cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distribution and ecology of the assemblages of myxomycetes associated with major vegetation types in Big Bend National Park, USA

Abstract The distribution and ecology of the assemblages of myxomycetes associated with four different microhabitats were studied in Big Bend National Park in Texas. During Mar. 2005, twelve plots (30 × 30 m) were established along an elevational gradient that extended from 564 to 1807 m. Samples of aerial bark from dead and living trees, aerial litter (dead but still attached plant parts), ground litter (fallen dead plant parts) and ground bark (fragments of fallen bark) were collected from these plots, which encompassed all of the major vegetation types found in the Park. Four hundred forty-seven moist chambers were prepared, and 95.8 % (428) produced some evidence (either fruit bodies or plasmodia) of myxomycetes. A total of 71 species were recorded, with ground litter yielding most (45 species). Aerial litter, aerial bark and ground bark yielded 44, 39 and 37 species, respectively. Species abundance distribution measures (diversity, dominance and similarities) varied among the four microhabitats as well as among the major vegetation types. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that species distribution patterns were closely related to: (1) the major environmental-complex gradients associated with differences in elevation/temperature/moisture conditions that occur from one locality to another; and (2) the different types of microhabitat.
Subharmonic Resonances of Piezoelectrically Actuated Microcantilevers

An extensive frequency response and subharmonic resonance analysis of the equations of motion governing the nonlinear flexural vibrations of piezoelectrically actuated microcantilevers is performed, using the method of Multiple Scales. A better understanding of the nonlinear response and subharmonics of such systems is needed to enhance the applications of piezoelectrically actuated microcantilevers that are increasingly becoming popular in many science and engineering areas including scanning force microscopy, biosensors, and microactuators. In this paper, the method of multiple scales is used to derive the 2× and 3× subharmonic resonances appearing in nonlinear flexural vibrations of a piezoelectrically actuated microcantilever. The analytical and numerical results yield the same system response for the fundamental and subharmonic frequencies.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
An improved model to forecast CO2 leakage rates along a wellbore

Abstract Large-scale geological storage of CO2 is likely to bring CO2 plumes into contact with a large number of existing wellbores. Wellbores that no longer provide proper zonal isolation establish a primary pathway for a buoyant CO2-rich phase to escape from the intended storage formation. The hazard of CO2 leakage along these pathways will depend on the rate of leakage. Thus a useful component of a risk assessment framework is a model of CO2 leakage. Predicting the flux of CO2 along a leaking wellbore requires a model of fluid properties and of transport along the leakage pathway. Leakage large enough to be a concern is most likely to occur along a defect (fracture, microannulus, gas channel) in the steel/cement/earth system, rather than through the cement matrix. This type of discrete leakage pathway has a specific geometry, and its hydraulic conductivity is therefore sensitive to the effective stress (confining earth stresses less pore fluid pressure). Wells that exhibit sustained casing pressure (SCP) are a good analogue to evaluate the likely geometry of leakage pathways. We have implemented a SCP model described in the literature, which yields an estimate of the depth of the leakage source and the effective permeability of the leakage pathway. The latter value can be converted into equivalent geometries of discrete pathways, e.g. the average aperture of a microannulus. We next describe a model for flow of CO2 along a discrete pathway. To obtain worst-case estimates of flux, we assume single-phase flow of CO2 and a continuous pathway of constant aperture. The properties of CO2 vary along the pathway and are computed with the Peng-Robinson equation of state, with an imposed temperature variation (usually geothermal gradient). The new model can assess CO2 leakage provided the information about the depth of leak and effective permeability from the SCP model. Using a range of pathway geometries consistent with observations in SCP wells, we obtain a range of CO2 fluxes for various boundary conditions. For example, through a well whose leakage pathway is 5000 ft long and has effective permeability 50 microdarcies, a CO2 flux of 2 mg/m2/s would leak from the formation, if it were stored at hydrostatic pressure. We estimate the range of CO2 flux based on the range of effective permeability calculated in the SCP model. Generally both the upper bound and lower bound of CO2 flux increases with the increase of effective permeability. We then plot the range of CO2 flux at different leakage depth. It does not show a big change in CO2 flux when the leakage depth increases. We calculate the range of CO2 flux in the case that the wellbore encounters pressure elevation during injection. The CO2 flux increases faster in deep leak than in shallow leak.
A Note on Variance Estimation for the Regression Estimator in Double Sampling

Abstract Double sampling of a finite population occurs when a sample from the population is itself sampled, with the intent of measuring varites in the subsample not already available in the sample. An important example is the regression estimator for means or totals, which uses values of an auxiliary variable from the full sample to estimate the mean of a variable of interest that is available only on the subsample. This article concerns estimation of the variance of the regression estimator. The estimators of variance recommended by Cochran rely solely on the subsample data, at least to first order. This article note proposes variance estimators that make better use of the entire sample.
Long-term results of rabbit antithymocyte globulin and basiliximab induction

