cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cardiac performance in the portal vein-stenosed rat

Patient studies and experimental models suggest that impaired cardiac function might contribute to the altered pressor responses and compromised reflex responses to hypotension observed in liver disease. To elucidate the role that portosystemic shunting plays in cardiac impairment, right atrial chronotropic and right ventricular inotropic responses to a beta-adrenoceptor agonist were compared using isolated cardiac tissues from sham-operated and chronic portal vein-stenosed rats. Maximal chronotropic responses of sinoatrial tissue from portal vein-stenosed rats to isoproterenol were reduced 18% (P less than 0.05) with no change in sensitivity [mean effective dose (ED50)]. Basal indexes of contraction were diminished 48% (P less than 0.0025) and 60% (P less than 0.0005) for developed tension and change in force over change in time (dF/dt), respectively, in ventricular tissue from portal vein-stenosed animals. In addition, the maximal response for isoproterenol-induced ventricular contraction was smaller in portal hypertensive animals (-44%, P less than 0.0005, and -52%, P less than 0.01 for developed tension and dF/dt, respectively), but no changes in isoproterenol ED50 values were found. These results indicate that portal venous hypertension with extensive portosystemic shunting leads to impairment of basal myocardial contraction and decreased chronotropic and inotropic responsiveness to beta-adrenoceptor agonists.
Pricing sequential forward power contracts

Pricing mechanisms for multistage power procurement under uncertainty are studied in this paper. We first consider the most natural pricing mechanism in which the power at each stage is priced uniformly at the temporal marginal price. Under the truth-telling assumption, we show that this mechanism is price equivalent, efficient and flexibility subsidizing. Motivated by the observation that this mechanism is vulnerable to misreporting, we propose an alternative mechanism termed dynamic marginal contribution pricing, for which periodic ex post incentive compatibility is proved. Case studies illustrate the theoretical results obtained in this paper.
VLSI Photonic Integrated Circuit Components

The properties of active semiconductor microresonators as compact universal components (optoelectronic transistors) that enable them to serve multiple functions in photonic integrated circuits are described. The challenges and progress in their development are described.
Abstract 3057: The serine protease inhibitor, elafin, exhibits novel tumor suppressor functions in the context of breast cancer

Serine proteases and their inhibitors have an established role in cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis. Elafin is an endogenously expressed inhibitor of human neutrophil elastase. In mammary epithelial cells elafin is highly expressed; however in breast cancer it is transcripitionally downregulated. We hypothesize that the loss of elafin is critical to the development of the malignant phenotype in breast cancer. In human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) and breast cancer cell lines, the regulation and activity of elafin is dependent on the critical tumor suppressor retinoblastoma (Rb). Elafin is dramatically upregulated in quiescent HMECs following growth factor deprivation. This upregulation is characterized by an Rb dependent increase in elafin stability and cytoplasmic accumulation. Knockdown of elafin by shRNA in HMECs causes them to be refractory to growth factor deprivation induced quiescence; suggesting that elafin upregulation is a key regulator of cellular quiescence. Overexpression of elafin by adenovirus in both HMECs and breast cancer cell lines lacking Rb causes caspase-3 dependent, apoptotic cell death. Additionally, adenoviral elafin causes Rb-dependent cell cycle arrest in tumor cells with functional Rb. The Rb pathway is lost or inactivated in the majority of cancers. The design of a therapeutic strategy capable of specifically targeting tumor cells with Rb inactivation may prove to have significant utility in the treatment of cancer. The data summarized here demonstrates that overexpression of elafin is cytostatic in Rb-positive breast cancer cells and cytotoxic in Rb-negative breast cancer cells expressing caspase 3; suggesting that elafin could be engineered into a therapeutic modality in the treatment of breast cancer. 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 3057.
Feeding Preference and Survival of Young Worker Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Fed Rape, Sesame, and Sunflower Pollen

Young worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., exhibited differences in feeding preferences and survival when fed pollen of rape, Brassica napus L., sesame, Sesamum indicum L., and sunflower, Helianthus annuus . Rape pollen was readily consumed and increased Longevity 2.5 times relative to the controls fed only sucrose water. Sunflower pollen was readily consumed with bees on average surviving 1.6 times longer than the controls. Sesame pollen was not readily consumed and bees survived 1.7 times longer than the controls. The results suggest that honey bees used to pollinate monoculture crops of either sunflowers or sesame, but not rape, will need to be provided alternate floral or nutritional supplements source to enrich their diets and maintain colony health.
Abstract 2458: MicroRNA miR-34 as a natural regulator and potential therapeutic for pancreatic cancer stem cells

