cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ADVANCEMENTS IN PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

For more than 20 years the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has been using the results of its Condition Rating Survey (CRS) to make policy decisions regarding pavement rehabilitation activities, assess overall network condition throughout the state, and present funding requests to the state legislature. Before the early 1990s the CRSs were conducted manually by assigning a subjective rating ranging from 1.0 to 9.0 to each pavement section in the network. Since 1994 IDOT has used automated equipment to record roughness, rutting, and faulting information and videotapes at a workstation to identify additional distress. The acquisition of the automated equipment resulted in changes to the CRS procedures. Instead of subjectively assigning a rating to a pavement section, automated sensor data are used in conjunction with the identification of up to five predominant distress types and severity levels to calculate a CRS value. Models were developed to accommodate this change within the department so t...
Human fibroblast-conditioned medium contains a 100K dalton glucose-regulated cell surface protein

Abstract This report describes the identification and partial characterization of a 100K dalton "glucose-regulated" cell surface protein of human diploid fibroblasts (HDF). This protein is released into and can be recovered virtually intact from the surrounding culture medium. At the present level of analysis, the protein recovered from the culture medium ("conditioned medium") is indistinguishable from the protein extracted directly from the cell surface by 1 M urea treatment. Both proteins have molecular weights of 100K daltons when analyzed by gel electrophoresis. The protein is readily labeled at the cell surface via lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination, and the label can be chased into the released form of this protein in conditioned medium. Antiserum raised against the medium form of the protein reacts with the surface form of the protein but does not react with fibronectin, the major cell surface protein of HDF. Conditioned medium from SV40-transformed human fibroblasts does not contain the 100K protein, but instead contains a component that has a slightly lower molecular weight (97K daltons). The lower molecular weight band does not iodinate at the cell surface and is apparently an underglycosylated form of the 100K protein. Its molecular weight is shifted back to 100K by growing transformed cells in medium containing excess glucose. After the shift, the component becomes accessible to the radioiodine label. We suggest that the 100K protein is a glucose-regulated protein (Shiu, Pouyssegur and Pastan, 1977; Pouyssegur and Yamada, 1978) that is released into the culture medium. An underglycosylated form of the same glycoprotein is released from transformed cells.
Novel organic–inorganic chemical hybrid fillers for dental composite materials

A series of new polymethacrylate–silica chemical hybrid dental fillers has been prepared by the sol–gel reactions of poly[methyl methacrylate-co-3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate] or poly[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate] with tetraethyl orthosilicate at various compositions. In these hybrid fillers, the polymethacrylate chains are uniformly distributed in and covalently bonded to the silica networks at molecular level without macroscopic organic–inorganic phase separation. The contact angle and surface tension parameters indicate that the hybrid fillers have better wetting properties with the 2,2-bis(p-2-hydroxy-3-methacryloxypropoxyphenyl)propane/triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate resin and stronger interfacial bonding with the polymer matrix than pure silica fillers. The compressive testing results demonstrate that the dental composites prepared with the hybrid fillers tend to have enhanced mechanical properties in comparison to those with the silane-treated fused silica and the pure sol-gel silica fillers at the same silica content. Scanning electron micrographic study reveals that upon compressive tests the dental composites with the hybrid fillers have fewer failures at the filler–matrix interface than those with pure silica fillers. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 1689–1699, 1998
Mechanism of Glucose Isomerization Using a Solid Lewis Acid Catalyst in Water

^1H and ^(13)C NMR spectroscopy on isotopically labeled glucose reveals that in the presence of tin-containing zeolite Sn-Beta, the isomerization reaction of glucose in water proceeds by way of an intramolecular hydride shift (see scheme) rather than proton transfer. This is the first mechanistic demonstration of Sn-Beta acting as a Lewis acid in a purely aqueous environment.
Predicate-tree based pretty good privacy of data

