cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Numerical Methods for Elliptic Partial Differential Equations

Abstract We systematically evaluate four methods for solving two-dimensional, linear elliptic partial differential equations on general domains. The four methods are: standard finite differences; collocation, Galerkin, and least squares using Hermite cubic piecewise polynomials. The collocation method is new in that it applies to general curved domains and we describe this aspect in detail. Our test set of 17 problems ranges from simple to moderately complex. The principal conclusion is that collocation is the most efficient method for general use. Standard finite differences is sometimes more efficient for very crude accuracy (where efficiency is not important anyway) but it is also sometimes enormously less efficient even for very modest accuracy. The accuracy of the Galerkin and least-squares methods is sometimes better than collocation, but the extra cost always negates this advantage for our problems.
PARALLEL COMPUTATION OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOWS WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRIES

SUMMARY We present our numerical methods for the solution of large-scale incompressible flow applications with complex geometries. These methods include a stabilized finite element formulation of the Navier‐Stokes equations, implementation of this formulation on parallel architectures such as the Thinking Machines CM-5 and the CRAY
Pathogens Gone Wild? Medical Anthropology and the “Swine Flu” Pandemic

Beginning in April 2009, global attention began focusing on the emergence in Mexico of a potentially highly lethal new influenza strain of porcine origin that has successfully jumped species barriers and is now being transmitted around the world. Reported on extensively by the mass media, commented on by public health and government officials across the globe, and focused on with nervous attention by the general public, the so-called swine flu pandemic raises important questions, addressed here, concerning the capacity of medical anthropology to respond usefully to such disease outbreaks and their health and social consequences.
State-space models for stochastic and seasonal fluctuations of vole and shrew populations in east-central Illinois

Abstract Small mammal populations fluctuate erratically and exhibit seasonal and multi-annual variations in abundance. The decomposition of population dynamics into seasonal fluctuations, stochastic trends, and residuals helps to quantify environmental stochasticity of population dynamics. We used basic structural model (BSM), a state-space time series model, to decompose and de-trend 25 years of monthly live-trapping data for Microtus ochrogaster , M. pennsylvanicus , and Blarina brevicauda in east-central Illinois, USA. We further used Bayesian state-space models (BSSM) to determine the structure of within-year and between-year density dependent feedbacks in the stationarized residuals from the BSM for the three species. The BSM and spectral analysis identified significant seasonal fluctuations for the B. brevicauda populations. All populations of the three species exhibited strong stochastic fluctuations, but those of M. ochrogaster and B. brevicauda displayed greater environmental stochasticity than that of M. pennsylvanicus . The BSSM analysis indicates that M. pennsylvanicus was subject to density-dependence with a 4-month time lag, whereas the M. ochrogaster and B. brevicauda populations displayed 18- and 10-month delayed density-dependence, respectively. Moreover, spectral analysis suggests that none of the species exhibited multi-annual cyclic population fluctuations. Thus, both environmental stochasticity and density-dependence appeared to play significant roles in the population dynamics. State-space models are a promising tool for analyzing long-term monthly population time series.
Electrophoretic analysis of Allium alien addition lines

Meiotic pairing in an interspecific triploid of Allium cepa and A. fistulosum, ‘Delta Giant’, exhibits preferential pairing between the two A. cepa genomes, leaving the A. fistulosum genome as univalents. Multivalent pairing involving A. fistulosum chromosomes occurs at a low level, allowing for recombination between the genomes. Ten trisomies were recovered from the backcross of ‘Delta Giant’ x A. cepa cv., ‘Temprana’, representing a minimum of four of the eight possible alien addition lines. The alien addition lines possessed different A. fistulosum enzyme markers. Those markers, Adh-1, Idh-1 and Pgm-1 reside on different A. fistulosum chromosomes, whereas Pgi-1 and Idh-1 may be linked. Diploid, trisomic and hyperploid progeny were recovered that exhibited putative pink root resistance. The use of interspecific plants as a means to introgress A. fistulosum genes into A. cepa appears to be successful at both the trisomic and the diploid levels. If introgression can be accomplished using an interspecific triploid such as ‘Delta Giant’ to generate fertile alien addition lines and subsequent fertile diploids, or if introgression can be accomplished directly at the diploid level, this will have accomplished gene flow that has not been possible at the interspecific diploid level.
Gastric carcinoma in a dog.