To the Editor: In our recently reported prospective, randomized, international clinical trial comparing rabbit antithymocyte globulin and basiliximab in renal transplantation (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00235300),1 we observed that induction treatment with rabbit antithymocyte globulin was as safe as and more effective than basiliximab at 1 year in preventing acute rejection in patients who had received kidney transplants from deceased donors and who were at increased risk for acute rejection or delayed graft function. Whether the apparent benefits of rabbit antithymocyte globulin over basiliximab persist is unknown. The duration of follow-up in a clinical study is limited by whether patients are willing . . .
Adenosine deaminase is not required for the generation of superoxide anion

Abstract Neutrophils and macrophages generate superoxide anion during the respiratory burst in response to various stimuli, including microorganisms. It has recently been proposed that an important source of superoxide anion during the respiratory burst that stimulates murine macrophages is the sequential metabolism of adenosine via adenosine deaminase and xanthine oxidase to uric acid. Thus, the immunodeficiency state associated with adenosine deaminase deficiency may be caused at least in part by a defect in superoxide anion generation. The ability to generate superoxide anion of stimulated neutrophils isolated from three children with adenosine deaminase deficiency and associated severe combined immunodeficiency was tested. Neutrophils from all three patients were able to generate superoxide anion. One of these generated 19.1 nmol cytochrome c reduced/106 cells (normals = 5.3–33.0, mean 18.4 ± 7.1) while the other two generated low normal levels. Neutrophils from all three children also generated more superoxide anion after addition of exogenous adenosine deaminase. Thus, no evidence to support a role for cellular adenosine deaminase in the release of superoxide anion by stimulated neutrophils was found. Although neutrophils from patients deficient in adenosine deaminase appear to have no inherent defect in the generation of superoxide anion, the abnormally high concentrations of adenosine found in the plasma of these patients could in vivo, secondarily, inhibit superoxide anion release.
Occupant injury and fatality in general aviation aircraft for which dynamic crash testing is certification-mandated.

Abstract Towards further improving general aviation aircraft crashworthiness, multi-axis dynamic tests have been required for aircraft certification (14CFR23.562) since 1985. The objective of this study was to determine if occupants in aircraft certified to these higher crashworthiness standards show a mitigated fraction of fatal accidents and/or injury severity. The NTSB aviation database was queried for accidents occurring between 2002 and 2012 involving aircraft certified to, or immune from, dynamic crash testing and manufactured after 1999. Only operations conducted under 14CFR Part 91 were considered. Statistical analysis employed proportion tests and logistic regression. Off-airport landings are associated with high decelerative forces; however for off-airport landings, the fraction of fatal accidents for aircraft subject to, or exempt from, dynamic crash testing was similar (0.53 and 0.60, respectively). Unexpectedly, for on-airport landings a higher fraction of fatalities was evident for aircraft whose certification mandated dynamic crash testing. Improved crashworthiness standards would be expected to translate into a reduced severity of accident injuries. For all accidents, as well as for those deemed survivable, the fraction of minor and serious injuries was reduced for occupants in aircraft certified to the higher crashworthiness standards. Surprisingly, the fraction of occupants fatally injured was not decreased for aircraft subject to dynamic crash tests. To shed light on this unexpected finding flight history, airman demographics and post-impact fires for aircraft for which dynamic crash testing is mandatory or exempt was examined. For the former cohort the median distance of the accident flight was nearly 44% higher. Aircraft subject to dynamic crash testing were also involved in a greater fraction (0.25 versus 0.12, respectively) of post-impact fires. Our data suggest that while the more stringent crashworthiness standards have mitigated minor and serious injuries, surprisingly the fraction of occupants fatally injured is unaltered. The unchanged fraction of fatal injuries may reflect partly (a) fatigue associated with longer flight distances and (b) a greater proportion of post-impact fires.
Deep-sea traces from the central Arctic: an analysis of diversity

Abstract Measures of diversity of deep-sea epifaunal biogenic traces are highest on the abyssal plains, intermediate on the ridges and continental rise, and lowest on the Alpha Cordillera. Measures of species dominance are inversely related to diversity measures. Arctic epifaunal trace diversity is significantly greater than reported world-wide burrow diversity, despite limited productivity and low benthic biomass. In contrast with reported deep-sea burrows, epifaunal traces are non-cosmopolitan among seven analyzed provinces, suggestive of ecologic preferences. Physical homogeneity is correlated with increased diversity. The results suggest that species interactions exert a greater influence on community structure than do observed gradients of heterogeneity, disturbance, productivity, or geologic age.
System for testing wattmeters under nonsinusoidal conditions

