperresponsive phenotype significantly different from that of either founder strain. RI analysis identified four suggestive loci contributing to the LPS response, two of which were confirmed by analysis of congenic strains containing the donor genomic segment from a high- or low-responder strain on the opposite background. The combination of A/J and B6 alleles fixed to homozygosity at the four suggestive loci would occur in only 1 of 256 intercross progeny, but occurred several times among the RI strains.
Angular correlation of positron annihilation radiation from electron-irradiated platinum and plastically deformed platinum☆

Abstract The angular correlation of the positron annihilation radiation from Pt samples which were either irradiated with 2.5 MeV electrons of plastically deformed has been measured. Either type of treatment produces changes in the angular correlation which are qualitatively similar.
Functional regulation of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase.

Abstract Evidence is presented to substantiate the contention that the reduction of ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides is a critical and rate-controlling step in the pathway leading to DNA synthesis and cell replication. One main piece of evidence is the demonstration of a close correlation between ribonucleotide reductase and tumor growth rates in a spectrum of rat hepatomas of varying growth rates. The physiological hydrogen donor for this reaction, thioredoxin-thioredoxin reductase, is found at comparable levels in both fast-growing tumor and normal liver. The modulation of ribonucleotide reductase activity was also examined during the structural and functional development of several rat organs. The various organs have different profiles of activity which are probably related to functional differentiation. For example, during liver development, activity is at a high level in the late fetal stage, but drops sharply at birth and becomes non-detectable in 3–4 weeks, while in the developing spleen and thymus, activity is low at birth and reaches a maximum about one week after birth and then declines. However, activity is still maintained in the adult state. It is suggested that heightened activity may be associated with an intense period of cellular replication related to the process of differentiation. The dramatic fluctuations in ribonucleotide reductase activity observed in tumors and during neonatal development are shown to be due to de novo enzyme synthesis and not to enzyme activation. A protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, prevents increases in enzyme activity in developing organs and causes a rapid decrease in enzyme activity in Novikoff hepatoma. The inhibition of DNA-directed RNA synthesis by actinomycin D also prevents increases in enzymatic activity in developing organs but has no effect on Novikoff tumor activity. Subcellular fractionation of Novikoff hepatoma and 24-hr regenerating liver reveals that ribonucleotide reductase is associated with a smooth membrane component of the cytoplasm. Thymidine kinase activity is also found with this subcellular membrane fraction. These data, in conjunction with data of Baril et al. (7, 8) that a DNA polymerase is associated with this smooth membrane organelle, suggest that there may exist a complex of several DNA synthetic enzymes in a functional unit.
A method for developing systems that traverse the Pareto frontiers of multiple system concepts through modularity

Natural changes in customer needs over time often necessitate the development of new systems that satisfy the new needs. In a previous work by the authors, a 5-step multiobjective optimization-based method was presented to identify systems that anticipate, account for, and allow for these changes by moving from one Pareto design to another through module addition. Recognizing the potential for changes in needs to exceed the limits of a single Pareto frontier, the present paper introduces important advancements that extend development to modules connecting multiple disparate system concepts. As such, the search for suitable system designs is extended from a Pareto frontier that characterizes one system concept to a Pareto frontier that characterizes a set of system concepts. An expanded methodology is described, and a tri-objective hurricane and flood resistant residential structure example is used to demonstrate the method. The authors conclude that the developed method provides a new methodology for selecting platform and module designs in the presence of multiple system concepts, and is capable of identifying a set of modular system designs that are well-suited to satisfy changing needs over time.
Enzyme activity to augment the characterization of tethered bilayer membranes.

The rate of Ca2+-triggered phospholipase A2 (PLA2) degradation of tethered bilayer membranes (tBLMs), composed of a synthetic lipid, β-mercaptoethanol, and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC), is ∼80 times greater than for those prepared with diphytanoylphosphatidylcholine (DPhyPC). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and neutron reflectivity (NR) data indicate complete, water-free tBLMs that exhibit near ideal capacitive behavior and the presence of a water reservoir in the bilayer subspace proximal to the substrate (Au) surface for both tBLMs. Together these data indicate that the POPC and the DPhyPC tBLMs are structurally similar along the surface normal but markedly different at the outer leaflet/solution interface and that PLA2 is a sensitive probe of short length scale structural differences not revealed by EIS and NR.
Dissecting the global diversity trajectory of an enigmatic group: The paleogeographic history of tentaculitoids

Abstract Tentaculitoids have long been recognized as a problematic group that diversified taxonomically and expanded geographically through much of the Ordovician–Devonian, only to become extinct toward the end of the Devonian. Perhaps because of uncertainties about their biological affinities, there has never been a definitive study of the diversity trajectories of tentaculitoids at either global or regional scales, and paleoecological analyses of the group are almost entirely lacking in the literature. Here, we present a much-expanded, paleogeographically-resolved database for tentaculitoids, which we use to present a first-ever assessment of their global history in a paleogeographic context. The new data suggest an increase to a standing-diversity peak in the Devonian of 30 genera, preceded by a Silurian radiation that appears to have been focused mainly in Baltoscandia. Because most of the Silurian Baltoscandian data were derived from a single bibliographic source, the possibility cannot be ruled out that this concentration primarily reflects a monographic bias. The continued radiation in the Devonian was geographically broad-based, however, recognizable in several venues worldwide. Furthermore, whereas previous investigations suggested that a temporal transition could be recognized between the major tentaculitoid orders—Tentaculitida—thought to dominate in the Ordovician and Silurian, and Dacryoconarida and Homoctenida—thought to radiate in the Devonian—the new data point to a much broader overlap in the temporal trajectories of the groups. Coupled with information about differences in their life habits, this would appear to rule out any possibility that the three groups were ever in direct competition.
Tracks of pigeons homing with frosted lenses