An 8–year-old castrated male Bassett hound had been vomiting intermittently for 3 weeks. In addition, clinical signs of anorexia, weight loss, dehydration, depression and anterior abdominal pain were noted. Gastro-scopic and radiographic examination revealed a mass at the pyloric region of the stomach. Clinical remission followed surgical excision of gastric carcinoma, with recurrence of vomiting 4 months after surgery. At necropsy, the pyloric region of the stomach was markedly thickened, rigid, scirrhous and had an excavated ulcer. The pathological diagnosis was a poorly differentiated, diffuse gastric carcinoma with metastasis to regional lymph nodes.
Nociceptin, an endogenous ligand for the ORL1 receptor, has novel hypotensive activity in the rat

Abstract The heptadecapeptide nociceptin, also known as Orphanin FQ, is a newly discovered endogenous ligand for the opioid-like G-protein coupled receptor, ORL 1 . In the present study responses to intravenous administration of nociceptin were investigated in the systemic vascular bed of the rat. Nociceptin induced dose-related decreases in systemic arterial pressure when injected in doses of 1–30 nmol kg i.v. In tarns of relative vasodepressor activity, nociceptin was approximately 10-fold more potent than the nitric oxide donor, DEA/NO, and 10-fold less potent than adrenomedullin. The duration of the vasodepressor response to nociceptin was shorter than adrenomedullin but longer than DEA/NO. These results show that nociceptin has significant vasodepressor activity in the rat.
An Adaptive Middleware Framework for Optimal Scheduling on Large Scale Compute Clusters

In production multi-user high-performance (HPC) batch computing environments, wait times for scheduled jobs are highly dynamic. For scientific users, the primary measure of efficiency is wall clock time-to-solution. In high throughput applications, such as many kinds of biological analysis, the computational work to be done can be flexibly scheduled taking a longer time on a small number of processors or a shorter time on a large number of processors. Therefore the capability to choose a platform at run-time based on both processing capabilities and availability (lowest wait time) would be attractive. The goal of our work was to create an adaptive interface to HPC systems that dynamically reschedules high-throughput calculations in response to fluctuating load, optimizing for time-to-solution. This was done by implementing middleware functionality to (1) monitor the resource load on a given compute cluster, (2) generate a plan, checking on the applicability of the plan with the defined goals and (3) adaptively choosing the optimal job dimensions (number of processors and wall-clock time) to provide the best time-to-solution results.
Identification of nonpoint sources of fecal pollution in coastal waters by using host-specific 16S ribosomal DNA genetic markers from fecal anaerobes.

We describe a new PCR-based method for distinguishing human and cow fecal contamination in coastal waters without culturing indicator organisms, and we show that the method can be used to track bacterial marker sequences in complex environments. We identified two human-specific genetic markers and five cow-specific genetic markers in fecal samples by amplifying 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) fragments from members of the genus Bifidobacterium and the Bacteroides-Prevotella group and performing length heterogeneity PCR and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses. Host-specific patterns suggested that there are species composition differences in the Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides-Prevotella populations of human and cow feces. The patterns were highly reproducible among different hosts belonging to the same species. Additionally, all host-specific genetic markers were detected in water samples collected from areas frequently contaminated with fecal pollution. Ease of detection and longer survival in water made Bacteroides-Prevotella indicators better than Bifidobacterium indicators. Fecal 16S rDNA sequences corresponding to our Bacteroides-Prevotella markers comprised closely related gene clusters, none of which exactly matched previously published Bacteroides or Prevotella sequences. Our method detected host-specific markers in water at pollutant concentrations of 2.8 × 10−5 to 2.8 × 10−7 g (dry weight) of feces/liter and 6.8 × 10−7 g (dry weight) of sewage/liter. Although our aim was to identify nonpoint sources of fecal contamination, the method described here should be widely applicable for monitoring spatial and temporal fluctuations in specific bacterial groups in natural environments.
A 1.4µA reset current phase change memory cell with integrated carbon nanotube electrodes for cross-point memory application

A cross-point phase change memory (PCM) cell working close to its ultimate scaling limit is demonstrated for the first time with an ultra low reset current of 1.4µA and set current of 0.5µA. This is the lowest value ever reported. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are utilized as the bottom electrode of the cell, which bring the lithography-independent critical dimension down to 1.2nm. Good electrical characteristics obtained demonstrate the functionality and potential viability of PCM for highly scaled ultra-dense memory at 2.5nm node.
Global bifurcations in externally excited two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear systems

In this study we examine the global dynamics associated with a generic two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF), coupled nonlinear system that is externally excited. The method of averaging is used to obtain the second order approximation of the response of the system in the presence of one-one internal resonance and subharmonic external resonance. This system can describe a variety of physical phenomena such as the motion of an initially deflected shallow arch, pitching vibrations in a nonlinear vibration absorber, nonlinear response of suspended cables etc. Using a perturbation method developed by Kovacic and Wiggins (1992), we show the existence of Silnikov type homoclinic orbits which may lead to chaotic behavior in this system. Here two different cases are examined and conditions are obtained for the existence of Silnikov type chaos.
Chemical ionization mass spectrometry studies—VII: Deuterium labeled decanes

