cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nuclear Envelope Protein Autoantibodies

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews methods for detecting nuclear envelope (NE) protein autoantibodies and characterizes antigenic and biological properties of these antibodies. The nuclear envelope (NE) forms the boundary of the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. It has three main components: inner and outer nuclear membranes enclosing a lumenal space, the nuclear pore complexes, and the nuclear lamina. The chapter highlights some of the major nuclear envelope proteins and their membrane topology. Some of these autoantibodies are clinically useful in diagnosis or classification of patients with liver diseases.
Optimized Pond Design for Water Quality Improvement in an Upland Agricultural Basin

The potential exists for structural best management practices (BMPs) to be improved by coupling simulation and optimization techniques. This project sought to improve the nutrient trapping ability of a retention pond design by linking a BMP simulation model with a heuristic search algorithm. Hydrologic data from a typical agricultural basin is used to run the Integrated Design and Evaluation Assessment of Loadings (IDEAL) model. The IDEAL model is linked with a genetic algorithm to find the principle outlet elevation and outlet diameter that provides the highest level of removal efficiency. The outlet elevation specified by the search algorithm should provide greater nutrient removal over conventional design methods. Various scenarios are run to test the ability of the approach. Results from those trials demonstrate the capablitiy of the model to improve BMP efficiency.
Influence of Fuel Composition and Spray Characteristics on Nitric Oxide Formation

Measurements of nitric oxide emissions are carried out on a continuous flow combustor when operating over wide ranges of fuel/air ratio at pressures up to 1.52 MPa (15 atmos). Fuel is supplied to the flame zone from a circular array of 30 equispaced miniature airblast atomizers which is incorporated into a perforated-plate flameholder. Standard instrumentation and sampling techniques are used to measure pollutant emissions over wide ranges of mean fuel drop size. The results obtained with several selected fuels demonstrate the effects of variations in fuel composition, fuel drop size, and combustor operating conditions on nitric oxide emissions.Copyright © 1989 by ASME
Hubei xianling hotsprings thermophilic bacteria separated and to made preliminary identification

Objective:To hotsprings thermophilic bacteria separated and to made preliminary identification.Methods: Use with the dilution separation methods purified thermophilic bacteria,carry through morphology observation and biochemistry identified.Results: From the hotspring water separated four thermophilic bacteria,Gram stain positive,have spore,no capsule and flagellum,cell assumed assumed pole state,culture characteristics was pH value(6～7),optimum growth temperature 55℃～60℃.Conclusion: Early step identified as thermophilic fat spore bacillus.
STUDY ON EXTENDED CHAIN CRYSTALS OF POLYETHYLENE VIA MODULATED DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETER

The DSC and MDSC data show that polyethylene crystallized under high pressure of 640 MPa has the crystallinity of (89.11%) with melting point of (143.4) ℃. The POM and SEM photographs further indicate that the thickness of ECC is 200 nm~280 nm. Compared to FCC, there is no recrystallization exothermic peak in the nonreversing thermograph of ECC, which suggests that there exist the perfect crystals of ECC crystallized out from he hexagonal region. The value of nonreversing endothermic enthalpy of ECC is lager than that of FCC. This clearly indicates that the melting of perfect crystals of ECC is nonreversible under ambient conditions.
Fractionation of yeast organelles.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents two subcellular-fractionation schemes. One, based on a protocol described by Ruohola and Ferro-Novick, is an organelle separation procedure that gives sufficient resolution to allow the localization of proteins to particular organelles of the secretory pathway. The other scheme is designed for the purification of post-Golgi secretory vesicles from Saccharumyces cerevisiae . For the localization of proteins to particular organelles, the ability to lyse cells osmotically is an important improvement over the glass bead lysis procedure. The shear forces generated during glass bead lysis could potentially remove proteins from the surface of organelles that would otherwise be membrane-attached, causing them to appear soluble. Similarly, because the conditions required for stabilizing the association of a protein with a membrane can be quite variable depending on the lysis buffer, confirmation of localization using alternative schemes is prudent.
Validating Laboratory Results in Electronic Health Records: A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes Study

Context.—Laboratories must ensure that the test results and pathology reports they transmit to a patient's electronic health record (EHR) are accurate, complete, and presented in a useable format. Objective.—To determine the accuracy, completeness, and formatting of laboratory test results and pathology reports transmitted from the laboratory to the EHR. Design.—Participants from 45 institutions retrospectively reviewed results from 16 different laboratory tests, including clinical and anatomic pathology results, within the EHR used by their providers to view laboratory results. Results were evaluated for accuracy, presence of required elements, and usability. Both normal and abnormal results were reviewed for tests, some of which were performed in-house and others at a reference laboratory. Results.—Overall accuracy for test results transmitted to the EHR was greater than 99.3% (1052 of 1059). There was lower compliance for completeness of test results, with 69.6% (732 of 1051) of the test results contai...
Exploring Patient, Caregiver, and Healthcare Provider Perceptions of Caring for Patients With Heart Failure: What Are the Implications?