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in cancer initiation and progression and are involved in cancer stem cell dysregulation. We show that miR-34 directly regulates Notch and Bcl-2, suggesting the possibility of a role for miR-34 in the maintenance and survival of cancer stem cells. We examined the roles of miR-34 in p53-mutant human pancreatic cancer cell lines and the potential link to cancer stem cells. Restoration of miR-34 expression in the cancer cells downregulated Bcl-2 and Notch1/2. miR-34 restoration significantly inhibited clonogenic cell growth and invasion, induced apoptosis and G1 and G2/M arrest in cell cycle, and sensitized the cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation. We identified that CD44+/CD133+ cancer cells are enriched with tumorsphere-forming and tumor-initiating cells or cancer stem/progenitor cells with high levels of Notch/Bcl-2 and loss of miR-34. More significantly, miR-34 restoration led to significant reduction of the tumor-initiating cell population, accompanied by inhibition of tumorsphere growth in vitro and tumor-initiation in vivo. Our results demonstrate that miR-34 may restore, at least in part, the tumor suppressing function of the p53 in p53-deficient human pancreatic cancer. Our data support that miR-34 may be involved in cancer stem cell self-renewal, potentially via the direct modulation of downstream targets Bcl-2 and Notch, implying that miR-34 may play an important role in cancer stem cell self-renewal and/or cell fate determination. Currently, we are exploring the nanoparticle-targeted delivery of miR-34 to cancer stem cells as a novel molecular therapy for human pancreatic cancer, based on our patented nanobiotechnology which has been approved by FDA for clinical trials. Taken together, our results demonstrate that restoration of miR-34 may hold significant promise as a novel molecular therapy for human pancreatic cancer with loss of p53-miR34, potentially via inhibiting cancer stem cells. Molecularly targeted miRNA therapy could be a powerful tool to correct the cancer stem cell dysregulation. Supported in part by NIH grants CA121830(S1) and CA134655. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2458. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2458
A Homonym of a Plecopterous Genus

In the year 1914 Prof. Fr. Klapalek created the new genus Adelungia (Adelungia Klapalek, Acta Soc. Ent. Bohem. XI, p. 67, 1914) in his key to the Subfamily Acroneuriinae of the Family Perlidae. In 1916 he published the description of the genus in German (Adelungia Klapalek, Acta Soc. Ent. Bohem. XIII, p. 57, 1916) and gave an English translation of it in the summary of the same paper (Adelungia Klapalek, Acta Soc. Ent. Bohem. XIII, p. 76, 1916). He also designated the species Adelungia caudata Klapalek (Klapalek, Acta Soc. Ent. Bohem. XIII, pp. 58 and 77, 1916) as the genotype.
Sorption and desorption of pyrethroid insecticide permethrin on concrete.

Use of pesticides around residential homes is linked to contamination of urban waterways, where impervious surfaces like concrete are considered as sources or facilitators of the contamination. However, the fate of pesticides on urban hard surfaces is poorly understood. We characterized sorption and desorption of permethrin, the most used pyrethroid insecticide, on concrete surfaces, to understand its availability for contaminating runoff water. Sorption of 14C-permethrin to concrete was rapid, and the sorption isotherm was linear, with surface area-normalized Kd of 1.91 ± 0.1 mL/cm2. When small permethrin-treated concrete cubes (14 × 14 × 8 mm) were subjected to 300 h sequential desorption, both the parent compound and total 14C showed an initial rapid desorption, followed by prolonged slow desorption. Meanwhile, permethrin became more resistant to desorption as the pesticide contact time on the concrete increased. When desorption was performed 1 and 7 d after the treatment, the desorbed permethrin after...
Accounting for whiteness through collaborative fiction

ABSTRACTThis arts-based, qualitative teacher-researcher study considers how a group of mostly white high school students worked with their white facilitators to consider whiteness using Youth Participatory Action Research in conjunction with playbuilding and drama pedagogy. First, the author locates his reflexive stance. Then, relying on critical race theory and critical whiteness theory, the author uses narrative inquiry to share an ethnographic vignette that considers how students located, defined, and articulated their understanding of whiteness.
Photogenerated Quartet State Formation in a Compact Ring-Fused Perylene-Nitroxide.

We report on a novel small organic molecule comprising a perylene chromophore fused to a six-membered ring containing a persistent nitroxide radical to give a perylene-nitroxide, or PerNO•. This molecule is a robust, compact molecule in which the radical is closely bound to the chromophore but separated by saturated carbon atoms, thus limiting the electronic coupling between the chromophore and radical. We present both ultrafast transient absorption experiments and time-resolved EPR (TREPR) studies to probe the spin dynamics of photoexcited PerNO• and utilize X-ray crystallography to probe the molecular structure and stacking motifs of PerNO• in the solid state. The ability to control both the structure and electronic properties of molecules having multiple spins as well as the possibility of assembling ordered solid state materials from them is important for implementing effective molecule-based spintronics.
Biometrics and Identification After 9/11