CI mass spectra of the five isomeric vicinal d2-decanes have been recorded using methane and d4-methane as reagent gases. In contrast to earlier suggestions, we find that a large fraction of the alkyl fragment ions from n-decane are formed by elimination of olefins from the abundant [M – 1] ion. Only the C9 and C8 fragment ions are produced completely by a one-step reaction between the decanes and the methane reagent ions. Isotope exchange does not occur between the hydrocarbon and the reagent ions derived from d4-methane but extensive scrambling of the deuterium label in the d2-decanes does take place in the [M – 1] ion.
Indications for Therapy

This chapter will broadly examine considerations about how to approach the treatment of those who wish to remain healthy or have their existing disease eliminated, or, at the least, prevented from getting worse. Those seeking care will be called “patients,” even though that word itself implies that the patient is less knowledgeable and less powerful than the physician, which results in a self-fulfilling prophecy: specifically, that doctors act as if they know more and patients act as if they know less. There are aspects related to health and disease about which physicians are expected to be more knowledgeable than patients. However, only the patient knows what he or she wants, and only the patient has the power to care for himself or herself. As such, then, patients have many powers that physicians do not have; recognizing this is essential for both the patient and the physician if the appropriate goal - health - is to be achieved. Nevertheless, not being able to use the word “patient” introduces such awkwardness in language that there is no other practical option.
Microstructure of 96% Alumina Ceramics: II, Crystallization of High‐Magnesia Boundary Glasses

The crystallization characteristics of a group of 96% Al2O3 ceramics containing a high-CaO boundary glass were examined using a combination of electron microscopy techniques. As many as six crystalline phases formed at the boundaries during anneals between 1000° and 1350°C. Devitrification was rapid, and little glass remained following a 1-h anneal. Despite the extensive changes in grain-boundary microstructure, heat treatment had little effect on the room-temperature mechanical properties of these Al2O3 materials; however, high-CaO bodies fractured intergranularly, whereas high-MgO bodies fractured transgranularly.
Primiparity: an 'intermediate' risk group for spontaneous and medically indicated preterm birth.

Objective. Most women in their first pregnancy are at ‘unknown’ risk for preterm birth. We hypothesized that such women may be at an increased risk for preterm birth in comparison to those with a prior term birth.Methods. We used Missouri's maternally-linked data (1989–97), comprised of women delivering their first singleton live birth (N = 259 431) and women delivering their first two consecutive singleton live births (N = 154 810). We compared preterm birth (<37 weeks) rates among women with a previous term birth, women with no reproductive history (primiparous women), and in those with a previous preterm birth. Risks of spontaneous and medically indicated preterm birth were also examined after adjustments for confounders through multivariate log-binomial regression models.Results. Preterm birth rates were 8.1%, 9.6%, and 23.3% among women with a previous term birth, among primiparous women, and among those with a previous preterm birth, respectively. In comparison to women with a prior term birth, risk...
Noninvasive measurement of brachial artery compliance variability

An occlusive cuff plethysmograph was utilized to noninvasively measure pressure-compliance (P-C) curves in a single human subject over extended time periods. Data was collected over a period of 22 days. In addition, compliance was examined at two different daily times to detect the existence of a circadian rhythm. The data was analyzed using standard statistical methods. It was found that the variability in compliance follows an apparently random pattern. This variation resulted in a standard deviation equal to 17% of the mean value of compliance or lumen area. Data collected over the short and long term time periods were found to possess similar variability. The variation was independent of circadian rhythm. Therefore, this instrument can be used to accurately track compliance and lumen area in patients without considering when the measurements are taken.
Direct estimation of the mutation rate at dinucleotide microsatellite loci in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae)

Direct estimation of the mutation rate at dinucleotide microsatellite loci in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae)
Toward a new recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C based on antioxidant and health effects in humans

The current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C for adult nonsmoking men and women is 60 mg/d, which is based on a mean requirement of 46 mg/d to prevent the deficiency disease scurvy. However, recent scientific evidence indicates that an increased intake of vitamin C is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and cataract, probably through antioxidant mechanisms. It is likely that the amount of vitamin C required to prevent scurvy is not sufficient to optimally protect against these diseases. Because the RDA is defined as "the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all healthy individuals in a group," it is appropriate to reevaluate the RDA for vitamin C. Therefore, we reviewed the biochemical, clinical, and epidemiologic evidence to date for a role of vitamin C in chronic disease prevention. The totality of the reviewed data suggests that an intake of 90-100 mg vitamin C/d is required for optimum reduction of chronic disease risk in nonsmoking men and women. This amount is about twice the amount on which the current RDA for vitamin C is based, suggesting a new RDA of 120 mg vitamin C/d.
Determination of data matrix dimensions for subspace-based parameter estimation algorithms