Background: Heart failure (HF) is an incurable and frequently progressive disease. Symptoms of HF may impair the ability of patients to perform daily living activities. As HF progresses, patients typically increase their reliance on caregivers. The purpose of this study was to determine what roles patients and caregivers perceive and desire for themselves in managing HF and to compare and contrast these roles with those perceived by healthcare providers. Methods: A purposive sample (60 patients, 22 caregivers, and 11 healthcare providers) was enrolled in the study. Patients and caregivers individually participated in semistructured interviews, and healthcare providers participated in 1 of 2 focus groups. Results: Four key themes evolved from interviews with patients and caregivers—education on disease specifics, guidance to enhance quality of life, learning to cope with HF, and future outlook and care decisions—that may guide the development of caregiver interventions in HF. Healthcare providers in both structured focus groups regardless of rank order selected knowledge is powerful, adherence to treatment plan, and compliance with medication as the top 3 issues likely to have the greatest impact, and they identified education on the disease (knowledge is powerful) as the easiest strategy to implement for patients and caregivers in the management of HF. Conclusion: Interventions among caregivers of patients with HF are needed and should focus on education in family structures, family functioning, and skills training in family assessment and engagement.
Dramas of the Commons in Brazil

This article examines experiences with commons, both tragic and successful, in local communitiesin Brazil. The problem for collectors is not limited to land, but also includes their access to naturalresources outside their territories. Use rights could be established, regulating wild collection onland of third parties or government. Access to such commons should be limited to members ofspecific groups through private agreements regulated by official norms. Conclusions andrecommendations for research and policy include, among others: 1) priority or communitiesunder the greatest pressure, 2) land reform which provides for access to natural resourcesoutside individual lots, 3) regulation of sustainable use in various kinds of protected and reservedareas, 4) inclusion of families with off-farm activity and multiple residence. Sustainable productivelandscapes are the only way to achieve the scale necessary to maintain ecosystem functions ofaquatic resources, biodiversity and carbon (“ABC”).
The Quaternary of Wisconsin: An Updated Review of Stratigraphy, Glacial History and Landforms

Abstract Early, Middle, and Late Pleistocene till units are exposed in Wisconsin, some of which are intensely weathered and possess reversed remanent magnetization. Late Pleistocene ice-wedge casts, drumlins, tunnel channels, high-relief hummocky moraines, and ice-walled-lake plains provide evidence for permafrost and changing palaeoglaciological conditions during deglaciation.
The effect of expected difficulty on psychophysical judgment

The effect on psychophysical judgments of pretask instructions that indicated the degree of task difficulty was studied. Prior to estimating the midpoints of various line lengths, one experimental group was told that the judgment task was difficult and to expect large errors, while another group was instructed that the task was easy and to expect few judgment errors. The average deviations of midpoint judgments from the measured midpoint of various line lengths was reliably larger for the group instructed to expect large deviations.
Evaluating the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy adjuvant to gabapentin and pregabalin for treatment of SCI-related neuropathic pain.

Objective: To investigate if a combination of anticonvulsant and antidepressant, two primary therapies for neuropathic pain, is associated with improved pain control compared to individual therapy....
Evaluation of the reconstruction-of-difference (RoD) algorithm for cone-beam CT neuro-angiography

Purpose: Timely detection of neurovascular pathology such as ischemic stroke is essential to effective treatment, and systems for cone-beam CT (CBCT) could provide CT angiography (CTA) assessment in a timely manner close to the point of care. CBCT systems suffer from slow rotation speed and readout speed, which leads to inconsistent or sparse dataset. This work describes a new reconstruction method using a reconstruction of difference (RoD) approach that is robust against such factors. Methods: Important aspects of CBCT angiography were investigated, weighting tradeoffs among the magnitude of iodine enhancement (peak contrast), the degree of data consistency, and the degree of data sparsity. Simulation studies were performed across a range of CBCT half-scan acquisition speed ranging ~3 – 17 s. Experiments were conducted using a CBCT prototype and an anthropomorphic neurovascular phantom incorporating a vessel with contrast injection with a time-attenuation (TAC) injection giving low data consistency but high peak contrast. Images were reconstructed using filtered back-projection (FBP), penalized likelihood (PL), and the RoD algorithm. Data were evaluated in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) in image enhancement as well as overall image noise and artifact. Results: Feasibility was demonstrated for 3D angiographic assessment in CBCT images acquired across a range of data consistency and sparsity. Compared to FBP, the RoD method reduced the RMSE in reconstructed images by 50.0% in simulation studies (fixed peak contrast; variable data consistency and sparsity). The improvement in RMSE compared to PL reconstruction was 28.8%. The phantom experiments investigated conditions of low data consistency, RoD provided a 15.6% reduction in RMSE compared to FBP and a 16.3% reduction compared to PL, showing the feasibility of RoD method for slow-rotating CBCT-A system. Conclusions: Simulations and phantom experiments show the feasibility and improved performance of the RoD approach compared to FBP and PL reconstruction, enabling 3D neuro-angiography on a slowly rotating CBCT system (e.g., 17.1s for a half-scan). The algorithm is relatively robust against data sparsity and is sensitive in detecting low levels of contrast enhancement from the baseline (mask) scan. Tradeoffs among peak contrast, data consistency, and data sparsity are demonstrated clearly in each experiment and help to guide the development of optimal contrast injection protocols for future preclinical and clinical studies.
Development and Validation of an Algorithm to Classify as Equivalent the Procedures in ICD-10-PCS That Differ Only by Laterality.