Since the events of 9/11, much attention has been given to biometrics - automated human identification techniques based on digital measurements of physiological or behavioral characteristics such as faces, fingerprints, hands, irises, or retinas. The hope is to use biometrics to strengthen our identification procedures in passports, visas, and drivers licenses, or perhaps even to institute a "national ID card" or an "air travel card". But biometric technologies differ widely, and some are better suited for a certain task than others. Face recognition systems being installed in airports have received the most publicity recently, but other biometrics systems have been in place before 9/11. Biometrics systems are currently used in the public sector for driver licenses, state benefits programs, prisons, and the military. In the private sector they have been installed in ATMs, day care centers, offices, and universities. The paper describes the main types of biometric systems and their applications while discussing strengths and weaknesses of each. It argues that a clear understanding of these strengths and weaknesses is crucial to decisions whether and where to deploy a biometric system. The paper also reviews new anti-terrorism laws which specifically address biometrics such as USA PATRIOT. Policy considerations are explored regarding the technological limits of biometrics, human field use problems associated with biometrics, unsupported public expectations regarding the efficacy of biometrics, and whether an approach based solely on technology will really solve the problems we face both before and after 9/11. Finally, a different perspective is set out on the current debates over biometrics and ID card systems by focusing on both the most effective use of biometric technologies as well as a need to consider community oriented principles to temper the existing dominant libertarian rhetoric regarding a necessary trade off between security and freedom.
Nanowire CdS-CdTe Solar Cells with Molybdenum Oxide as Contact

Using a 10 nm thick molybdenum oxide (MoO3-x) layer as a transparent and low barrier contact to p-CdTe, we demonstrate nanowire CdS-CdTe solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 11% under front side illumination. Annealing the as-deposited MoO3 film in N2 resulted in a reduction of the cell's series resistance, from 9.97 Ω/cm(2) to 7.69 Ω/cm(2), and increase in efficiency from 9.9% to 11%. Under illumination from the back, the MoO3-x/Au side, the nanowire solar cells yielded Jsc of 21 mA/cm(2) and efficiency of 8.67%. Our results demonstrate use of a thin layer transition metal oxide as a potential way for a transparent back contact to nanowire CdS-CdTe solar cells. This work has implications toward enabling a novel superstrate structure nanowire CdS-CdTe solar cell on Al foil substrate by a low cost roll-to roll fabrication process.
Geographic Variation in the Utilization and Choice of Procedures for Treating Coronary Artery Disease in New York State

OBJECTIVES To examine geographical variations in rates of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in New York State, and to examine variations in the choice between these two procedures. METHODS A retrospective analysis of data from the New York registries for CABG and angioplasty was conducted. Rates were compared for 12 different regions of the state to assess geographic variations. To assess variations in the choice of procedure, frequencies of each procedure by region were compared with expected frequencies obtained by a logistic regression model that related procedure performance to various patient risk factors. RESULTS There was more than a three-fold variation in age/sex adjusted CABG rates and more than a two-fold variation in age/sex adjusted angioplasty rates among regions. The regional percentages of patients undergoing CABG rather than PTCA ranged from 49% to 70%, and most of the disparity was not related to patient risk factors. Instead, the disparity was largely a result of differences in racial composition and the hospitalization rate for myocardial infarctions. CONCLUSIONS There is considerable regional variation in New York in the tendency to use aggressive cardiac procedures and in the choice of which procedure to use, and these differences are mostly unrelated to patient need.
Maternal gene–micronutrient interactions related to one‐carbon metabolism and the risk of myelomeningocele among offspring

Background Few studies have evaluated interactions between maternal genetic variation in 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and micronutrient intake on the risk of myelomeningocele (MM) in offspring. Therefore, we sought to determine if the role of maternal MTHFR C677T and A1298C on MM risk is altered by maternal intake of micronutrients related to one-carbon metabolism. Methods The study consisted of 220 MM case–parent trios recruited from 1996 to 2006. A dietary questionnaire was used to obtain information on maternal dietary intake on eight micronutrients including folate and cobalamin. TaqMan assays were used to generate MTHFR C677T and A1298C genotypes. Log-linear models were used to evaluate the joint effects of maternal genotype and micronutrient intake dichotomized as at or above versus below the United States Recommended Dietary Allowance (US RDA) on MM. Results There was little evidence to suggest maternal MTHFR genotypes interacted with micronutrient intake to influence the risk of MM. For instance, the effect of MTHFR 677T was similar for mothers with cobalamin intake below US RDA (relative risk [RR] = 0.97) versus at or above US RDA cobalamin intake (RR = 0.81, interaction p = 0.87). However, some differences were noted. For example, the effect of MTHFR 1298C appeared to be different between those mothers below US RDA folate intake (RR = 0.98) versus those at or above US RDA folate intake (RR = 0.68), but the interaction was not statistically significant (interaction p = 0.27). Conclusion There did not appear to be strong effects of maternal micronutrient intake on the role of maternal genetic polymorphisms in MTHFR C677T and A1298C on MM risk. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Troubled Alliance: The SDI and ANZUS