Electrical and electronic power meters, due to nonlinear principles of operation, can exhibit, under nonsinusoidal conditions, errors that are not predictable from their frequency characteristic. A minicomputer-based calibration system to produce such test conditions is described. It relies on a two-phase digital arbitrary waveform generator as a waveform source and on a sampling rms/power meter as a monitoring instrument. At 120-V 5-A sinusoidal operation the “phantom” power can be reproduced with accuracy ±100 ppm at 50 or 60 Hz and ±200 ppm for frequencies up to 1 kHz.
A major and trace element and strontium, neodymium, and osmium isotopic study of a thick pyroxenite layer from the Beni Bousera Ultramafic Complex of northern Morocco

Abstract Major and trace element concentrations and strontium, neodymium, and osmium isotopic compositions were determined for a series of samples from a thick, symmetrically zoned pyroxenite layer from the Beni Bousera massif. The two main rock types included in the layer, garnet pyroxenites and websterites, have distinct, well-defined elemental and isotopic compositions. The websterites are, in most respects, more refractory than the garnet pyroxenites, but, surprisingly, are more enriched in the highly incompatible elements. The observed characteristics can be explained by formation of the layer by crystal deposition along a magma conduit at medium to high pressures, given that the source and composition of the magma varies with time. Re-Os model ages for three samples of different lithology converge to about 1.3 b.y., which is interpreted as the age of formation of the layer. In contrast, Sm-Nd model ages from the layer are mutually conflicting or indeterminate, largely due to the similarity between the measured neodymium isotopic ratios and that of the depleted mantle. On the other hand, the Sm-Nd model age obtained from an extremely depleted peridotite (143Nd/144Nd = 0.51391) located about 30 m from the layer falls within error of the Re-Os ages, providing support for an extensive magmatic event at about that time. This same age was obtained by several techniques from the closely related Ronda Ultramafic Complex of southern Spain. This may suggest that the mantle lithosphere currently exposed along the southern margin of Spain and the northern margin of Morocco has been linked for over a billion years.
Anti-Cocaine Catalytic Antibodies—A Novel Approach to the Problem of Addiction

ABSTRACT Cocaine reinforces its self-administration in relation to the magnitude of and rate of rise to the peak serum concentration of the drug. Catalytic antibodies are artificial enzymes which could reduce serum cocaine concentrations, deprive the abuser of cocaine's reinforcing effect and thus favor extinction of the addiction. Catalytic antibodies are elicited by immunization with a stable analog of a transition-state for a chemical reaction. Through our new method for synthesizing phosphonate monoesters, we constructed several phos-phonate-based transition-state analogs of cocaine hydrolysis. Using these analogs, monoclonal antibodies were elicited and, thus far, nine anti-analog antibodies with hydrolytic activity against cocaine have been identified, cloned and studied. The activity of one of these antibodies, 15A10, is sufficient to commence preclinical studies.
A comparison of the intelligibility of esophageal, electrolaryngeal, and normal speech in quiet and in noise.

Abstract The effect of different levels of a multiple-talker background noise on the intelligibility of normal, esophageal, and electrolaryngeal speech was investigated. A superior laryngectomized male speaker and a normal-age matched male speaker produced the speech stimuli used in the study. Audiotape recordings of the speakers were presented to panels of naive listeners. The data from the listeners' responses revealed significant differences in the intelligibility of normal, esophageal, and electrolaryngeal speech as a function of the background noise level. The data did not indicate a superiority of one form of alaryngeal speech over the other in adverse noise conditions.
Blue-green algal toxin (microcystin) levels in Minnesota lakes

Abstract Increased interest in blue-green algal toxins in recent years has led to increased monitoring to assess occurrence and levels of toxins in Minnesota lakes. Microcystin (MC), a hepatotoxin, is one of the primary toxins studied in Minnesota and elsewhere in North America. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has measured MC in numerous lakes across Minnesota as a part of three separate efforts: (1) A targeted survey in 2006 to assess MC levels in 12 eutrophic lakes in two south central Minnesota counties; (2) A stratified-random survey of 50 lakes in Minnesota as a part of the National Lake Assessment Project; and (3) Incident-based samples from various lakes during 2004–2007 with reports of severe nuisance algal blooms, potential for human health risk and/or documented dog deaths as a result of algal toxins. This investigation focuses primarily on the 2006 study and linkages between MC and other chemical, physical and biological measures. Of 133 MC samples, 94% were above the Method Detection Li...
Skiing the reaction rate slopes.