BACKGROUND The switch from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) for coding of inpatient procedures in the United States increased the number of procedural codes more than 19-fold, in large part due to the addition of laterality. We examined ICD-10-PCS codes for pairs of mirror-image procedures that are surgically equivalent. METHODS We developed an algorithm in structured query language (SQL) to identify ICD-10-PCS codes differing only by laterality. We quantified the impact of laterality on the number of commonly performed major therapeutic procedures (ie, surgical diversity) using 2 quarters of discharge abstracts from Texas. RESULTS Of the 75,789 ICD-10-PCS codes from federal fiscal year 2017, 16,839 (22.3%) pairs differed only by laterality (with each pair contributing 2 codes). With the combining of equivalent codes, diversity in the state of Texas decreased from 78.2 to 74.1 operative procedures (95% confidence interval, 5.1 to -3.1; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Our algorithm identifies ICD-10-PCS codes that differ only by laterality. However, laterality had a small effect on surgical diversity among major therapeutic procedures. Our SQL code and the lookup table will be useful for all US inpatient analyses of ICD-10-PCS surgical data, because combining procedures differing only by laterality will often be desired.
Situ-Centric Reinforcement Learning for Recommendation of Tasks in Activities of Daily Living In Smart Homes

In this paper, we propose a new recommendation system that considers the changing human mental state, behavior and environmental contexts to provide guidance to persons diagnosed of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's in performing their activities of daily living (ADLs). The recommendation system is based on the Situ-framework that represents an activity as a sequence of situations, and a situation is a 3-tuple where M denotes human mental state, B is the behavior context and E is the environmental context. More so, it uses an automaton to model an activity thereby generating corresponding task sequences. Interactions between the inhabitants and the sensor networks and the activity being performed are represented as an information space. It then uses a modified model learning algorithm as its decision making tool to recommend appropriate actions or tasks sequence to the inhabitant in a situation of uncertainty caused by episode of confusion or memory loss to ensure he reaches his goal. Consequently, this helps ensure that safety of the person is not compromised when he makes a poor decision regarding the sequence in which ADL tasks are to be performed. We use a single activity class dataset generated from a smart home for 50 independent learning experiments for three (3) ADLs case studies. The accuracy of the sequential-tasks recommendations was found to be high. We further evaluated the risk sensitivity of the recommendation system using the action selection probabilities and corresponding reward points associated with performing a task. The results show that the proposed recommendation system is risk averse.
Attention modulates early auditory processing at a real cocktail party

Understanding speech in noisy environments is a substantial challenge. Decades of laboratory research have shown that selective attention allows listeners to preferentially process target speech. H...
What are the FDA Requirements to Obtain a Claim for the Indication of Silent Ischemia

Some speakers have not appreciated this, but as Dr. Lipicky said yesterday, we do expect an anti-anginal agent to show an effect on ischemia. Usually, evidence of this effect is derived from exercise testing, but if there are sound ways to do it from Holter monitoring, we would have no problem with that. What is at issue today is whether, and under what circumstances, we would approve a drug solely for an anti-ischemic effect, without evidence of an anti-anginal effect. So far no one has asked us to do this, but there has been an implication today that our failure to have done it already flies in the face of well-established clinical practice, in some way interferes with practitioners’ ability to use anti-anginal drugs properly, and is a serious violation of reason and good sense.
Radioautographic study of cellular migration using parabiotic rats.