This paper provides an analytical solution to the problem of determining the data matrix dimensions when a subspace-based algorithm is used to estimate parameters from a noisy signal. A unified expression of mean squared errors (MSEs) of signal parameter estimates is given first in terms of singular values and singular vectors. This expression is then generalized so that the MSEs are a function of physical parameters such as the data length, the signal frequency spacing, and the number of rows of the data matrix formed for the use of a subspace-based algorithm. When all the physical parameters except the data matrix dimensions are fixed, the mean squared errors of the signal parameter estimate are a function of the data matrix dimension. The optimal matrix dimensions, which correspond to the minima of the error function, can then be determined. Examples using synthetic data are included to demonstrate the significance of the results.
Multilayer Reflection Coatings on a Metal Mirror

The design of a thin-film dielectric multiplayer on a metal surface to enhance its reflectance is discussed. A numerical example is solved in detail.
Stress‐intensity factor computation in three dimensions with quarter‐point elements

A consistent method for computing stress-intensity factors from three-dimensional quarter-point element nodal displacements is presented. The method is generalized to permit functional evaluation of stress-intensity factors along the crack front. Embedded, surface, and corner crack problems are solved using the proposed technique. Results are compared to previous finite element and boundary element solutions. The comparison shows that use of the functional evaluation technique allows a dramatic decrease in problem size while still maintaining engineering accuracy. Next, a three-dimensional stress-intensity factor calibration of an unusual specimen configuration is presented. By taking advantage of the proposed technique, the calibration was performed with little difference in cost over the more usual two-dimensional approach. Moreover, the three-dimensional solution revealed intersting behaviour that would have been undetected by a two-dimensional solution. Finally, the results of a study on optimum size of the quarter-point element are presented. Surprisingly, Poisson ratio is shown to have marked effect on optimum element size.
Utilitarianism and Distributive Justice: The Civil Law and the Foundations of Bentham's Economic Thought

Between 1787, and the end of his life in 1832, Bentham turned his attention to the development and application of economic ideas and principles within the general structure of his legislative project. For seventeen years this interest was manifested through a number of books and pamphlets, most of which remained in manuscript form, that develop a distinctive approach to economic questions. Although Bentham was influenced by Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, he neither adopted a Smithian vocabulary for addressing questions of economic principle and policy, nor did he accept many of the distinctive features of Smith's economic theory. One consequence of this was that Bentham played almost no part in the development of the emerging science of political economy in the early nineteenth century. The standard histories of economics all emphasize how little he contributed to the mainstream of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century debate by concentrating attention on his utilitarianism and the psychology of hedonism on which it is premised. Others have argued that the calculating nature of his theory of practical reason reduced the whole legislative project to a crude attempt to apply economics to all aspects of social and political life. Put at its simplest this argument amounts to the erroneous claim that Bentham's science of legislation is reducible to the science of political economy. A different but equally dangerous error would be to argue that because Bentham's conception of the science of legislation comprehends all the basic forms of social relationships, there can be no science of political economy as there is no autonomous sphere of activity governed by the principles of economics. This approach is no doubt attractive from an historical point of view given that the major premise of this argument is true, and that many of Bentham's ‘economic’ arguments are couched in terms of his theory of legislation. Yet it fails to account for the undoubted importance of political economy within Bentham's writings, not just on finance, economic policy, colonies and preventive police, but also in other aspects of his utilitarian public policy such as prison reform, pauper management, and even constitutional reform. All of these works reflect a conception of political economy in its broadest terms. However, this conception of political economy differs in many respects from that of Bentham's contemporaries, and for this reason Bentham's distinctive approach to problems of economics and political economy has largely been misunderstood.
Dual-mode intracranial catheters for minimally-invasive neuro-oncology feasibility study

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of dual-mode intracranial catheter transducers for visualization and treatment of tumors in the brain. Feasibility is demonstrated in two ways: 1) by developing a 12 Fr, integrated matrix and linear array catheter transducer prototype for combined real-time 3D imaging and heating, and 2) by testing 3.5 Fr IVUS-catheter-packageable transducers for therapeutic potential. The 3.6 MHz, 12 Fr catheter acquired real-time 3D images of canine brain structures in vivo while placed in the superior sagittal sinus via a burr hole in the skull, and achieved a 3.5°C temperature rise in tissue-mimicking material at a 2 cm focus in vitro. The IVUS-sized prototype transducers were tested for maximum intensity and mechanical index, and a thermal model was used to extrapolate and estimate each transducer's maximum potential temperature rise in brain tissue.
Context as a Source of Meaning and Understanding

The intent of health professions is to understand humans, their health, and other related phenomena and to use this understanding to promote meaningful life experiences. The ability to do this depends on knowledge of the multiple contexts in which these phenomena exist. The purposeful use of context is a central feature of thorough research and clinical assessments, and it allows for meaning to be shared and phenomena to be understood. This article offers a conceptual perspective on context, including a delineation of four nested contextual layers. Individual layers and combined layers of context have direct implications for research and practice.
Race/ethnicity and the risk of childhood leukaemia: a case–control study in California