Growth of Internet has led to exponential rise in data communication over the World Wide Web. Several applications and entities such as online banking transactions, stock trading, e-commerce Web sites, etc. are at a constant risk of eavesdropping and hacking. Hence, security of data is of prime concern. Recently, vertical data have gained lot of focus because of their significant performance benefits over horizontal data in various data mining applications. In our current work, we propose a Predicate-Tree based solution for protection of data. Predicate-Trees or pTrees are compressed, data-mining-ready, vertical data structures and have been used in a plethora of data-mining research areas such as spatial association rule mining, text clustering, closed k-nearest neighbor classification, etc. We show how for data mining purposes, the scrambled pTrees would be unrevealing of the raw data to anyone except for the authorized person issuing a data mining request. In addition, we propose several techniques which come along as a benefit of using vertical pTrees. To the best of our knowledge, our approach is novel and provides sufficient speed and protection level for an effective data security.
Church and State in Stanley Fish's Antiliberalism

Even though they contain one of the most forceful critiques of liberalism in contemporary political thought, the political writings of Stanley Fish have been neglected by political theorists. Fish's critique of liberal claims of moral and religious neutrality points to the conclusion that the liberal separation of church and state lacks a coherent justification. I offer a qualified defense of liberalism by arguing that while Fish's critique of liberal neutrality is sound, he fails to do justice to liberalism's substantive basis. Moreover, by simply negating liberalism, Fish's thinking remains within the liberal horizon in a way he fails to recognize.
Recent studies on the molecular biology and biochemistry of CO2 fixation in phototrophic bacteria

Rhodobacter sphaeroides was found to contain two clusters of chromosomally encoded CO2 fixation structural genes. Recent studies indicate that genes within each cluster are contrascribed, suggesting that there is a single long transcript for each cluster. All of the genes have been sequenced, homologies noted, specific mutations obtained, and interesting upstream regulatory sequences found. Site-directed mutagenesis studies of the Anacystis rbcS has begun to provide information relative to RubisCO structure and function. In addition, RubisCO-negative strains of photosynthetic bacteria have been constructed to screen for altered RubisCO sequences.
Patterns of Species Richness Among Assemblages of Unionicola spp. (Acari: Unionicolidae) Inhabiting Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoida) of North America

Abstract: Water mites of Unionicola species are common symbionts of freshwater mussels, living on the gills or mantle and foot of their hosts and using these tissues as sites of oviposition. Although surveys of the mite fauna among North American mussels suggest that these mites represent highly diverse assemblages, there are currently no quantitative data characterizing Unionicola species diversity among their molluscan hosts. The present study addresses patterns of species richness of Unionicola assemblages from freshwater mussels, including the relationship between richness and host specificity among these mites. Results from this study indicate that mite species richness increased significantly with an increase in the number of host individuals sampled. When corrected for sampling effort, there was a positive relationship between host size and mite species richness. Results from this study also reveal a significant relationship between mite species richness and the geographical distribution of host mu...
Plant species differ in their ability to reduce allocation to non‐beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Theory suggests that cheaters threaten the persistence of mutualisms, but that sanctions to prevent cheating can stabilize mutualisms. In the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, reports of parasitism suggest that reductions in plant carbon allocation are not universally effective. I asked whether plant species differences in mycorrhizal responsiveness would affect both their susceptibility to parasitism and their reduction in allocation to non-beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in high-phosphorus soils. In a greenhouse experiment, I found that two C3 grasses, Bromus inermis and Elymus repens, effectively suppressed root colonization and AMF hyphal abundance. Increases in soil phosphorus did not reduce the degree to which AMF increased plant biomass. In contrast, two C4 grasses, Andropogon gerardii and Schizachyrium scoparium, more weakly reduced root colonization and failed to suppress AMF hyphal abundance. Consequently, they experienced strong declines in their response to AMF, and one species suffered parasitism. Thus, species differ in susceptibility to parasitism and their reduction in allocation to non-beneficial AMF. These differences may affect the distribution and abundance of plants and AMF, as well as the stability of the mutualism.
An overview of Double-Gate MOSFETs

The Double-Gate (DG) Fully Depleted (FD) SOI MOSFET, and its many implementations, is the leading device candidate for Silicon nano-scale CMOS. Their main characteristics, as compared to the single gate bulk MOSTET, are less S/D capacitance, larger saturated current drive, smaller short channel effects (DIBL), scalability to L=10 nm, near ideal subthreshold slopes (S), and the possibility of electrically adjustable threshold voltages.
Here, the People Rule: A Constitutional Populist Manifesto