Leukocyte exchange between the hemopoietic tissues of parabiotic rats was studied subsequent to giving multiple injections of 3 H-thymidine to one member of each pair while arresting the cross-circulation. Cell types that migrated from one parabiont to the other were segmented granulocytes, small, medium and large lymphocytes, immunoblasts, monocytoid cells, macrophages or their immediate precursors, and plasma cells. Evidence for the transformation of circulating cells to other cell types was rarely seen. The long-lived small lymphocytes were equilibrated between parabionts, suggesting that this is a single pool of cells with respect to kinetic behavior and recirculation. There was no evidence for a trephocytic function of lymphocytes. A small number of bone marrow lymphocytes coursed directly to lymph nodes and spleen. Evidence is given for a limited recirculation of short-lived lymphocytes of thoracic duct lymph (TDL), as well as for long- lived cells. Only a few immunoblasts of TDL recirculated. The majority of cells that entered the white pulp of the spleen were long-lived small lymphocytes, while the majority of immigrant cells to the red pulp were monocytoid cells and granulocytes. Many small lymphocytes originated in splenic red pulp and entered the blood. No immigrant cells to the thymic cortex were noted, although some small lymphocytes and monocytoid cells entered the medullary areas. Immigrant cells to the bone marrow (less than 2% of the cells in marrow) included monocytoid cells, small lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Evidence for the direct transformation of a circulating cell into a committed blast, based on reduction in grain count, was noted only in bone marrow.
Disruption of Axoplasmic Transport by Neurotoxic Agents. The 2,5-Hexanedione Model

Toxic compounds which interfere with axonal integrity and transport are many and varied. Among the first to be utilized were the spindle inhibitors such as colchicine and the vinca alkaloids (e.g. vincristine, vinblastine). These compounds, together with podophyllotoxin and the maytansinoids (maytansine and maytanprine), possess a special affinity for tubulin, block the formation of axonal microtubules and, perhaps for these reasons, disrupt axonal transport. They also induce an accumulation of l0-nm neurofilaments following direct application to nervous tissue, although the basis for this effect is unknown (reviewed in [5]). Systemic administration of such agents (e.g. vincristine) produces a distal, sensori-motor neuropathy in man [2]. A similar type of neuropathy also accompanies systemic treatment with agents which have no known adverse effects on microtubules. Some of these compounds, such as pyridinethione and p-bromophenylacetylurea, induce an abnormality in fast anterograde transport and/or retrograde return of fast transported materials, as well as an accumulation of tubulo-vesicular profiles, prior to degeneration of distal axons [10]. Other agents apparently inactive on microtubules, such as the hexacarbons (e.g. 2-hexanone, 2,5-hexanedione, 2,4-hexanediol), acrylamide and carbon disulfide, induce early distal axonal changes in the form of multifocal accumulations of 10-nm neurofilaments, together with varying amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, vesicles and mitochondria [17, 21 ]. A similar pattern of neurofila mentous giant axonal degeneration is seen in proximal axons of animals systemically intoxicated with ββ’-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), an agent which impairs anterograde transport of neurofilament triplet proteins while producing little distal nerve-fiber breakdown [6], Some of these agents (2,5-hexanedione, IDPN, acrylamide) induce similar changes in the axonal cytoskeleton following direct application to peripheral nerves, and are useful in exploring the relationship between perturbations of axonal transport and the onset of nerve-fiber breakdown. This paper describes recent advances in our understanding of these questions which have come from the use of 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD) as an experimental probe.
Systemic and coronary hemodynamic effects of transthoracic direct current shock.

1. This study in anesthetized mongrel dogs reports the acute systemic and coronary hemodynamic effects of direct current transthoracic shock similar to that used to change cardiac rhythm. 2. In control animals there was an impressive almost immediate increase in cardiac rate, output and work and an acute transient reduction in systemic, pulmonary and coronary vascular resistance which quickly returned toward normal. 3. The cardiovascular response is damped somewhat but still present after beta adrenergic blockade with propranolol or reserpine depletion of catecholamines. Thus catecholamine release is believed to be partially but not completely responsible for the changes seen. 4. The response is also reduced by vagotomy and by local anesthesia of the chest wall beneath the site of application of the paddles. The possibility is discussed that the response represents the complex reflex known as the “alarm” reaction. 5. The acute hemodynamic changes produced by transthoracic current discharge could be important in some of the infrequent complications of electrical conversion of cardiac arrhythmias. 6. A minor increase in coronary sinus blood temperature occurred with a 200 and 400 Watt second transthoracic discharge. It would seem likely that this should have been greater if a cardiac thermal burning were produced.
Carbonylation and Decarbonylation Reactions

Fifty years ago the first well-defined carbonylation reaction was discovered by Otto Roelen.1 Whilst studying the high pressure, cobalt-catalyzed Fisher–Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen, he observed that addition of ethylene to the CO/H2 feed gas led to formation of 1-propanal in high yield. This reaction, subsequently named hydroformylation, as it results in the addition of hydrogen to one end of the CC double bond and a formyl group at the other, has been intensively studied over the years2 and has formed the basis of several industrial processes, for example the synthesis of 1-butanal from propene, and acrylic acid from acetylene. Unfortunately, the reaction generally requires the use of high temperatures (100–300 °C) and pressures (100–1000 bar; 1 bar = 100 kPa), expensive autoclave equipment and the use of large quantities of toxic or unstable catalysts such as [Ni(CO)4], [Fe(CO)5] or [HCo(CO)4].
Evaluation of Different Stationary Phases in the Separation of Inter-Cross-Linked Peptides.