Of all the alliances to which the United States is party, the one undoubtedly in the most serious immediate jeopardy of collapse is the Australia—New Zealand—US pact. Partly due to a growing rift on defence issues, with the Australians and New Zealanders toeing an increasingly pacifist line, and partly because of other nagging disputes over issues such as trade, the alliance is in rough waters. Some observers contend that regional or global missile defence deployments would exacerbate this tension; others expect significant economic and political benefits from the deployment of a regional missile defence system. The actual implications of missile defence for ANZUS lie somewhere between these two extremes.
Coupling of the PS2 Reaction Center to the O2-Evolving Center Requires a Very High Affinity Ca2+ Site

Despite considerable research implicating Ca requirements for O2 evolution, controversy currently exists regarding the number of PS2 Ca site(s) and the reaction(s) affected by extraction/repletion. Ca analyses indicate 1–3 (1–3) and 1 Ca (4) are required for O2 evolution by higher plant and Synechococcus PS2, respectively. Several groups have indicated the S1→S2 is inhibited by Ca depletion (5–7) while others have indicated inhibition of the S3→S0 (8) and the S2→S3 (9) transitions. Such controversy might arise if >1 Ca are ligatea with differing affinities (1,10). Using spinach PS2 Core Complexes (≥2000 O2/Chl·h), we attempted to prepare Complexes containing <1, 1, 2 or 3 Ca/RC for analyses by EPR and O2 rate measurements.
Extinction selectivity among lower taxa; gradational patterns and rarefaction error in extinction estimates

Documenting past environmental disturbances will provide a very incomplete expla- nation of extinctions until more data on intrinsic (e.g., phylogenetic) responses to disturbances are collected. Taxonomic selectivity can be used to infer phylogenetic inheritance of extinction-biasing traits. Selectivity patterns among higher taxa, such as between mammals and bivalves, are well documented. Selectivity patterns among lower taxa (genus, species) have great potential for un- derstanding the dynamics underlying higher taxic turnover. Two echinoid data sets, of fossil and living taxa, indicate that species extinctions do not occur randomly within genera. Reverse rare- faction estimates of past species extinction rates assume random species extinction within higher taxa, so these widely cited extinction estimates may be inaccurate. Revised estimates based on a simulated curve imply that past species extinctions rates may be 6%-15% lower than previously cited. Possible causes for the observed selectivity patterns are discussed. These include nonrandom phylogenetic nesting of species with traits often cited as enhancing extinction vulnerability, into certain taxa. Such traits include low abundance, large body size, narrow niche breadth, and many others. Phylogenetic nesting of extinction-biasing traits at many taxonomic levels does not predict that a dichotomy of mass-background selectivity based on a few traits will occur. Instead, it predicts patterns of selectivity at many taxonomic levels, and at many spatio-temporal scales.
SUBPICOSECOND TUNABLE PROBE STUDIES OF GAIN NONLINEARITIES IN GaAlAs LASER AMPLIFIERS

We present new results of measurements of ultrafast gain saturation in GaAlAs laser amplifiers using a pump and tunable probe technique. To our knowledge these are the first subpicosecond, time-resolved, non-degenerate four-wave mixing experiments performed in laser diodes. Our tunable probe allows the observation, throughout the gain bandwidth of the amplifier, of gain changes caused by the passage of a fixed wavelength, 350 fs pump pulse. We observe a similar gain saturation at all wavelengths, indicating a mechanism other than spectral hole burning is responsible for the observed subpicosecond cross-modulation.
Abstract 4848: Discovery of ABI-231 analogs targeting the colchicine site in tubulin for advanced melanoma

We previously discovered a novel 2-aryl-4-benzoyl-imidazole (ABI) scaffold exerts its potent anti-proliferative effects through interacting with the colchicine binding site in tubulin. Extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of this novel scaffold showed that the best analog in this series, ABI-231, has an average IC50 = 5.2 nM against panels of melanoma and prostate cancer cell lines, is orally bioavailable, and strongly suppress melanoma tumors in vivo. Analyses of the potential binding pose of ABI-231 at the colchicine binding pocket suggested small substitutions to the indole moiety in ABI-231 could further increase its interactions to tubulin. Based this hypothesis, we have established an efficient synthetic method for the synthesis of ABI-231 analogs by either rotating the indole ring or introducing substituents on the indole of ABI-231. Using this method, we synthesized and tested 27 analogs of ABI-231. Several of the compounds show excellent potency against a panel of melanoma cancer cell lines with a diverse genomic background (mutations in BRAF, TP53, CDKN2A and PTEN) that are frequently encountered in clinical metastatic melanoma tumors. Additionally, they are not substrates for the P-glycoprotein (Pgp) efflux pump and therefore strongly inhibited the multidrug resistant cell lines. The potency of the compounds was further verified by their potent growth inhibition of cancer cell colonies. Results from cell cycle analysis, apoptosis evaluation and tubulin polymerization inhibition are consistent with their expected mechanisms of action. Potential off-target analyses performed by Eurofins Cerep-Panlabs SafetyScreen 44 indicated that they are clean and does not inihibt any of the tested off-targets at 100 fold of its IC50 value in melanoma cells, suggesting the good safety profile for this compound and the probably these scaffold in general. We are currently performing in vivo efficacy studies for the most potent analogs. These compounds hold great promise as a new generation of orally available tubulin inhibitors. Citation Format: Wang Qinghui, Arnst E. Kinsie, Duane D. Miller, Wei Li. Discovery of ABI-231 analogs targeting the colchicine site in tubulin for advanced melanoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4848.
Isoflurane and the Coronary Steal Controversy of the 1980s: Origin, Resolution, and Legacy