On the way from reactants to products, a chemical reaction passes through what chemists term the transition state-for a brief moment, the participants in the reaction may look like one large molecule ready to fall apart. The nature of this elusive state is the subject of a number of exciting recent developments that involve theory and experiment in the study of chemical reaction rates. They include time-resolved studies of molecules in the transition state region, spectrcopic observations of that region, reactive scattering state-to-state cross sections for reactions such as H + H_2 → H_2 + H, and experimental/theoretical studies of electron transfer processes in the condensed phase. The experiments of Lovejoy et al. described in this issue of Science involve the fundamental question of the quantization of vibrational energy levels of the transition state and its implications for unimolecular reaction rate theory.
Energy and Bandwidth Efficiency in Wireless Networks

In this paper, we consider the bandwidth efficiency and energy efficiency of wireless ad hoc networks in which the energy supply of nodes and bandwidth are the primary resource constraints. Energy consumption of the receiver in order to process each coded bit is considered as well as the wasted energy of a nonideal transmit amplifier. A simplified network consisting of a large number of nodes between the source and destination is considered. We consider the case where multiple simultaneous transmission can take place provided they sufficiently far apart (spatial reuse). The parameters we vary are the input power to the amplifier, the error control code rate and the transmission distance for each hop, or equivalently the number of hops between the source and destination. The result is a tradeoff between the energy efficiency and bandwidth efficiency of the network similar in nature to that found by Shannon for a single link. While Shannon's results indicate that arbitrarily low code rates minimize the energy required for reliable communication, when receiver processing energy strictly larger than 0 is included, then optimum code rate is much closer to 1. We also consider the transport efficiency defined as the number of bits per second per Hz per Joule of energy to transport information reliably between a source and a destination node as a single network performance metric. The transport efficiency combines the bandwidth efficiency and energy efficiency into a single metric.
Managing pain in high-risk patients within a patient-centered medical home

Chronic pain remains a major healthcare problem despite noteworthy advancements in diagnostics, pharmacotherapy, and invasive and non-invasive interventions. The prevalence of chronic pain in the United States is staggering and continues to grow, and the personal and societal costs are not inconsequential. The etiology of pain is complex, and individuals suffering from chronic pain tend to have significant medical and psychiatric comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, and in some cases, substance use disorders. There is great concern regarding the burgeoning rate of prescription opioid misuse/abuse both for non-medical use and in pain patients receiving chronic opioid therapy. While there is ongoing debate about the "true" incidence of opioid abuse in the pain population, clearly, patients afflicted with both pain and substance use disorder are particularity challenging. The majority of patients with chronic pain including those with co-occurring substance use disorders are managed in the primary care setting. Primary care practitioners have scant time, resources and training to effectively assess, treat and monitor these complicated cases. A number of evidence- and expert consensus-based treatment guidelines on opioid therapy and risk mitigation have been developed but they have been underutilized in both specialty and primary care clinics. This article will discuss the utilization of new technologies and delivery systems for risk stratification, intervention and monitoring of patients with pain receiving opioid.
Redifferentiation of Connective Tissue Cells in Serial Culture

When cell cultures are initiated from aortic connective tissue of rats and maintained as monolayers on glass, the differentiated property of collagen production disappears. However, these same cells, when placed in diffusion chambers in the peritoneal cavities of other rats, produce collagen, as indicated both morphologically and by the accumulation of hydroxy-proline within the chambers.
The minority carrier lifetime in doped and undoped p-type Hg 0.78 Cd 0.22 Te liquid phase epitaxy films

This paper will describe: (1) the first comparative study of recombination mechanisms between doped and undoped p-type Hg1-xCdxTe liquid phase epitaxy films with an x value of about 0.22, and (2) the first determination of τA7 i/τA1 i ratio by lifetime’s dependence on both carrier concentration and temperature. The doped films were either copper- or gold-doped with the carrier concentration ranging from 2 x 1015 to 1.5 x 1017 cm-3, and the lifetime varied from 2 μs to 8 ns. The undoped (Hg-vacancy) films had a carrier concentration range between 3 x 1015 and 8 x 1016 cm-3, and the lifetime changed from 150 to 3 ns. It was found that for the same carrier concentration, the doped films had lifetimes several times longer than those of the undoped films, limited mostly by Auger 7 and radiative recombination processes. The ineffectiveness of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination process in the doped films was also demonstrated in lifetime vs temperature curves. The important ratio of intrinsic Auger 7 lifetime to intrinsic Auger 1 lifetime, τA7 i/τA1 i, was determined to be about 20 from fitting both concentration and temperature curves. The reduction of minority carrier lifetime in undoped films can be explained by an effective SRH recombination center associated with the Hg vacancy. Indeed, a donor-like SRH recombination center located at midgap (Ev+60 meV) with a capture cross section for minority carriers much larger than that for majority carriers was deduced from fitting lifetime vs temperature curves of undoped films.
Trichogramma nubilale (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) Field Releases in Corn and a Hypothetical Model for Control of European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Maximum emergence of Trichogramma nubilale Ertle and Davis was obtained from parasitized European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), eggs that were laboratory incubated for a minimum of 7 days before placement in field-release containers. A release rate of 300 females per day per 0.3719 ha resulted in 40% parasitism of first-brood ECB egg masses. It is calculated that a release rate of ca. 2,400 and 12,000 females per day per ha would be needed to achieve 80% parasitism (i.e., control) of first and second brood, respectively. A hypothetical T. nubilale release model for control of ECB in corn is presented that incorporates changes (i.e., increases) in release rates relative to increases in the parasitoid searching area, namely, leaf surface.
Abstract 5430: Epigenetic targeting by histone deacetylase inhibitors reduces viability and induces apoptosis in human embryonal carcinoma cells