Chemical cross-linking coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming a routinely and widely used technique for depicting and constructing protein structures and protein interaction networks. One ...
Nocardiosis and Actinomycosis

Nocardia species are strictly aerobic, gram-positive, branching, filamentous rods which are beaded appearing and stained variably with the modified acid-fast Kinyoun stain. They can fragment into pleomorphic, rod-shaped, or coccoid pieces. Nocardia are sometimes difficult to recognize and identify in the laboratory, leading to delays in clinical diagnosis. Their relatively slow growth can result in the cultures being discarded before the colonies can be seen. Nocardia are found most often in the environment in soil, water, and vegetation. More than half of the time, these organisms are opportunistic pathogens, causing disease in both solid organ and stem cell transplantations. Less recognized as opportunistic pathogens are Actinomyces species, gram-positive, anaerobic bacilli which are not acid-fast. These organisms are morphologically similar to Nocardia species and can be confused on Gram staining. Nocardia and Actinomycetes cause distinct syndromes which will be reviewed here.
Obstetricians’ and Gynecologists’ Communication Practices around Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy, Secondhand Smoke and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): A Survey

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a potential direct cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among infants. Disparities in SHS exposure and SIDS deaths may be due to inconsistent communication among practitioners about SHS/SIDS risks. In order to assess current SHS/SIDS risks and communication practices and to identify areas of improvement, we conducted a survey of 316 obstetricians and gynecologists (ob/gyns) about the length of time spent having discussions, supplemental materials used, risks covered, cessation, and frequency of discussions. Most (55.3%) reported spending 1–4 min discussing risks/cessation. Nearly a third reported not using any supplemental materials; few used apps (4.4%) or videos (1.9%). Assisting patients with steps toward cessation was infrequent. Few ob/gyns had discussions with patients immediately postpartum. Only 51.9% strongly agreed that they felt sufficiently informed about SHS/SIDS risks to educate their patients. The communication by ob/gyns of SHS/SIDS risk varies greatly and presents opportunities for improvement. Each additional minute spent having discussions and the use of supplemental materials, such as apps, may improve communication effectiveness. The discussion of smoking behaviors immediately postpartum may help to prevent smoker relapse. An increased awareness of statewide cessation resources by ob/gyns is needed to assist patients with cessation. The development of standardized risk messaging may reduce the variation in communication practices among ob/gyns.
Diagnosis of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome using lung ultrasonography

As an emerging technology, the lung ultrasound has been increasingly used in neonatal practice.Lung ultrasound has many advantages, such as non-ionizing, widly available, there is no hazards to the operators and the patients.It can be performed at the bedside, easy-operating, protecting the operators and patients from radiation, being performed at the bedside, especially being suitable for dynamic observation in seriously ill infants.Most importantly, the lung ultrasound has a very high accuracy and reliability in diagnosing pulmonary disease.In order to improve the clinical application of the lung ultrasound to diagnose neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, the major ultrasound imaging characteristics of respiratory distress syndrome and the key operating elements of ultrasonic examination were described. Key words: Lung ultrasonography; Respiratory distress syndrome; Newborn infant
The Durability of Restrictive Normative Orders

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the international normative order contained a set of restrictive war-initiation norms. Whereas some commentators on world affairs assumed that these norms would endure, others questioned their resilience. Although it is impossible to predict exactly what will happen, we can forecast how current trends might develop and use those projections to create scenarios depicting plausible alternative futures. This chapter discusses several scenarios under which a more war-prone, permissive normative order could arise in the years ahead.
Sperm and alternative reproductive tactics: a review of existing theory and empirical data

Males that exhibit alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) often differ in the risk of sperm competition and the energetic trade-offs they experience. The resulting patterns of selection could lead to between-tactic differences in ejaculate traits. Despite extensive research on male ARTs, there is no comprehensive review of whether and what differences in sperm traits exist between male ARTs. We review existing theory on ejaculate evolution relevant to ARTs and then conduct a comprehensive vote-counting review of the empirical data comparing sperm traits between males adopting ARTs. Despite the general expectation that sneaker males should produce sperm that are more competitive (e.g. higher quality or performance), we find that existing theory does not predict explicitly how males adopting ARTs should differ in sperm traits. The majority of studies find no significant difference in sperm performance traits between dominant and sneaker males. However, when there is a difference, sneaker males tend to have higher sperm performance trait values than dominant males. We propose ways that future theoretical and empirical research can improve our understanding of the evolution of ejaculate traits in ARTs. We then highlight how studying ejaculate traits in species with ARTs will improve our broader knowledge of ejaculate evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.
Thermal conductivity of the quasi-one-dimensional materials TaSe 3 and ZrTe 3