Isoflurane was introduced for general clinical use in North America in 1981. Shortly thereafter, in 1983, a study suggested that the anesthetic was a potent coronary vasodilator that could cause coronary steal and myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease. Myocardial ischemia results from small-vessel dilation which leads to increased blood flow to well-perfused myocardium and decreased blood flow to myocardium with borderline perfusion. This action of isoflurane raised concerns and threatened its use. By the early 1990s, these concerns were resolved by carefully performed clinical and experimental studies demonstrating no evidence of adverse cardiac changes during isoflurane administration as long as hemodynamic variables were tightly controlled. Indeed, the controversy sparked by the 1983 study led to a chain of experimental studies that ultimately demonstrated ironically that isoflurane has a preconditioning, cardioprotective effect. This chapter in anesthesia history underscores the importance of allowing the passage of time before assessing the clinical and scientific impact of a research finding.
Authentication of shrimp muscle in complex foodstuff by in-solution digestion and high-resolution mass spectrometry

A method for shrimp muscle identification in complex foods is required to safeguard the shrimp-allergic population. This study described a method for authentication of shrimp in complex foodstuffs (fish balls) by liquid chromatography tandem QTOF mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). The proteins in shrimp muscle were extracted using a Tris–HCl solution and then digested using tryptic protease. The main allergen proteins, tropomyosin (TM) and arginine kinase (AK), were characterized using the ‘bottom up’ MS approach. After analysis of their peptide mass fingerprinting based on the UniProt database, two specific heat-stable peptides, ALSNAEGEVAALNR for TM and VSSTLSSLEGELK for AK, were screened as surrogate (signature) peptides. The detection limit, expressed as shrimp meat per kilogram of food, was 8 g kg−1 (usage of TM) or 5 g kg−1 (usage of AK). The developed method is suitable to screen potential addition of shrimp meat in foodstuffs by detection of allergen proteins.
Video steganography techniques: Taxonomy, challenges, and future directions

Nowadays, video steganography has become important in many security applications. The performance of any steganographic method ultimately relies on the imperceptibility, hiding capacity, and robustness. In the past decade, many video steganography methods have been proposed; however, the literature lacks of sufficient survey articles that discuss all techniques. This paper presents a comprehensive study and analysis of numerous cutting edge video steganography methods and their performance evaluations from literature. Both compressed and raw video steganographic methods are surveyed. In the compressed domain, video steganographic techniques are categorized according to the video compression stages as venues for data hiding such as intra frame prediction, inter frame prediction, motion vectors, transformed and quantized coefficients, and entropy coding. On the other hand, raw video steganographic methods are classified into spatial and transform domains. This survey suggests current research directions and recommendations to improve on existing video steganographic techniques.
Rehabilitation Practice, Employment, and Policy for Rural Development for People with Disabilities in West Africa

This chapter reviews the literature on rehabilitation and service-related issues of individuals with disabilities in rural West Africa. There is very limited literature on rehabilitation issues in rural West Africa. The chapter explores pertinent issues such as vital information on West Africa, health and service delivery issues, role of the NGOs in service delivery, strategies to improve service delivery, implications for rehabilitation, and strategies for international collaboration.
High performance aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor based on iron oxide anode and cobalt oxide cathode

We develop an asymmetric aqueous supercapacitor using iron oxide anode and cobalt oxide cathode. The anode was fabricated using electrospinning of carbon precursor/iron oxide precursor blend followed by pyrolysis and in situ electrochemical conversion (to oxide) to form the binder-free and freestanding composite anode which delivered a capacitance of 460 F/g at 1 A/g and retained 82% capacitance after 5000 cycles. The superior performance is attributed to easy electrolyte accessibility as well as the porous fibrous carbon morphology, facilitating volume expansion of iron oxide. The cobalt oxide cathode was prepared using a simple chemical synthesis technique. The electrodes were chosen based on high over potential to water splitting reactions in 6 M KOH electrolyte resulting in a potential window of 1.6 V. The asymmetric device operated in 1.6 V achieved a capacitance of 94.5 F/g at 0.5 A/g while retaining 75% of its capacitance after 12,000 cycles, delivering energy and power densities of 40.53 W h/kg and 2432 W/kg, respectively.
Sub-Saharan African Agriculture