Background We conducted a large registry-based study in California to investigate the association between race/ethnicity and childhood leukaemia focusing on two subtypes: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Methods We obtained information on 5788 cases and 5788 controls by linking California cancer and birth registries. We evaluated relative risk of childhood leukaemia by race and ethnicity of the child and their parents using conditional logistic regression, with adjustment for potential confounders. Results Compared with Whites, Black children had lower risk of ALL (OR=0.54, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.66) as well as children of Black/Asian parents (OR=0.31, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.94). Asian race was associated with increased risk of AML with OR=1.643, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.46 for Asian vs Whites; and OR=1.67, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.70 for Asian/Asian vs White/White. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with increased risk of ALL (OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.52). A gradient in risk of ALL was observed while comparing Hispanic children with both parents Hispanic, one parent Hispanic and non-Hispanic children (p Value for trend Conclusions Our results confirm that there are ethnic and racial differences in the incidence of childhood leukaemia. These differences indicate that some genetic and/or environmental/cultural factors are involved in aetiology of childhood leukaemia.
Application of ICT in human machine interface design course

Traditional educational methods often focus on the teacher's role and teaching form in the class is vary monotonous. This paper proposed a method to apply ICT into the human machine interface course, which can provoke the interests of students to this course. ICT makes the educational method become variable and colorful therefore promotes the quality of education. In addition, ICT is applied into the practice section. Students were asked to choose a new IT technology they are interested in and to form a developing team, to use the theory they studied in the class to design a software interface. By this way, they master the theory of this course on the basis of practice and their developing abilities are also enhanced.
Cross-Layer Protocol Design and Optimization for Delay/Fault-Tolerant Mobile Sensor Networks (DFT-MSN's)

While extensive studies have been carried out in the past several years for many sensor applications, the main approach for sensor networking cannot be applied to the sceonarios with extremely low and intermittent connectivity, dubbed the Delay/Fault-Tolerant Mobile Sensor Network (DFT-MSN). Without end-to-end connections due to sparse network density and sensor node mobility, routing in DFT-MSN becomes localized and ties closely to medium access control, which naturally calls for merging Layer 3 and Layer 2 protocols in order to reduce overhead and improve network efficiency. Due to the unique characteristics of DFT-MSN, the communication links exist only with certain probabilities and become the scarcest resource. At the same time, the sensor nodes in DFT-MSN have very limited battery power like those in other sensor networks. Clearly, there is a tradeoff between link utilization and energy efficiency. In order to address the trade-off, we develop a cross-layer data delivery protocol for DFT-MSN, which includes two phases, i.e., the asynchronous phase and the synchronous phase. In the first phase, the sender contacts its neighbors to identify a set of appropriate receivers. Since no central control exists, the communication in the first phase is contention-based. In the second phase, the sender gains channel control and multicasts its data message to the receivers. Furthermore, several optimization issues in these two phases are identified, with solutions provided to reduce the collision probability and to balance between link utilization. Our results show that the proposed cross-layer data delivery protocol for DFT-MSN achieves a high message delivery ratio with low energy consumption and an acceptable delay.
Deterministic Annealing-Based Optimization for Zero-Delay Source-Channel Coding in Networks

This paper studies the problem of global optimization of zero-delay source-channel codes that map between the source space and the channel space, under a given transmission power constraint and for the mean-square-error distortion. Particularly, we focus on two well-known network settings: the Wyner-Ziv setting where only a decoder has access to side information and the distributed setting where independent encoders transmit over independent channels to a central decoder. Prior work derived the necessary conditions for optimality of the encoder and decoder mappings, along with a greedy optimization algorithm that imposes these conditions iteratively, in conjunction with the heuristic noisy channel relaxation method to mitigate poor local minima. While noisy channel relaxation is arguably effective in simple settings, it fails to provide accurate global optimization in more complicated settings considered in this paper. We propose a powerful nonconvex optimization method based on the concept of deterministic annealing—which is derived from information theoretic principles and was successfully employed in several problems including vector quantization, classification, and regression. We present comparative numerical results that show strict superiority of the proposed method over greedy optimization methods as well as prior approaches in literature.
Slow tight binding inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme.