Democracy--its aspirations, its dangers--is what, most fundamentally, our Constitution is about. The question, Richard Parker argues in this powerful book, is how to imagine our democracy. Provocative in style and substance, this manifesto challenges orthodoxies of constitutional legal studies, particularly the idea that constitutionalism and populist democracy stand opposed. Parker presents a populist argument. He contends that the mission of constitutional law should be to promote, not limit, the expression of ordinary political energy--thus to extend, rather than constrain, majority rule.At the root of the matter, Parker finds a question of "sensibility"--assumptions and attitudes about the political energy of ordinary people. He approaches this sensibility in a novel way, through a work of fiction about politics, Thomas Mann's "Mario and the Magician." Offering two "takes" on the story, Parker shows how it evokes--and elucidates--our deepest, most problematic attitudes about popular political energy in our own democracy. He goes on to elaborate these attitudes within our practice of constitutional argument. This is a book about the people, and for the people, a reimagination of constitutional law's populist potential. It will disorient--then reorient--the thinking of everyone who is concerned about democracy and the Constitution.
RNA-directed DNA methylation enforces boundaries between heterochromatin and euchromatin in the maize genome

The maize genome is relatively large (∼2.3 Gb) and has a complex organization of interspersed genes and transposable elements, which necessitates frequent boundaries between different types of chromatin. The examination of maize genes and conserved noncoding sequences revealed that many of these are flanked by regions of elevated asymmetric CHH (where H is A, C, or T) methylation (termed mCHH islands). These mCHH islands are quite short (∼100 bp), are enriched near active genes, and often occur at the edge of the transposon that is located nearest to genes. The analysis of DNA methylation in other sequence contexts and several chromatin modifications revealed that mCHH islands mark the transition from heterochromatin-associated modifications to euchromatin-associated modifications. The presence of an mCHH island is fairly consistent in several distinct tissues that were surveyed but shows some variation among different haplotypes. The presence of insertion/deletions in promoters often influences the presence and position of an mCHH island. The mCHH islands are dependent upon RNA-directed DNA methylation activities and are lost in mop1 and mop3 mutants, but the nearby genes rarely exhibit altered expression levels. Instead, loss of an mCHH island is often accompanied by additional loss of DNA methylation in CG and CHG contexts associated with heterochromatin in nearby transposons. This suggests that mCHH islands and RNA-directed DNA methylation near maize genes may act to preserve the silencing of transposons from activity of nearby genes.
Low-complexity iterative channel estimation for serially concatenated systems over frequency-nonselective Rayleigh fading channels

A low-complexity iterative maximum a posteriori (MAP) channel estimator is proposed whose complexity increases linearly with the symbol alphabet size 'M. Prediction-based MAP channel estimation is not appropriate with a high-order prediction filter or a large modulation alphabet size, since the computational complexity increases with ML , where L is the predictor order. In contrast, the proposed channel estimator has a constant number of trellis states regardless of the prediction filter order, and is shown to provide comparable error performance to the prediction-based MAP estimator
Synthesis and Evaluation of 11C-LY2795050 as a κ-Opioid Receptor Antagonist Radiotracer for PET Imaging

Kappa-opioid receptors (KOR) are believed to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression, anxiety disorders, drug abuse, and alcoholism. To date, only 1 tracer, the KOR agonist 11C-GR103545, has been reported to be able to image KOR in primates. The goal of the present study was to synthesize the selective KOR antagonist 11C-LY2795050 and evaluate its potential as a PET tracer to image KOR in vivo. Methods: The in vitro binding affinity of LY2795050 was measured in radioligand competition binding assays. Ex vivo experiments were conducted using microdosing of the unlabeled ligand in Sprague–Dawley rats and in wild-type and KOR knockout mice, to assess the ligand’s potential as a tracer candidate. Imaging experiments with 11C-LY2795050 in monkeys were performed on the Focus-220 scanner with arterial blood input function measurement. Binding parameters were determined with kinetic modeling analysis. Results: LY2795050 displays full antagonist activity and high binding affinity and selectivity for KOR. Microdosing studies in rodents and ex vivo analysis of tissue concentrations with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry identified LY2795050 as an appropriate tracer candidate able to provide specific binding signals in vivo. 11C-LY2795050 was prepared in an average yield of 12% and greater than 99% radiochemical purity. In rhesus monkeys, 11C-LY2795050 displayed a moderate rate of peripheral metabolism, with approximately 40% of parent compound remaining at 30 min after injection. In the brain, 11C-LY2795050 displayed fast uptake kinetics (regional activity peak times of
Classic Text No. 72 Non-dementia non-praecox: note on the advantages to mental hygiene of extirpating a term