Agriculture employs two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) workforce and a majority of the continent’s poor (IFPRI 2004). As a result, agricultural productivity growth offers a singularly powerful lever for raising incomes and reducing poverty across the continent (Thirtle et al. 2003; de Janvry and Sadoulet 2010; Christiaensen et al. 2010). Recent estimates from Kenya and Rwanda, for example, indicate that a 1 % increase in national income coming from the agricultural sector leads to three to four times as much poverty reduction as comparable income gains in nonagricultural sectors of the economy (Diao et al. 2012). Agricultural growth is, likewise, a key driver of economic growth and structural transformation. Because agriculture accounts for 25 % of Sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product, and up to 50 % in poor countries, productivity gains in agriculture translate directly into broad-based per capita income gains (IFPRI 2004; Diao et al. 2012). Over the long run, improved agricultural technology, agronomic practices, and marketing systems will enable a minority of well-managed smallholder farms to transition into high-value commercial agriculture. In contrast, the majority of today’s smallholder farmers will follow an alternate pathway, as elsewhere, gradually exiting agriculture in favor of nonfarm occupations. But in Africa, as in other settings before, this exit will require prior broad-based agricultural productivity growth on small family farms (Lipton 2005). Even the continent’s many noncommercial, primarily subsistence farmers require early, sustained productivity gains in agriculture so they can free their children from farm labor obligations, generate the surpluses necessary to send them to school, and help them transition into successful nonfarm career trajectories over the next generation (Chapoto et al. 2013). Despite the importance of agricultural growth to African economies and to the welfare trajectories of its people, farm productivity remains generally low in SSA. Labor productivity, as measured by the value of agricultural output per worker, stands at roughly two-thirds of the level prevailing in developing Asia. Land productivity, as measured by cereal yields, lies closer to onehalf of the levels attained in Asia and Latin America (Table 1). Why has African agriculture underperformed? In part, Africa’s historical land abundance has allowed African governments to underinvest in agricultural research, extension, and other key drivers of agricultural productivity growth. For many decades, African leaders have spent half as much (per $100 of agricultural output) as Asian countries on the core public goods that drive
Subarachnoid hemorrhage in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Two patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, who presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage and were investigated with cerebral angiography, are reported. Both showed multiple vascular malformations, and one showed a posterior communicating artery aneurysm which was treated successfully surgically.
A Mild Procedure for the Isolation of Polydisperse Glycogen from Animal Tissues

Abstract : In an attempt to obtain a product more closely approaching the state of glycogen in intact animal tissues, a procedure for the extraction of this polysaccharide is described. This procedure is designed to avoid physical and chemical alteration by strong alkali, acid, or high temperature and distortion of the molecular weight spectrum resulting from selective losses during sedimentation. (Author)
Generalized models to estimate carbon and nitrogen stocks of organic soil horizons in Interior Alaska

Abstract. Boreal ecosystems comprise about one tenth of the world's land surface and contain over 20 % of the global soil carbon (C) stocks. Boreal soils are unique in that the mineral soil is covered by what can be quite thick layers of organic soil. These organic soil layers, or horizons, can differ in their state of decomposition, source vegetation, and disturbance history. These differences result in varying soil properties (bulk density, C content, and nitrogen (N) content) among soil horizons. Here we summarize these soil properties, as represented by over 3000 samples from Interior Alaska, and examine how soil drainage and stand age affect these attributes. The summary values presented here can be used to gap-fill large datasets when important soil properties were not measured, provide data to initialize process-based models, and validate model results. These data are available at https://doi.org/10.5066/P960N1F9 (Manies, 2019).
%svy_freqs: A generic SAS macro for cross-tabulation between a factor and a by-group variable given a third variable and creating publication-quality tables using data from complex surveys

Abstract Introduction In epidemiological studies, cross-tabulations are a simple but important tool for understanding the distribution of socio-demographic characteristics among study participants. They become more useful when comparisons are presented using a by-group variable such as key demographic characteristic or an outcome status; for instance, sex or the presence or absence of a disease status. Most available statistical analysis software can easily perform cross-tabulations, however, output from these must be processed further to make it readily available for review and use in a publication. In addition, performing three-way cross-tabulations of complex survey data such as those required to show the distribution of disease prevalence across multiple factors and a by-group variable is not easily implemented directly using available standard procedures of commonly used statistical software. Methods We developed a generic SAS macro, %svy_freqs, to create quality publication-ready tables from cross-tabulations between a factor and a by-group variable given a third variable using survey or non-survey data. The SAS macro also performs classical two-way cross-tabulations and refines output into publication-quality tables. It provides extra features not available in existing procedures such as ability to incorporate parameters for survey design and replication-based variance estimation methods, performing validation checks for input parameters, transparently formatting character variable values into numeric ones and allowing for generalizability. Results We demonstrate the application of the SAS macro in the analysis of data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a complex survey designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States (U.S.). Conclusion The SAS code use to develop the macro is simple yet comprehensive, easy to follow, straightforward for the end user and simple for a SAS programmer to extend. The SAS macro has shown to shorten turn-around time for statistical analysis, eliminate errors when preparing output, and support reproducible research.
Plasma concentrations of itraconazole following a single oral dose in juvenile California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).