The high breakdown current densities and resilience to scaling of the metallic transition-metal trichalcogenides ${\mathrm{TaSe}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{ZrTe}}_{3}$ make them of interest for possible interconnect applications, and it motivates this paper of their thermal conductivities and phonon properties. These crystals consist of planes of strongly bonded one-dimensional chains more weakly bonded to neighboring chains. Phonon dispersions and the thermal conductivity tensors are calculated using density functional theory combined with an iterative solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation. The phonon velocities and the thermal conductivities of ${\mathrm{TaSe}}_{3}$ are considerably more anisotropic than those of ${\mathrm{ZrTe}}_{3}$. The maximum longitudinal-acoustic velocity in ${\mathrm{ZrTe}}_{3}$ occurs in the cross-chain direction, and this is consistent with the strong cross-chain bonding that gives rise to large Fermi velocities in that direction. The thermal conductivities are similar to those of other metallic two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides. At room temperature, a significant portion of the heat is carried by the optical modes. In the low-frequency range, the phonon lifetimes and mean free paths in ${\mathrm{TaSe}}_{3}$ are considerably shorter than those in ${\mathrm{ZrTe}}_{3}$. The shorter lifetimes in ${\mathrm{TaSe}}_{3}$ are consistent with the presence of lower-frequency optical branches and zone-folding features in the acoustic branches that arise due to the doubling of the ${\mathrm{TaSe}}_{3}$ unit cell within the plane.
Closed form approximations to predict retention times and peak widths in gradient elution under conditions of sample volume overload and sample solvent mismatch

Closed form expressions for the prediction of retention times and peak widths for gradient liquid chromatography are particularly useful in understanding, rationalizing and optimizing separations. These expressions are obtained by integrating differential equations, in conjunction with a model of the variation of the retention factor as a function of mobile phase composition. Two of these models, the linear solvent strength (LSS) model and the Neue-Kuss (NK) model are explored in the present work. Here, we expand on these closed form expressions to account for effects of sample volume overload and a mismatch between the sample solvent and the initial mobile phase composition for the gradient. We show that there have been errors in expressions reported in the literature, and we have evaluated the accuracy of the predictions from the closed form expressions reported here using a recently developed liquid chromatography simulator. The expressions assume a constant plate height and consider elution across four zones of the gradient profile - elution in the sample solvent, elution in the initial (isocratic) mobile phase caused by the gradient delay volume, elution during a linear gradient, and elution post-gradient at the final (isocratic) mobile phase composition. The expressions generally give reasonably accurate predictions for retention times and peak widths, except for cases where the solute elutes during transitions between the different zones. The average magnitude of the prediction errors for retention time and peak width relative to simulation were 0.093% and 0.40% for the LSS expressions for ten amphetamine solutes at 36 different separation conditions, and 0.22% and 1.8% for the NK expressions for eight alkylbenzene solutes at 36 different separation conditions, respectively.
Economic Disparities and Healthcare

Due to differing conditions across the globe, health outcomes and the quality of healthcare can vary greatly between and within different communities. Differences in health education, infrastructure, cultural beliefs, availability of medicine and even access to healthy food and clean drinking water can lead to different treatments and outcomes of serious healthcare issues. Many of these disparities are closely interwoven with the factor of economic disparities between various regions, communities and healthcare systems.
Dietary methionine restriction impairs anti-tumor immunity through gut microbiota

Dietary methionine restriction has been reported to repress cancer growth and improve therapeutic responses in several pre-clinical settings. However, how this dietary intervention impacts cancer progression in the context of the intact immune system is unknown. Here we report that methionine restriction exacerbates cancer growth and influences the outcomes of anti-tumor immunotherapy through gut microbiota and immune suppression in immunocompetent settings. Methionine restriction reduces T cell activation, increases tumor growth, and impairs response to anti-tumor immunotherapy. Mechanistically, methionine restriction alters composition of gut microbiota and reduces microbial production of hydrogen sulfide. Fecal transplantation from methionine-restricted tumor-free animals is sufficient to repress T cell activation and enhance tumor growth in tumor-bearing recipient mice. Conversely, dietary supplementation of a hydrogen sulfide donor or methionine stimulates anti-tumor immunity and suppresses tumor progression. Our findings reveal a vital role of gut microbiota in mediating methionine restriction-induced suppression of anti-tumor immunity and suggest that any possible anti-cancer benefits of methionine restriction require careful considerations of both the microbiota and the immune system.
Domestic Service, Migration, and Ethnic Stereotyping: Bécassine and the Bretons in Paris