We have found that apparent Ki values of some, but not all, carboxyalkyl-dipeptide inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme decrease as a function of incubation time. The most potent of the ACE inhibitors tested so far is RAC-X-65 (N-[1(S)-carboxy-3-carboxanilidiopropyl]-L-Ala-L-Pro). When RAC-X-65 is not preincubated with human serum ACE (2.4 × 10−11 M), the apparent Ki value is 4.4 × 10−10 M. Preincubation of RAC-X-65 with ACE for 15 min before addition of substrate yields an apparent Ki of 4.1 × 10−11 M. a 90 min preincubation of the inhibitor with ACE yields an apparent Ki of 1.2 × 10−11 M, i. e., the reaction of the inhibitor with enzyme is virtually stoichiometric. The enzyme:inhibitor complex is poorly separated by molecular sieve chromatography or by dilution. That such tightly bound complexes are formed in vivo is suggested by the following results: The intravenous ED50 (anesthetized rats) of RAC-X-65 is 9.43 nmol/kg, and the time for half recovery (t MATHTYPE) of responsiveness to i. v. angiotensin I, 120 ng/kg, following a cumulative dose of 240 nmol/kg of the inhibitor is 165 min. For comparison, the i. v. ED50 of captopril is 105 nmol/kg, and its t MATHTYPE following a cumulative dose of 240 nmol/kg is 16 min. Implied is the possibility that slow tight binding inhibitors of ACE may be used in a 1 pill per day regimen for the treatment of hypertension.
Structure-Assisted Functional Anchor Implantation in Robust Metal–Organic Frameworks with Ultralarge Pores

A facile functionalization assisted by the structural attributes of PCN-333 has been studied while maintaining the integrity of the parent MOF including ultralarge pores, chemical robustness, and crystallinity. Herein we thoroughly analyzed ligand exchange phenomena in PCN-333 and demonstrate that the extent of exchange can be tailored by varying the exchange conditions as potential applications may require. Through this method a variety of functional groups are incorporated into PCN-333. To further show the capabilities of this system introduction of a BODIPY fluorophore as a secondary functionality was performed to the functionalized framework via a click reaction. We anticipate the PCN-333 with functional anchor can serve as a stable platform for further chemistry to be explored in future applications.
NOTCH1 and SOX10 are Essential for Proliferation and Radiation Resistance of Cancer Stem–Like Cells in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma

Purpose: Although the existence of cancer stem cells (CSC) in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) has been proposed, lack of assays for their propagation and uncertainty about molecular markers prevented their characterization. Our objective was to isolate CSC from ACC and provide insight into signaling pathways that support their propagation. Experimental Design: To isolate CSC from ACC and characterize them, we used ROCK inhibitor-supplemented cell culture, immunomagnetic cell sorting, and in vitro/in vivo assays for CSC viability and tumorigenicity. Results: We identified in ACC CD133-positive CSC that expressed NOTCH1 and SOX10, formed spheroids, and initiated tumors in nude mice. CD133 + ACC cells produced activated NOTCH1 (N1ICD) and generated CD133 − cells that expressed JAG1 as well as neural differentiation factors NR2F1, NR2F2, and p27Kip1. Knockdowns of NOTCH1, SOX10 , and their common effector FABP7 had negative effects on each other, inhibited spheroidogenesis, and induced cell death pointing at their essential roles in CSC maintenance. Downstream effects of FABP7 knockdown included suppression of a broad spectrum of genes involved in proliferation, ribosome biogenesis, and metabolism. Among proliferation-linked NOTCH1/FABP7 targets, we identified SKP2 and its substrate p27Kip1. A γ-secretase inhibitor, DAPT, selectively depleted CD133 + cells, suppressed N1ICD and SKP2, induced p27Kip1, inhibited ACC growth in vivo , and sensitized CD133 + cells to radiation. Conclusions: These results establish in the majority of ACC the presence of a previously uncharacterized population of CD133 + cells with neural stem properties, which are driven by SOX10, NOTCH1, and FABP7. Sensitivity of these cells to Notch inhibition and their dependence on SKP2 offer new opportunities for targeted ACC therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 22(8); 2083–95. ©2016 AACR .
Preparation of a cross-linked polycarbosilane and its conversion to silicon carbide ceramics

Cross-linked polycarbosilanes are obtained from the reaction of Cl2MeSiCHCl2 and Mg in tetrahydrofuran, followed by reduction with LiAlH4. Analysis by NMR spectroscopy shows that most polycarbosilane is of the formula [MeSiCH]n.
Power-on digital calibration method for delta-Sigma ADCs

A digital calibration method is presented for delta-sigma ADCs with focus on feedback DAC mismatch error correction. The DAC mismatch information is acquired, and then the nonlinearity is cancelled in the digital domain while the ADC operates. Unlike dynamic element matching which is commonly run between non-overlapping clock phases, the proposed method does not have the restriction and introduces no excess loop delay. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme was demonstrated with implementation of a third-order 15-level delta-sigma ADC.
Insect Hydrocarbons: Biochemistry and Chemical Ecology

Cuticular hydrocarbons of insects often consist of complex mixtures of straight chain, unsaturated and methyl-branched components with 21 to 40+ carbons. They function to restrict water loss, to prevent a lethal rate of desiccation and serve in chemical communication in many species. This chapter describes the chemistry and chemical ecology of insect hydrocarbons with an emphasis on their role as close range or contact pheromones. Hydrocarbons are formed in oenocytes and their biosynthetic pathways are described. Recent work has begun to take advantage of the tools of molecular biology to better understand hydrocarbon formation and this information is summarized. The various methods by which insects utilize hydrocarbons as inter- and intraspecific chemical signals are also described.
A unilateral hyperlucent lung - Swyer-James syndrome: A case report and literature review