In February 1919 the Harvard neuropathologist Elmer Ernst Southard (1876—1920) presented a paper in which he outlined his reasons for dropping the term `dementia praecox' in favour of a competing diagnostic concept and term, `schizophrenia'. Southard's criticisms reflected the opinion of many US psychiatrists at that time, leading to the replacement of Emil Kraepelin's dementia praecox by Eugen Bleuler's schizophrenia in US psychiatry by the mid-1920s. The text of Southard's lecture is published here for the first time. Also included are excerpts from letters from US psychiatrists George H. Kirby, Albert M. Barrett, Adolf Meyer and August Hoch to Southard in response to his query as to whether dementia praecox or schizophrenia should be adopted in US psychiatric nomenclature.
The notion of cost and quality in packet switched networks: An abstract approach

The notion of quality is an important factor in the design of any complex communication system. Since most communication systems are increasingly dependent on packet switching as the underlying transport mechanism, this paper explores the impact of levels of quality that a packet switched system can have on cost. Several interesting results are presented that result in the notion of an optimum level of load that a packet switched system can handle given a defined upper bound on latency that a specified percentage of packets would suffer. The results presented offer a fresh insight into the relationship between cost and quality and can be used to optimize the throughput of a packet switched system under specified levels of quality.
Pharmacological Treatment Options for Gestational Diabetes

The treatment goal for pregnant and non-pregnant diabetic patients is to optimize the glycemic profile. Intensified therapy, in comparison to the conventional approach, can improve perinatal outcomes. Data from non-diabetic pregnant women suggest that current targets for glucose management for pregnant women with glucose abnormalities do not approximate glucose fluctuations in healthy pregnancies. There is a lack of consensus on the medications used to achieve these targets as well. One means of assessing the viability of a pharmacologic strategy can be the rate of study participants who achieved the targeted level of glycemia.
Contingent Claims Approach to Measuring and Managing Sovereign Credit Risk

This paper proposes a new approach to measure, analyze, and manage sovereign risk based on the theory and practice of modern contingent claims analysis (CCA). The paper provides a new framework for adapting the CCA model to the sovereign balance sheet in a way that can help forecast credit spreads and evaluate the impact of market risks and risks transferred from other sectors. This new framework is useful for assessing vulnerability, policy analysis, sovereign credit risk analysis, and design of sovereign risk mitigation and control strategies. Applications for investors in three areas are discussed. First, CCA provides a new framework for valuing, investing, and trading sovereign securities, including sovereign capital structure arbitrage. Second, it provides a new framework for analysis and management of sovereign wealth funds being created by many emerging market and resource rich countries. Third, the framework provides quantitative measures of sovereign risk exposures which facilitates the design of new instruments and contracts to control or transfer sovereign risk.
Receptor chimeras demonstrate that the C-terminal domain of the human cytomegalovirus US27 gene product is necessary and sufficient for intracellular receptor localization.

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is ubiquitous in the population but generally causes only mild or asymptomatic infection except in immune suppressed individuals. HCMV employs numerous strategies for manipulating infected cells, including mimicry of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The HCMV US27 gene product is a putative GPCR, yet no ligand or signaling has been identified for this receptor. In the present study, immunofluorescence microscopy was used to examine the cellular distribution of wild type US27, as well as US27 deletion mutants and chimeric receptors. Results: In transiently transfected cells, wild type US27 was found primarily in intracellular compartments, in striking contrast to the cell surface distribution seen for the human cellular chemokine receptor CXCR3. When the N-terminal extracellular domains of the two receptors were swapped, no change in protein localization was observed. However, swapping of the C-terminal intracellular domains resulted in a significant change in receptor distribution. A chimera that contained US27 fused to the C-terminal intracellular tail of CXCR3 exhibited surface distribution similar to that of wild-type CXCR3. When the C-terminal domain of US27 was fused to CXCR3, this chimeric receptor (CXCR3/US27-CT) was found in the same intracellular pattern as wild-type US27. In addition, a US27 mutant lacking the C-terminus (US27ΔCT) failed to accumulate inside the cell and exhibited cell surface distribution. Co-localization with organelle-specific markers revealed that wild-type US27 was found predominantly in the Golgi apparatus and in endosomal compartments, whereas the US27/CXCR3-CT chimera, US27ΔCT and US27Δ348 mutants were not localized to endosomal compartments. Conclusions: The results indicate that the C-terminal domain of the HCMV US27 protein, which contains a dileucine endocytic sorting motif, is both necessary and sufficient for intracellular localization, which may also help explain why no cellular ligands have yet been identified for this viral receptor.
Some Notes on Chinese Customary Marriage