Historians’ attention to timing and the contingencies of history inform this study of the evolution of domestic servants. It explores the case of Breton domestics in Paris from 1880 to after the Second World War, focusing on the change in status and stereotype represented by a popular cartoon character as the belle epoque gave way to the interwar period, the migrant group of Bretons in Paris changed, state policy on regional cultures evolved, and the country experienced the two great wars of the twentieth century.
Expert System Advice as a By-Product of Image Acquisition and Reporting: Obstacles to be Overcome

Computer systems are commonplace in radiology today, perhaps more so than in any other branch of medicine. Computers are routinely used to acquire radiological images (e.g. CT, MR, ultrasound, etc.), in radiology information systems, and more recently, in image archiving (PACS) and in film-reporting (computerized voice recognition). The long-term goal of our research has been to extend this use of computers to enhance the actual cognitive processes used in the practice of diagnostic radiology by pairing the strengths of computers (superior memory) with those of humans (superior visual pattern recognition). Specifically, we seek to build computer-based expert systems that can give a radiologist intelligent decision support without intruding on his or her normal film-reading activity and without requiring specific and lengthy computer interaction. To this end we have developed prototype systems that use the computer interactions already being carried out for image acquisition and reporting to acquire case-knowledge about the films being interpreted. This knowledge can then be used by an expert system working in the background to generate intelligent diagnostic advice [1]. The radiologist thus gets the benefit of automatic expert system consultation without having to do anything different from what he or she normally does during the film-reading process.
Differential Operators on Conical Lagrangian Manifolds

The suggestion that there is an operator to be obtained (and consequently a spectrum to be obtained) from a function on a symplectic manifold originated from the work of physicists, on atomic radiation spectra, in the early part of this century. It is without doubt a profound and extremely important mathematical question to determine under what circumstances such operators naturally exist and, if possible, to construct them. The progression from function to operator genarally goes under the name of quantization.
Lineage commitment and developmental plasticity in early lymphoid progenitor subsets

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a current understanding of hematolymphoid development from rare hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to progenitor subsets that progressively lose fate potential as they differentiate down their respective lineages. The ability to prospectively isolate the major branchpoints along the hematopoietic tree allows a molecular profiling of each, both at the population and single-cell level. Transcriptional profiling at the population level has shown that the master regulator genes identified from mouse knockout studies are expressed in the progenitor subsets upstream of the noted defective lineages. Single-cell profiling has supported the hypothesis of priming stages, whereby promiscuous, low-level expression of many genes appears to maintain flexibility in cell fate choices.
Limited linkages between secondhand smoke discovery and delivery: more a speed bump than a gap.

The Harris et al.1 paper in this issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports a network analysis of citation patterns among 1877 papers related to secondhand smoke published between 1965 and 2005. The primary conclusion is that there is not much crossover citation between discovery research on the physical or health effects of secondhand smoke and delivery research that evaluates interventions to reduce secondhand smoke exposure. The authors suggest that this low level of cross-citation between these two networks could be slowing the diffusion of innovation and a lack of cooperation and communication among investigators doing these two different kinds of work.
Spices and Flavoring Crops: Fruits and Seeds

There are about 30 types of fruits and seeds that are commonly used as spices and for flavoring purposes throughout the world. Their frequency of use varies in different parts of the world. In this article, some of the most commonly used spices and flavoring crops are discussed in detail, and the remaining equally important ones are summarized. Each section deals with an individual spice in terms of its common name, botanical name, family, and parts used, along with diagnostic, morphological, and anatomical characters; details of handling, drying, and storage have also been given wherever available.
Using Visualization Process Graphs to Improve Visualization Exploration

Visualization exploration is an iterative process of setting parameters, rendering, and evaluating results. This process can be recorded and analyzed in order to make visualization exploration more efficient and more effective. This work describes methods for visualizing the visualization process using new visualization process graphs; several visualization process relations are introduced to construct these graphs. These methods were used to analyze and improve a network routing visualization, and the results of this analysis are presented. Through this analysis, redundant exploration was quickly identified and eliminated.
Evolutionary Feature Construction Using Information Gain and Gini Index

Feature construction using genetic programming is carried out to study the effect on the performance of a range of classification algorithms with the inclusion of the evolved attributes. Two different fitness functions are used in the genetic program, one based on information gain and the other based on the gini index. The classification algorithms used are three classification tree algorithms, namely C5, CART, CHAID and an MLP neural network. The intention of the research is to ascertain if the decision tree classification algorithms benefit more using features constructed using a genetic programme whose fitness function incorporates the same fundamental learning mechanism as the splitting criteria of the associated decision tree.
Magnesium and Magnesium Alloys