Swyer-James-Macleod syndrome (SJMS) is a rare etiology of a unilateral hyperlucent hemithorax but an important one, which should be considered in any individual with such findings. Presentation usually occurs in adulthood with an asymptomatic history in many cases or with a history of childhood infections. Clinically, symptomatic patients may present with productive cough, dyspnea on exertion, hemoptysis, decreased exercise tolerance and recurrent pulmonary infections. Many individuals are asymptomatic only requiring conservative management. However, some patients may require surgical intervention. SJMS can be easily misdiagnosed and must be suspected for example, in any patient diagnosed with asthma who does not respond to therapy. We report a case of a 51-year-old African American male diagnosed with SJMS on the basis of his medical history, clinical presentation and x-rays and computed tomography chest scans findings.
Interest in Interventional Radiology at Different Stages of Training: Possible Implications for the New Integrated Interventional Radiology Residency

Purpose: Integrated interventional radiology (IR) residencies recently underwent their second year in the match, the first year of which involved only a limited number of programs. Now that students can choose to enter IR directly, student perceptions of IR vs diagnostic radiology (DR) are of paramount importance. Methods: We surveyed first- through fourth-year medical students and radiology residents regarding interest in IR vs DR. Results: Students considering a radiological career expressed more interest in IR than DR. Conversely, residents expressed more interest in DR. Conclusions: Medical student advisors and IR programs should continue to anticipate a high number of applications for integrated IR positions.
Rational Design of High-Loading Sulfur Cathodes with a Poached-Egg-Shaped Architecture for Long-Cycle Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

A high-loading electrode is essential for establishing high-energy-density lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries, but it is confronted with critical challenges. Herein, we present a free-standing poached-egg-shaped architecture through a facile template-supported vacuum-filtration strategy and employ it as an efficient sulfur host for Li–S batteries. This unique architecture guarantees an effective encapsulation of the “sulfur yolk” inside the fully vacuum-sealed framework, effectively limiting the active material loss and polysulfide diffusion. Also, the conductive and porous framework serves as an interlinked electron pathway and electrolyte channel, greatly facilitating fast electric/ionic transport along with active material reactivation and reutilization during cycling. A high peak discharge capacity (1200 mA h g–1), a low capacity-fade rate (0.09% cycle–1) for 500 cycles, and excellent rate capability (C/5–1C rates) are accomplished. Moreover, with such an advantageous architecture, the sulfur loading is ...
Novel therapies for unresectable and metastatic melanoma

#### What you need to know A 60 year old white woman who had a melanoma excised a year ago now presents with multiple subcutaneous nodules along her left shin. Biopsy confirms the lesions as metastatic melanoma, with molecular analysis revealing a BRAF wild type genotype. Imaging also shows several small nodules throughout her lungs. The patient is recommended to start systemic treatment with immunotherapy. About 132 000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed globally every year.12 Surgical excision is the first line treatment for localised disease.3 A minority of patients present with increased tumour growth or ulceration, or with metastasis (see box 1). The prognosis varies by stage at diagnosis. Data from the United States show five year survival rates of 98% for local disease confined to site of origin, 63% for regional metastases with spread to surrounding lymph nodes or tissues, and 17% for distant metastases.6 Systemic chemotherapy with drugs such as dacarbazine has shown limited benefits in patients with metastatic melanoma, with median survival between six and 10 months.789 Over the past decade, understanding of molecular biology and immune regulation in melanoma has led to advancements in the treatment of unresectable and metastatic melanoma. #### Box 1: Definitions of terms45
Suicidality in LGBTQ+ Youth

In this paper I show the ways in which society, culture, family, and intrapsychic conflict come to play a role in the suicidal ideation and behavior of adolescents within the lesbian, gay, bisexual...
Novel ALD Chemistry Enabled Low-Temperature Synthesis of Lithium Fluoride Coatings for Durable Lithium Anodes.