Customary marriage, or old-fashioned marriage as it is sometimes called, is marriage according to the traditional customs that have accumulated in China from time immemorial and are transmitted from generation to generation. These customs are, to a large extent, constructed on the foundation of the rules of propriety, especially the rules of propriety of the Duke of Chou of the Chou Dynasty (1122–255 B.C.). Therefore, in order to have a better understanding of Chinese customary marriage, a study of its socio-historical background is necessary.
Intergenic Transcribed Spacer PCR Ribotyping for Differentiation of Saccharomyces Species and Interspecific Hybrids

The taxonomy of the genus Saccharomyces has undergone significant changes recently with the use of genotypic rather than phenotypic methods for the identification of strains to the species level. The sequence of rRNA genes has been utilized for the identification of a variety of fungi to the species level. This methodology, applied to species of Saccharomyces, allows unknown Saccharomyces isolates to be assigned to the type strains. It was the aim of the present study to assess whether typing of the intergenic spacer region by using restriction fragment length polymorphisms of PCR products (intergenic transcribed spacer PCR [ITS-PCR] ribotyping) could distinguish among type strains of the 10 accepted species of Saccharomyces and further to assess if this method could distinguish strains that were interspecific hybrids. Cellular DNA, isolated after the lysis of protoplasts, was amplified by PCR using ITS1 and ITS4 primers, purified by liquid chromatography, and digested with restriction endonucleases. Ribotyping patterns using the restriction enzymes MaeI and HaeIII could distinguish all species of Saccharomyces from each other, as well as from Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, and Blastomyces dermatitidis. The only exception to this was the inability to distinguish between Saccharomyces bayanus and S. pastorianus (S. carlsbergensis). Furthermore, interspecific hybrids resulting from the mating of sibling species of Saccharomyces were shown to share the ITS-PCR ribotyping patterns of both parental species. It should now be possible, by this simple PCR-based technique, to accurately identify these strains to the species level, thereby allowing an increase in our understanding of the characteristics required by these interspecific hybrids for their particular ecological niches.
Association between cow reproduction and calf growth traits and ELISA scores for paratuberculosis in a multibreed herd of beef cattle.

The objective of this research was to assess the association between 4 cow reproductive and weight traits, and 2 preweaning calf traits and ELISA scores for paratuberculosis (0 = negative, 1 = suspect, 2 = weak-positive, and 3 = positive) in a multibreed herd of cows ranging from 100% Angus (A) to 100% Brahman (B). Cow data were 624 gestation lengths (GL), 358 records of time open (TO), 605 calving intervals (CI), and 1240 weight changes from November to weaning in September (WC) from 502 purebred and crossbred cows. Calf data consisted of 956 birth weights (BWT), and 923 weaning weights adjusted to 205 d of age (WW205) from 956 purebred and crossbred calves. Traits were analyzed individually using multibreed mixed models that assumed homogeneity of variances across breed groups. Covariances among random effects were assumed to be zero. Fixed effects were year, age of cow, sex of calf, year × age of cow interaction (except WC), age of cow × sex of calf interaction (only for WC), and covariates for B fraction of sire and cow, heterosis of cow and calf, and ELISA score. Random effects were sire (except for TO and CI), dam, and residual. Regression estimates of cow and calf traits on ELISA scores indicated that lower cow fertility (longer TO), lower ability of cows to maintain weight (negative WC), lower calf BWT, and lower calf WW205 were associated with higher cow ELISA scores. Further research on the effects of subclinical paratuberculosis in beef cattle at regional and national levels seems advisable considering the large potential economic cost of this disease.
Alumni as a resource to increase student retention in early computer science courses