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC The disruption of the epigenetic regulation, including the acetylation status of nucleosomal histones, impacts gene expression; and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are being evaluated for anticancer activity based upon their ability to induce differentiation, inhibit cancer cell proliferation, and enhance sensitivity to apoptotic signaling. Although, germ cell tumors (GCT) have a high cure rate, effective agents with less toxicity are desired. Most critically, those with relapsed/refractory disease need new and effective second line agents. Serendipitously, in murine studies of prostate carcinogenesis with a novel HDACI developed at the Ohio State University we observed significant testicular atrophy, with essentially no histopathologic toxicity to other organs [Cancer Res 2008; 68:(10)]. This observation led us to investigate the in vitro effects of HDACIs (our novel HDACI and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid - SAHA) in the NTERA-2, an embryonal carcinoma cell line derived from a human testicular cancer. We evaluated their dose- and time-dependent effects on cell viability (MTS assay), apoptosis (caspase-3/7 activity, and PARP cleavage); and HDAC inhibition (immunoblotting). Assessment of cell signaling pathways (EGFR, and ErbB2) and anti-apoptotic molecules (Bcl-2) were performed by immunoblotting. Treatment of NTERA-2 cells with HDACIs at 0.1 - 10 µM concentrations showed a time- and dose-dependent reduction in cell viability. The IC50, at 72 hours of treatment, was 0.2 µM for our novel HDACI compared to 1.5 µM for SAHA. Both agents significantly induced apoptosis, but SAHA was less potent. Our novel HDACI significantly down-regulated the expression of EGFR, ErbB2 and Bcl-2 along with increased acetylation of histones H-3 and H-4, in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were more potent than observed with SAHA. In conclusion, HDACIs, especially our novel HDACI, appear to be potent inhibitors of cell viability and inducers of apoptosis in NTERA-2 human embryonal carcinoma cells. Our studies suggest that chromatin hyperacetylation, resulting in a coordinated change in recruitment of epigenetic modulators and transcription factors including tumor suppressor genes may result from targeted HDACI in germ cell cancers. The further preclinical development of HDACIs for the treatment of advanced germ cell tumors is underway. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5430.
A hexose-phosphate transport system in Escherichia coli.

Abstract The properties of an inducible hexose-phosphate transport system in Escherichia coli have been investigated. Mannose 6-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate are inducers as well as substrates of this transport system. A hexose phosphate transport-negative mutant was isolated which grew on the hexoses mannose, fructose, and glucose but not on the corresponding hexose 6-phosphates. This hexose-phosphate transport system is distinct from those for the corresponding hexoses as well as that for l -α-glycerophosphate. These strains of E. coli appear to be unable to transport galactose 6-phosphate and α-methylglucoside phosphate.
On an analogue of the Lutz–Nagell Theorem for hyperelliptic curves

Abstract We produce a version of the Lutz–Nagell Theorem for hyperelliptic curves of genus g ⩾ 1 . We consider curves C defined by y 2 = f ( x ) , where f is a monic polynomial of degree 2 g + 1 defined over the ring of integers of a number field F or its non-archimedean completions. If J is the Jacobian of C, and ϕ is the Abel–Jacobi map of C into J sending the point at ∞ of our model of C to the origin of J, we show that if P = ( a , b ) is a rational point of C such that ϕ ( P ) is torsion in J, then a and b are integral if the order n of P is not a prime power, and bound the denominators of a and b if n is. When a and b are integral, we give criteria for when b 2 divides the discriminant Δ ( f ) of f. Finally we show for f ∈ Z [ x ] , that if P = ( a , b ) ∈ C ( Q ) and ϕ ( P ) is a torsion point of order n ⩾ 2 , then we have a , b ∈ Z , and either b = 0 or b 2 divides Δ ( f ) .
Thermal properties of automotive polymers III – Thermal characteristics and flammability of fire retardant polymers

Thermal properties and flammability behavior of two grades of fire retardant polypropylene and nylon 66, and their base resins were determined. A nylon 6 base polymer and a nano-composite based on that polymer were also analyzed. Thermal gravimetric analysis showed more complex degradation patterns for the fire retardant grades as compared to the base resin. This was attributed to decomposition of ingredients present in the fire retardant. Degradation of polypropylene in air started at about 100°C lower temperature than degradation in nitrogen. For nylon, the degradation in both atmospheres occurred at approximately the same temperature. Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MDSC) measurements were used to determine melting and glass transition temperatures, heats of fusion, heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Both phosphorus-based and halogen-based fire retardants modified the ignition, propagation, and melt-dripping behavior of nylon and polypropylene during burning. Incorporation of a nano-filler was found to be ineffective in imparting fire retardancy to nylon 6. Performance of these materials will have to be evaluated in actual vehicle applications and fire exposures before use on a broad scale basis.
Living chips for drug discovery