The objective of this study was to establish a single-dose pharmacokinetic profile for orally administered itraconazole in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Twenty healthy rehabilitated juvenile California sea lions were included in this study. Itraconazole capsules were administered orally with food at a target dose of 5-10 mg/kg. Blood samples were collected from each animal at 0 hr and at two of the following timepoints: 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hr. Quantitative analysis of itraconazole in plasma samples was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography. An average maximum concentration of 0.22 µg/ml ± 0.11 was detected 4 hr after administration. The average concentration fell to 0.12 µg/ml ± 0.11 by 6 hr and 0.02 µg/ml ± 0.02 at 12 hr. At no point did concentrations reach 0.5 µg/ml, the concentration commonly accepted for therapeutic efficacy. While this formulation was well tolerated by the sea lions, oral absorption was poor and highly variable among individuals. These data indicate that a single oral dose of itraconazole given as a capsule at 5-10 mg/kg, under the conditions used in this study, does not achieve therapeutic plasma concentrations in California sea lions.
Preventive effects of early postoperative cognitive stimulation on delirium after radical gastrectomy in elderly patients with gastric cancer

Objective To explore the preventive effects of early postoperative cognitive stimulation on delirium after radical gastrectomy in elderly patients with gastric cancer. Methods Totally 78 elderly patients who received radical gastrectomy from January to October 2017 were selected by convenient sampling and divided into the control group (n=39) and the observation group (n=39) according to the random number table. Patients in the control group received conventional nursing care for gastric cancer patients, while patients in the observation group received cognitive interventions on this basis. The Confusion Assessment Method-Chinese Revision (CAM-CR) , Self-Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Satisfaction Questionnaire were used to evaluate the effects of the interventions. Results The morbidity of delirium postoperatively in the observation group was 5.13%, lower than that of the control group (χ2=5.186, P=0.023) , which was 23.08%. The SAS score of the observation group was (47.36±5.28) after the interventions, lower than that of the control group (t=2.311, P=0.024) , which was (50.23±5.68) . The satisfaction score in the treatment group before discharge was (92.46±3.35) , higher than that of the control group (t=6.335, P<0.001) , which was (87.64±3.37) . Conclusions Elderly patients with gastric cancer are at high risk of postoperative delirium. And early cognitive stimulation can effectively reduce the incidence of delirium, which is worth promoting in clinical practice. Key words: Aged; Gastric neoplasms; Delirium; Cognition
Nutritional Aspects of Chronic Renal Disease in Children

Assessment of the nutritional status of a child with chronic renal disease involves the triad of clinical investigation utilized in any medical problem: historical review, physical examination, and laboratory studies. The child with renal disease, however, presents a special clinical challenge which can be approached from three aspects: 1. Documenting the nutritional status of the patient, and perhaps the mother, prior to as well as during the clinical onset of the disease. 2. Determining the specific pathogenetic effects of the renal disease which alter the nutritional status of the patient as the natural history of the disease evolves into its progressively severe clinical manifestations. 3. Assessing the influence that the therapeutic regimen may have in contributing to the nutritional status of the patient.
SCALE capabilities for high temperature gas-cooled reactor analysis

Abstract The SCALE code system’s ability to address stochastic distributions of fuel particles within a graphite matrix has been revisited in both multigroup (MG) features and continuous-energy (CE) Monte Carlo methods. This paper describes current and emergent SCALE capabilities within the CSAS sequence to address double-heterogeneous systems and presents verification and validation studies of these methods and data. Good agreement was obtained for a high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel pebble model between CSAS MG eigenvalue calculations and corresponding CE reference solutions. Code-to-code comparisons for this HTGR pebble model showed good agreement of CSAS-KENO and CSAS-Shift CE calculations and the Serpent and MCNP codes in terms of eigenvalues and reaction rate ratios. Validation studies based on two HTGR experiments resulted in good agreement between MG and CE results, as well as between experiment and calculation, although the level of agreement was significantly influenced by the applied ENDF/B nuclear data library.
Examining the Role of the Attachment Bond in the Process of Recovering from an Affair

Infidelity is an attachment injury as it shatters basic assumptions about one’s relationship. This study investigated the role of the attachment bond in affair recovery. Individual qualitative inte...
Support loading effects on the performance of an extraction chromatographic resin: Toward improved separation of trivalent lanthanides.