Lithium metal anodes can largely enhance the energy density of rechargeable batteries because of the high theoretical capacity and the high negative potential. However, the problem of lithium dendrite formation and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) during electrochemical cycling must be solved before lithium anodes can be widely deployed. Herein, a new atomic layer deposition (ALD) chemistry to realize the low-temperature synthesis of homogeneous and stoichiometric lithium fluoride (LiF) is reported, which then for the first time, as far as we know, is deposited directly onto lithium metal. The LiF preparation is performed at 150 °C yielding 0.8 A/cycle. The LiF films are found to be crystalline, highly conformal, and stoichiometric with purity levels >99%. Nanoindentation measurements demonstrate the LiF achieving a shear modulus of 58 GPa, 7 times higher than the sufficient value to resist lithium dendrites. When used as the protective coating on lithium, it enables a stable Coulombic efficiency as high as 99.5% for over 170 cycles, about 4 times longer than that of bare lithium anodes. The remarkable battery performance is attributed to the nanosized LiF that serves two critical functions simultaneously: (1) the high dielectric value creates a uniform current distribution for excellent lithium stripping/plating and ultrahigh mechanical strength to suppress lithium dendrites; (2) the great stability and electrolyte isolation by the pure LiF on lithium prevents parasitic reactions for a much improved CE. This new ALD chemistry for conformal LiF not only offers a promising avenue to implement lithium metal anodes for high-capacity batteries but also paves the way for future studies to investigate failure and evolution mechanisms of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) using our LiF on anodes such as graphite, silicon, and lithium.
Error-Tolerant Cyclic Sequences for Vision-Based Absolute Encoders

A method for obtaining error-tolerant cyclic sequences similar to de Bruijn sequences is presented. These sequences have a number of potential applications, including use as absolute rotary encoders. This investigation is motivated by the desire to use a vision-based system to obtain the angular position of the wheels of mobile robots as they rotate about their axes. One benefit of this approach is that the actual wheel orientation is observed (as opposed to non-collocated measurements of wheel angles via encoders on the motor shaft). As a result, ambiguities from backlash are eliminated. Another benefit of this system is the ability to apply it quickly to existing systems. Several methods are developed for increasing the robustness of these encoders. An imaging simulator is used to compare the accuracy of a variety of encoding schemes subjected to several levels of image noise.
Recombinant Congenic Strains

Recombinant congenic (RC) strains are a tool that improves the efficiency of mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). RC strains are homozygous and each contains a unique mixture of 87.5% of genes from its background strain parent and 12.5% of genes from its donor strain parent, thus dividing the donor strain’s genome into multiple compartments. F2 hybrids or backcrosses between an RC strain and its background strain contain only a limited set of segregating genes, and therefore have a high statistical power to map QTLs and detect their mutual gene–gene interactions.
Scope-of-practice laws and expanded health services: the case of underserved women and advanced cervical cancer diagnoses

Background Underserved women (rural, minority or poor) are disproportionally diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer, indicative of inadequate access to, and use of, preventative healthcare. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has proposed that nurse practitioners (NP) can address provider shortages among underserved populations, but to reduce shortages, scope-of-practice laws that restrict the delivery of care, must be revised. We examined the IOM recommendation of NP expanded scope-of-practice laws on reducing the disparity of underserved women diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer. Methods We examined the cohort of 10 673 women diagnosed with cervical cancer between 2010 and 2014 and reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry. We linked state-level laws regarding NP scope-of-practice to patients with cancer by their state of residence, diagnosis date and law enactment date. Hierarchical regression was used to explore NP full scope-of-practice law’s impact on late-stage cancer diagnoses considering the moderating effect of women living in medically underserved areas. We adjusted for known confounders available in this population-based data set. Results Medically underserved women living in states with laws that restrict NP full scope-of-practice are twofold more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer; adjusted OR and 95% CI (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.1). These disparities were not observed among underserved women living in areas with NP full scope-of-practice laws (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.3). Conclusions NP full scope-of-practice laws could provide a pragmatic and cost-effective solution to healthcare provider shortages associated with late stage of cervical cancer diagnoses among underserved women.
Hydrologic Response of a Wetland to Changing Moisture Conditions: Modeling Effects of Soil Heterogeneity

Prediction of the effects of external influences such as climate change on wetland systems requires the prediction of hydrologic effects. Because wetland soils are typically heterogeneous, it is particularly important to understand the extent and connectedness of hydraulically conductive soil units, since water flow may be concentrated in such units while bypassing others of lower conductivity. However, subsurface hydrologic models typically do not represent heterogeneity adequately, being limited by sparse parameterization of soil properties. Conventional techniques for mapping units of soil within wetlands are highly laborious, requiring soil coring and laboratory testing. As an alternative, we developed a portable piezocone driver and highly sensitive piezocone designed to map wetland soil units with centimeter-scale resolution in the vertical and meter-scale resolution in the horizontal dimension. This system successfully delineated several different layers of peat, sand, and limnetic sediments, and their degree of interconnectedness in an eight-meter-thick peat deposit. Monitoring of wetland response to precipitation, changes in stream stage, and overbank flooding was then used in conjunction with the piezocone data and a two-dimensional flow model to constrain the hydraulic properties of the soil units. Thus parameterized, a standard subsurface flow model was able to realistically simulate a variety of hydrologic processes relevant to climate change, including wetland-stream water exchange, the movement of wetland porewaters to the root zone of plants, and wetland desaturation under dry conditions.