We have developed novel microarray technology for performing large numbers (up to 106) of chemical and cell-based assays in parallel. This technology is particularly relevant to the high-throughput screening methods used by the pharmaceutical industry to identify potential drug candidates. In this paper we provide an overview of the system and its enabling technologies, including an economical manufacturing process for creating these microarrays, a fluorescence imaging system for detecting `hits', a fluid delivery system for loading arrays, and a method for mixing reagents.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Simple algorithms for BCH decoding

Proposes some simple algorithms for decoding BCH codes. The authors show that the pruned FFT is an effective method for evaluating syndromes and for finding the roots of error-locator polynomials. They show that a simple variation of the basic Gaussian elimination procedure can be adapted to compute the error-locator polynomial efficiently for codes with small designed distance. Finally, they give a procedure for computing the error values that has half the complexity of the Forney algorithm. >
Specific Localization and Timing in Neuronal Signal Transduction Mediated by Protein-Lipid Interactions

A large number of signaling proteins translocate from the cytosol to the plasma membrane in response to receptor and electrical stimuli. The site of translocation to the plasma membrane and the "on" and "off" rates of the translocation process are critical for defining the specificity of the signaling response. In addition to targeting mechanisms based on protein-protein interactions, signaling proteins have evolved a large repertoire of covalent lipid modifications and lipid binding protein modules that regulate reversible membrane association. The time constants of these membrane interactions range from milliseconds to several hours. Here we discuss how diversity in lipid-based membrane anchoring and targeting motifs contributes to plasticity in neuronal signaling by providing local and regional control mechanisms as well as a means to transduce and integrate signals over a broad range of different time scales.
Microarrays Technologies 2006: an overview.

Biochips & drug discovery Drugs are classified according to their chemical composition into small-molecule drugs (SMDs) and biologics (therapeutic hormones, enzymes, monoclonal antibodies and cytokines and antisense drugs). Andrew Carmen (Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, CA, USA) reviewed the role of biochips in the drug discovery process. Novel therapeutic discovery is both complex and costly, with greater than 99% of the experimental compounds investigated discarded as failures. In the current economic climate, the pharmaceutical industry is faced with the predicament of increased research and development costs and a decline in the number of novel therapeutics reaching the market place. Lean discovery pipelines; pricing, political and competitive pressures; regulatory issues; and sales pressure from generics are contributing
Identification of the tumor factor of abnormal cancer methylation enzymes as the catalytic subunit of telomerase

Objective The objective was to study the relationship between the tumor factor of cancer MATLT and the catalytic subunit of telomerase. The function of telomerase in the blockade of cell differentiation and in the protection of DNA MT resembles closely the function of the tumor factor of cancer MATLT. Because of this close similarity we made an attempt to examine the possibility that the tumor factor of MATLT might be the catalytic subunit of telomerase.
Exploiting subjectivity classification to improve information extraction

Information extraction (IE) systems are prone to false hits for a variety of reasons and we observed that many of these false hi ts occur in sentences that contain subjective language (e.g., opinions, emotions, and sentiments). Motivated by these observations, we explore the idea of using subjectivity analysis to improve the precision of information extraction systems. In this paper, we describe an IE system that uses a subjective sentence classifier to filter its extractions. We experimented with several different strategies for using the subjectivity classifications, including an aggressive strategy that discards all extractions found in subjective sentences and more complex strategies that selectively discard extractions. We evaluated the performance of these different approaches on the MUC-4 terrorism data set. We found that indiscriminately filtering extractions from subjective sentences was overly aggressive, but more selective filtering strategies improved IE precision with minimal recall loss.
High-speed and low-relative-intensity noise 1.3 mu m InGaAsP semi-insulating buried crescent lasers

The dependence of static and dynamic performance on active layer doping concentration in 1.3- mu m InGaAsP semiinsulating buried crescent (SIBC) Fabry-Perot lasers were investigated experimentally. The optical loss in the active region is one of the dominant mechanisms in determining the threshold current for doped active layer lasers. These SIBC lasers have a 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 19 GHz for pulsed operation and 16 GHz for continuous-wave (CW) operation, and a relative intensity noise below -150 dB/Hz for biased current at 120 mA. The doped active lasers show an initial small degradation rate at 65 degrees C operation, which gives an acceptably long operation lifetime. >
Reflux Monitoring: On or Off Therapy?