Magnesium is the world's most readily available metal and occurs naturally in minerals, brines, and seawater. Magnesium metal is prepared commercially by two types of processes. In the first process, magnesium chloride is recovered from the raw materials and converted to metal by molten salt electrolysis. The second process involves the reduction of magnesium oxide with silicon or aluminum at high temperatures. The resulting metal is then cast into a variety of shapes and sizes of ingots, or alloyed with various other metals and made into ingots, slabs, billets, and many extruded shapes. Pure magnesium is used for making aluminum alloys, the desulfurization of steel, the manufacture of ductile iron, and as a reducing agent for the production of other metals. Elemental magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Magnesium alloys are used mainly in die and sand castings, and in the manufacture of wrought products. Alloy composition is varied to obtain the desired physical and mechanical properties for a given application. Production capacities, import and export data are given. Magnesium is essential to most plant and animal life. Keywords: Magnesium; Magnesium alloys; Electrolytic reduction; Seawater process; Dead Sea; Nonstructural applications; Structural applications; Aluminum alloys; Metallography; Corrosion; Recycling
Analog/digital hybrid VLSI signal processing using single BIT modulators

A hybrid analog/digital technique for efficient VLSI implementation of signal processing systems is presented. Single bit delta sigma modulators are used to modulate analog inputs into a form which can be considered simultaneously analog and digital, and directly manipulated as such. A cross-correlator is proposed, demonstrating the compactness of VLSI signal processing systems using this approach. >
Splicing Pattern of Gsα mRNA in Human and Rat Brain

Gs alpha, the GTP-binding protein that mediates receptor stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, exists in small (Gs alpha-S) and large (Gs alpha-L) molecular forms. Previous work has established that these Gs alpha isoforms are products of alternatively spliced Gs alpha pre-mRNA. The present work examined the splicing pattern of Gs alpha mRNA in rat and human brain using a method based upon the polymerase chain reaction. In rat brain, transcripts encoding Gs alpha-L were most abundant and constituted 92% of total Gs alpha mRNA in hippocampus and cerebral cortex and 84% in striatum. Compared to rat brain, the relative abundance of Gs alpha-L mRNA was less in human brain and constituted 84% of total Gs alpha mRNA in hippocampus and cortex and 66% in striatum. In addition, it was found that approximately 40% of the Gs alpha-S mRNA utilizes an alternative splice site that encodes serine at amino acid 72. No regional variations in this splicing pattern were found.
Algorithms for Lunar Flash Video Search, Measurement, and Archiving

Lunar meteoroid impact flashes provide a method to estimate the flux of the large meteoroid flux and thus their hazard to spacecraft. Although meteoroid impacts on the Moon have been detected using video methods for over a decade, the difficulty of manually searching hours of video for the rare, extremely brief impact flashes has discouraged the technique’s systematic implementation. A prototype has been developed for the purpose of automatically searching lunar video records for impact flashes, eliminating false detections, editing the returned possible flashes, and archiving and documenting the results. Several utilities for measurement, analysis, and location of the flashes on the moon included in the program are demonstrated. Application of the program to a year’s worth of lunar observations is discussed along with examples of impact flashes.
Upon Further Reflection: View from the Other Side of “Windows on the 21st Century”

Three points discussed in Glenn (1993) are reviewed in the context of current events: the discipline of behavior analysis as a cultural system, the importance of that discipline in the training and regulation of behavior analytic practitioners, and Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) as a cultural subsystem that links to all the other parts and therefore links the other parts to one another. Noting similarities between behavior analysis and biology, I consider the growth of biological sciences as a model for behavior analysis. Of particular importance for biology has been the role of basic biological sciences in the practice of medicine and the resulting feedback loops that have developed among its basic sciences, applied sciences, and medical practice. I suggest that behavior analysis explicitly follow this model and that ABAI has a critical role to play in leading the field to developing the feedback loops that have integrated the biological sciences and medicine.
How the antiviral immune response boosts liver fat.

Liver steatosis is a characteristic feature of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and the virus itself is known to alter the lipid metabolism of infected hepatocytes. A recent study shows that HCV co-opts the antiviral innate immune response to stimulate the production of hepatic fat droplets, which it can then use to complete its own life cycle and spread (pages 722–729).
Planning Makes a Difference Improving the Post-Observation Conference

A post. observation con ference, like most administrator ac tivities, requires careful strategic planning. The psychological as well as the tech nical aspects must be considered.
Turbulent flow measurement in a square duct with hybrid holographic PIV

A hybrid holographic system has been developed for three-dimensional particle image velocimetry. With unique high pass filters, the system combines advantages of both in-line and off-axis holography without having their draw-backs. It improves the signal to noise ratio of the reconstructed image, allows use of 3–15 μm particles in water at high population and achieves large dynamic ranges in both velocity and space. With an automated image acquisition and processing system it has been used for measuring the velocity distributions in a square duct at Re=1.23×105. The data consists of 97×97×87 vectors (with 50% overlapping of adjacent interrogation windows). The quality of the results is evaluated using the continuity equation. The deviation from the equation decreases rapidly with increasing control volume and reaches a level of less than 10%. Mean velocities, r.m.s. velocity fluctuations and turbulence spectra are estimated using the data.