Abstract Changes in the level of impregnation of an Amberchrom CG-71m support with bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) are shown to alter the column efficiency, peak tailing, and metal ion uptake capacity associated with the resulting extraction chromatographic resins. Optimum efficiency and minimum peak tailing are observed at intermediate levels (ca. 20% (w/w)) of support loading. Metal ion uptake capacity is reduced relative to a commercial (loaded to 40% (w/w)) resin under the same conditions, however. The utility of the improved efficiency arising from reduced support loading is illustrated in the separation of selected trivalent lanthanide ions, including Gd(III) and Eu(III), whose resolution is unsatisfactory using commercial extraction chromatographic materials.
Caring for the sick man? Russian and Greek reactions to the Ottoman reforms (1856–1908)

Before the Crimean War (1853–1856), Greece and Russia had had a long and complicated relationship to the Ottoman Empire and especially to its sizable Orthodox Christian minority. The Sick Man of Eu...
The Sociological Study of Sexuality: An Introduction

Sexuality is a major influence on individual health and well being, an important component of many types of social relationships, and an increasingly visible feature of social life. Not surprisingly, it has been the focus of a great deal of scholarly inquiry and research. In the early decades of the twentieth century, much of the “scientific” writing about sexuality focused on what were considered problematic forms of sexual cognitions and behaviors. These works reflected an essentialist view of sex, sexual orientation , and sexual behavior. The empirical base of this work was largely case studies of people seen in therapeutic settings. As a result, the literature had an individualistic, psychological focus.
The Representation Theorem for Linear, Isotropic Tensor Functions in Even Dimensions

In this note we give a proof of the representation theorem for linear, isotropic, tensor functions, which only assumes invariance under proper orthogonal tensors.
Diminished osmotic fragility of human erythrocytes following the membrane insertion of oxygenated sterol compounds

Oxygenated sterol compounds (OSC), when incubated for 1 hr with human erythrocytes in lipoprotein-depleted medium at concentrations of 0.625-5 X 10(-5) M, are inserted into the cell membrane and remain there despite subsequent washing of the cells. The insertion results in expansion of the surface area of the red cell ghost membrane, an increase in critical hemolytic volume, and as a consequence, in diminished osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes. This effect is seen with echinocyte-forming as well as with non-echinocyte-forming OSC. Erythrocytes treated with OSC do not differ from control cells with respect to their mean cell volume (MCV) in isotonic solution, water content, ion fluxes, and filterability through polycarbonate filters. The shift of the osmotic fragility curve toward lower NaCl concentrations is proportional to the amount of OSC inserted into the red cell membrane. 7 beta-Hydroxycholesterol, 22-ketocholesterol, and 20 alpha-hydroxycholesterol are the most potent inhibitors of osmotic lysis. The effect of OSC on osmotic fragility is diminished if the erythrocytes are incubated in a lipoprotein-containing medium; free cholesterol, however, does not change this effect. Various progesterones also protect red cell from osmotic lysis, but only if the erythrocytes are directly exposed to the compounds present in the hypotonic NaCl solutions used for measurement of their osmotic fragility. Progesterones do not remain in the membrane after the cells have been washed. The OSC are also capable of correcting the osmotic fragility curve of red cells from patients with hereditary spherocytosis. These experiments may suggest an approach to the pharmacologic treatment of hereditary spherocytosis.
Multi-label linear discriminant analysis

Multi-label problems arise frequently in image and video annotations, and many other related applications such as multi-topic text categorization, music classification, etc. Like other computer vision tasks, multi-label image and video annotations also suffer from the difficulty of high dimensionality because images often have a large number of features. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is a well-known method for dimensionality reduction. However, the classical Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) only works for single-label multi-class classifications and cannot be directly applied to multi-label multi-class classifications. It is desirable to naturally generalize the classical LDA to multi-label formulations. At the same time, multi-label data present a new opportunity to improve classification accuracy through label correlations, which are absent in single-label data. In this work, we propose a novel Multi-label Linear Discriminant Analysis (MLDA) method to take advantage of label correlations and explore the powerful classification capability of the classical LDA to deal with multi-label multi-class problems. Extensive experimental evaluations on five public multi-label data sets demonstrate excellent performance of our method.
Evaluating the Cohesive Strength of a Surface Material by Controlled Scratching

ABSTRACT Controlled scratching is a convenient technique for evaluating the cohesive strength of a coating or surface material. Single or parallel overlapping scratching by a hard spherical indenter under increasing load induces increasing contact deformation (strain) in a controlled manner. Thus, plastic deformation is accumulated incrementally, and micro-fracture is induced, on the specimen surface. Cohesion criteria based on the extent of acoustic emission, micro-fracture and tensile cracking in the scratch groove, as well as the scratch groove area, are described and results are presented that correlate reasonably well with the wear characteristics of a number of different materials.
Transient electrical behavior of glass membranes: Part. III. Experimental

Summary Responses of commercial pH-sensitive and other cation-sensitive glass membranes have measured under application of voltage pulse steps and a.c. currents. Responses have been found to be independent of solution environment pH, alkali metal and magnitude of exciting signal over a wide range. Variations of response with temperature have been noted. The membranes acting as linear systems, respond in agreement with the theoretical predictions and verify the essential correctness of fixed site membrane theory applied to membrane transients. A range of behavior from ideal film-free pH glasses to highly hydrated film coated glass electrodes have been observed to test the extreme cases of the theory. Time constants and double-layer capacitances have been tabulated.