The role of esophageal pH (or impedance) monitoring in diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has evolved over the years. In the era of empiric therapy with potent acid-suppressive agents such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), esophageal reflux monitoring is often reserved for patients with PPI-refractory symptoms (1, 2). Given the complexity of patient presentations, technological advancement, and emerging data in the field of GERD, two essential questions need to be addressed: (i) What are the indications for esophageal pH testing in patients suspected to have GERD? (ii) If patients do not respond to aggressive acid suppression, what is the likelihood that they still have reflux; and should the testing be performed at baseline (i.e., off therapy), or is it more important to know whether there is continued reflux despite therapy (i.e., on therapy)?
Imagining Adam's dream: keats's chamber of maiden thought in "The Eve of St. Agnes"

From the time of its initial publication, The Eve of St. Agnes (1820) has engendered a number of different interpretations and is arguably one of Keats’s most highly contested works. While many critics, following Jack Stillinger, argue that Porphyro rapes Madeline, others, in accord with Earl Wasserman’s metaphysical view, assert that no sexual union occurs between the lovers. Because Keats leaves the relationship between Porphyro and Madeline ambiguous, readers have responded by regarding the lovers either as bound in physical desire or freed from constraint by their imaginative longings. 1 Though most agree that Keats creates a world where the lovers express either physical or metaphysical desire in the poem, but not both, I argue that Keats defies exclusivity by presenting the imagination as a bridge that allows the poem to offer two interconnected spaces: the actual world of the poem and the abstract realm of art. The lovers engage this imaginative world, which cannot offer them actual immortality. Nevertheless, it can offer them an artistic immortality Keats depicts through their union in the chamber of maiden thought. Keats writes his poem during a revival of the medieval romance. The medieval romance provides a narrative frame for Romantic poets as well, and they rework romance conventions to create exotic landscapes that expand and reconfigure romance tropes. When Keats invokes the medieval romance in several works, including Isabella; or The Pot of Basil (1819), which he imaginatively recreates from Boccacio’s medieval work, The Decameron, and in The Eve of St. Agnes, which he
Prediction of ICU in-hospital mortality using a deep Boltzmann machine and dropout neural net

The capability to predict in-hospital mortality of patients in intensive care units will be of paramount importance. We explore state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to estimate the in-hospital mortality probability of a patient using various physiological measurements taken within the first forty-eight hours of patient admission. A generative model, a deep Boltzmann machine, is trained using a set of recently developed techniques to automatically extract features from the patient data, and then used to initialize a feed-forward neural network. The neural network is then discriminatively fine-tuned using an efficient approximation to an ensemble of neural networks, dropout, to prevent overfitting on the limited number of labeled training examples.
Imaging of the carotid arteries: the role of duplex ultrasonography, magnetic resonance arteriography, and computerized tomographic arteriography

Stenosis of the internal carotid artery represents a major cause of stroke, with atherosclerosis representing the major pathophysiology of this stenosis. It is estimated that over 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke annually. A prompt and accurate diagnosis of carotid artery disease is critical when planning a therapeutic strategy. Physical examination is inaccurate in determining the presence and severity of carotid artery disease. Therefore, reliable imaging tests which offer little risk to the patient are required.
Polymerization in water‐in‐oil microemulsion systems. I

Phase diagrams for monomer (methyl acrylate containing microemulsions) are shown and described. Polymerizations of a series of microemulsified monomer reveals the expected linear dependence of 1/DS vs. [S]/[M] for pentanol acting as a chain transfer agent and giving a value of 5.1 × 10−4 for Cs. No break in molecular weight behavior was shown as a result of micellization at higher water contents. A comparison of molecular weights obtained by various classical methods (solution, emulsion, bulk) are also given.
Slotline antenna with non-leaky coplanar (NLC) waveguide feed

Aperture antennas such as slotline and loop antennas have been utilized in the microwave and millimeter wave application. In some applications, as unidirectional antenna radiation is preferred, conductor backing is adopted. But the presence of conductor backing may deteriorate the circuit performance due to the energy leakage, an inherent problem of conductor-backed uniplanar circuits. In such a case, the non-leaky coplanar (NLC) waveguide using a multilayered structure is favorable. Two multilayered structures can be used and one with an additional bottom layer is discussed as an example. Uniform guided wave structures, i.e., feed waveguide and slotline, are analyzed first using the spectral domain approach to make sure that both of them are non-leaky in the working frequency range. The entire structure is analyzed by the FDTD method.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension and myeloproliferative disorders

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disorder characterized by vascular changes to the pulmonary arterioles that may ultimately lead to right ventricular dysfunction and premature death. PAH ...
Bro1 binding to Snf7 regulates ESCRT-III membrane scission activity in yeast

Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs) promote the invagination of vesicles into the lumen of endosomes, the budding of enveloped viruses, and the separation of cells during cytokinesis. These processes share a topologically similar membrane scission event facilitated by ESCRT-III assembly at the cytosolic surface of the membrane. The Snf7 subunit of ESCRT-III in yeast binds directly to an auxiliary protein, Bro1. Like ESCRT-III, Bro1 is required for the formation of intralumenal vesicles at endosomes, but its role in membrane scission is unknown. We show that overexpression of Bro1 or its N-terminal Bro1 domain that binds Snf7 enhances the stability of ESCRT-III by inhibiting Vps4-mediated disassembly in vivo and in vitro. This stabilization effect correlates with a reduced frequency in the detachment of intralumenal vesicles as observed by electron tomography, implicating Bro1 as a regulator of ESCRT-III disassembly and membrane scission activity.
Dislocation Mechanics Simulations of the Bilinear Behavior in Micro- and Nanoindentation

The hardnesses of electropolished, polycrystalline α-brass, and aluminum were measured as functions of load using Vickers microindentation, and Berkovich nanoindentation. Data were compared with literature data for silver, copper, and tungsten. In all cases, the hardness was observed to increase with decreasing size. Theories in the literature based on strain gradient plasticity and the addition of statistically stored and geometrically stored dislocation densities predict that the square of the hardness should increase linearly with inverse size of the indent. Our data and the literature data agree with this prediction over a limited range of indent diameters represented by microhardness and deep nanohardness data, whereas for the shallow nanohardness data, a second linear behavior is observed. The linear behavior of the microhardness and deep nanohardness data together with the second linear behavior generated by the shallow nanohardness data constituted what we designate a bilinear behavior. An algorithm is developed to calculate the induced shear stresses in a circular Volterra dislocation loop from a line integral of the Peach–Koehler equation using dislocation mechanics and isotropic elasticity. The computed induced shear stresses when plotted versus depth of indentation produced curves that exhibited a bilinear behavior identical to the bilinear behavior resulted from experiments, and the curves collapsed to a single curve for the different materials simulated.
Using Automatic Speech Recognition Technology with Elicited Oral Response Testing.

This study examined the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) scored elicited oral response (EOR) tests designed to predict speaking ability, as well as the relationship between ASR-scored EOR and other language proficiency measures and the ability of the ASR to rate speakers without bias to gender and native language. To that end, 179 subjects were given an ASR-Scored EOR Test with 60 items followed by an oral interview and a battery of other language tests. Findings suggest that ASR-scored EOR results could be used alone to predict speaking ability in specific situations and for limited purposes such as initial placement of students in language training situations. However, if more certainty should be required, adding a listening component would improve the assessment. Analysis of the study results also suggests that differences in gender and native language had no significant effect on ASR-scoring of EOR. While EOR is not an authentic performance assessment of the specific construct in questions, it does have high reliability, good content validity and seems to be a practical estimate of speaking proficiency that could be used for initial placement of students in situations where speaking is not currently being assessed.
Studying the use of handhelds to control smart appliances

Today's complex appliances are plagued by difficult-to-use interfaces. In many cases, consumers use only a few of the many features on their appliances because the more complex features are hidden by confusing interfaces. This problem can only get worse as appliances get smarter, become more complex, and are subject to more demands by their users. This paper presents two studies that compare the accuracy and speed of real users controlling two common appliances, a stereo and a telephone/answering machine, using two different interaction techniques. Our studies found that people using an appliance interface presented on a handheld computer performed the same set of tasks in half the time while making half the errors as compared to using the appliance's built-in control panel. These studies are motivating us to build a generic remote appliance control system that we call the personal universal controller.
Supercritical fluids and polymers – The year in review – 2014

Abstract A critical overview of publications on applications of supercritical fluids in polymer formation, modification and processing is presented. The review is focused on publications that appeared in 2014 only with the intent of providing an in-depth look at the activity in the most recent year to gain insights on the more recent trends and opportunities. The articles have been grouped under ten different application areas which include (1) polymer solutions and phase behavior, (2) polymerizations, (3) particle formation/micronization/drug delivery systems, (4) films, (5) fibers, (6) membranes, (7) nanocomposites, (8) porous materials – foams/scaffolds, (9) organogels, and (10) lignocellulosic polymers. In each category, articles are discussed under specific polymer or polymer type to better highlight those polymers that are receiving the greater level of attention. In 2014, more polymers were explored for their foamability, and for generation of nanocomposites. Poly(ɛ-caprolactone), poly(lactic acid) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) were the most frequently investigated polymers for their porous matrix formation, or particle formation features using supercritical carbon dioxide because of their biomedical significance as biodegradable platforms for tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery devices. Poly(ethylene oxide), poly(lactic acid), and poly(methyl methacrylate) were the polymers that were explored in multiple application areas. Based on the close examination of these publications, the review provides specific observations on the advances that are made toward improved understanding of the factors that affect the miscibility of polymers in carbon dioxide, and for further understanding of the synergistic or other effects of components in polymer blends and composites, including the consequences of the presence of crystalline versus amorphous domains and morphological differences, or the consequences of the presence of nanofillers in different applications. New perspectives that are emerging in each application area are presented.