Abstract Pigeons were equipped with frosted contact lenses that prevented any detailed view of landmarks. They were tracked during their homing trips by ground based and airborne radiotelemetry. A total of 74 experimental birds were released from various directions less than 20 km from home. Nineteen pigeons returned to the loft, 18 stopped en route and were retrieved, and 37 were lost. In addition to five tracks of birds wearing clear lenses, 18 birds wearing frosted lenses were tracked. These experimental pigeons, despite their frosted lenses and severely restricted vision, flew generally toward the home loft. Whereas many of these birds landed in an area near the loft, no bird that we tracked landed on the loft itself. These results support the view that pigeons use a navigation system that does not require detailed vision and is accurate enough to lead birds to within 0·5 to 5 km of their goal.
Pathologic findings in nerve and muscle biopsies from 47 women with silicone breast implants

Objective: To describe the pathologic findings in 47 consecutively received nerve and muscle biopsies from patients with silicone breast implants (SBI). Background: The controversial proposal that systemic illness may result from SBI includes diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. Methods: All of the biopsies were processed in full according to current standard methodologies in nerve and muscle pathology. Myelinated fiber histograms were prepared in 40 of the 47 cases. Results: Eight of the 47 nerves showed pathologic changes likely to be symptomatic: 7 with an axonal neuropathy, including 1 with a granulomatous neuritis and myositis and 1 with diabetic neuropathy, and the eighth with a hypertrophic onion bulb neuropathy. Eleven showed minor morphologic or morphometric alterations of uncertain clinical significance. The remaining 28 nerve biopsies were normal, including 1 in which the accompanying muscle showed an inflammatory myopathy typical of polymyositis. Conclusions: These findings represent the largest set of reported pathologic data derived from women with SBI. Within this highly selected cohort of women with SBI, the majority of the biopsies were normal, and in 9 of 47 diverse abnormalities were detected including axonal and demyelinating neuropathies and inflammatory myopathies. These findings do not support a consistent association between SBI and any neuropathologic entity.
A stereocontrolled synthesis of trans-alkene isosteres of dipeptides

Abstract A general synthetic route to trans-alkene isosteres of protected dipeptides is reported. This sequence permits the fullystereocontrolled preparation of these isosteres in optically active form and in quantities sufficient for further biological study. Prepared in this manner were alkene isosteres of TyrAla. PhePhe, and LeuLeu.
Metastatic carcinoma of the neck from an unknown primary

Abstract From 1974 to 1984, 31 patients with metastatic carcinoma to the neck from an unknown primary were treated with radiation therapy. On review, three groups were identified based on presentation and treatment. Group I consists of 19 patients treated with curative intent. They all presented with cervical adenopathy, I I patients with N 1 disease, 2 with Stage N 2A disease, 1 with Stage N 2B disease, 4 with N 3A disease, and 1 with unknown stage. The majority of patients were treated with portals encompassing the nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and neck to a dose of 5000 rad followed by boosts of 1000–1500 rad. The overall 2-year NED survival in this group was 63% (1219). The most significant prognostic factor was the stage of the metastatic nodes. The NED survival rate for the 14 patients with Stage N 1 and N 2 was 86% (1214). Histology of the lesions was not an important factor in the outcome. In Group 11 there are six patients who received palliative treatment because of large, fixed, cervical nodes. Three of these patients (50%) died within 2 months of completion of treatment. Group III consists of six patients who presented with supraclavicular adenopathy. All had persistent or recurrent disease within 19 months. We have concluded that in patients with metastatic carcinoma to the cervical nodes from an unknown primary, radiation therapy to the neck and suspected areas of primary disease may play an important role in cure, particularly in early stage disease.
New experiments on the relationship between light-induced defects and photoconductivity degradation

We report experimental results that help settle apparent inconsistencies in earlier work on photoconductivity and light-induced defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and point toward a new understanding of this subject. After observing that light-induced photoconductivity degradation anneals out at much lower T than the light-induced increase in deep defect density, Han and Fritzsche[1] suggested that two kinds of defects are created during illumination of a-Si:H. In this view, one kind of defect degrades the photoconductivity and the other increases defect sub-bandgap optical absorption. However, the light-induced degradation model of Stutzmann et al.[2] assumes that photoconductivity is inversely proportional to the dangling-bond defect density. We observe two kinds of defects that are distinguished by their annealing activation energies, but because their densities remain in strict linear proportion during their creation, the two kinds of defects cannot be completely independent. In our measurements of photoconductivity and defect absorption (constant photocurrent method) during 25°C light soaking and during a series of isochronal anneals between 25 < T < 190°C, we find that the absorption measured with E ≤1.1 eV, first increases during annealing, then exhibits the usual absorption decrease found for deeper defects. The maximum in this absorption at E ≤1.1eV occurs simultaneously with a transition from fast to slow recovery of photoconductivity. The absorption for E ≤1.1eV shows two distinct annealing activation energies: the signal rises with about 0.87 eV and falls with about 1.15 eV. The 0.87 eV activation energy roughly equals the activation energy for the dominant, fast, recovery of photoconductivity. The 1.15 eV activation energy roughly equals the single activation energy for annealing of the light-induced dangling bond absorption.