Student persistence in computing majors is one of the keys to providing the talent needed to fill the projected job openings in the computing professions. A range of factors can affect a student's decision to remain in a computing major or change to another major. In this paper we describe an assignment that we use in a course for first semester computing majors. The assignment is based on students interacting with alumni on an individual basis. The nature of the assignment addresses a number of the factors that have been shown to influence students' persistence and may result in an individual student getting the specific intervention that he or she needs.
Determining individual phase properties in a multi-phase Q&P steel using multi-scale indentation tests

Abstract A new inverse method was developed to predict the stress–strain behaviors of constituent phases in a multi-phase steel using the load–depth curves measured in nanoindentation tests combined with microhardness measurements. A power law hardening response was assumed for each phase, and an empirical relationship between hardness and yield strength was assumed. Adjustment was made to eliminate the indentation size effect and indenter bluntness effect. With the newly developed inverse method and statistical analysis of the hardness histogram for each phase, the average stress–strain curves of individual phases in a quench and partitioning (Q&P) steel, including austenite, tempered martensite and untempered martensite, were calculated and the results were compared with the phase properties obtained by in-situ high energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) test. It is demonstrated that multi-scale instrumented indentation tests together with the new inverse method are capable of determining the individual phase flow properties in multi-phase alloys.
Erectile dysfunction: the earliest sign of generalized vascular disease?

Until sildenafil, the first effective oral agent for erectile dysfunction (ED), was introduced, only genitourinary physicians concerned themselves with this problem. Certainly cardiologists rarely asked their patients with cardiovascular disease about difficulty developing or maintaining a penile
Long-term chloride profiles in bridge decks treated with penetrating sealer or corrosion inhibitors

Abstract The long-term influence of three corrosion-inhibiting admixtures and a penetrating sealer on deck chloride profiles were examined on nine different bridges in Wisconsin. Chloride analyses were performed after 12–16 years of field exposure to a deicing salt environment. Two of the bridge decks were sealed with a tri-siloxane penetrating sealer at the end of construction without any subsequent reapplication; two were periodically sealed (using the same tri-siloxane product) beginning 4 years after construction; two decks utilized corrosion inhibiting admixtures and included untreated control segments; and three decks were completely untreated. Results from the field chloride evaluations indicated that bridge decks treated with the surface-applied penetrating sealer performed comparatively better when such treatments were repeated over time. When the sealer is used early and reapplied periodically, the primary effect is to reduce the effective surface chloride concentration. Two corrosion inhibiting admixtures performed better than their corresponding control sections of the bridge deck. Corrosion inhibiting admixtures resulted in a reduced apparent diffusion coefficient compared to their respective controls. The relative reduction in the diffusion coefficient was larger when the concrete itself had a higher diffusion coefficient.
Creation of a Subsurface Permeable Reactive Barrier Using In Situ Redox Manipulation

Subsurface contaminants at Department of Energy (DOE) sites occur in both the vadose and groundwater saturated zones. Many of the groundwater plumes are already dispersed over large areas (square miles) and are located hundreds of feet below the ground. This type of dispersed, inaccessible contamination, which is more difficult than other types of contamination to treat using excavation or pump-and-treat methods, may only be treated successfully by the in situ manipulation of natural processes to change the mobility or form of the contaminants. An unconfined aquifer is usually an oxidizing environment, therefore, most of the contaminants that are mobile in the aquifer are those that are mobile under oxidizing conditions. If the redox potential of the aquifer is made reducing, then a variety of contaminants can be treated. The goal of In-Situ Redox Manipulation (ISRM) is to create a permeable treatment zone in the subsurface for remediation of redox sensitive contaminants in the groundwater. The permeable treatment zone is created by reducing the ferric iron to ferrous iron within the clay minerals of the aquifer sediments. This reduction can be accomplished with chemical reducing agents, such as sodium dithionite, or through the stimulation of naturally-occurring iron-reducing bacteria with nutrients (e.g.more » lactate). After the aquifer sediments are reduced, any reagent or reaction products introduced into the subsurface are removed. Redox sensitive contaminants that can be treated by this technology include chromate, uranium, technetium and some chlorinated solvents (e.g., carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene). Chromate is immobilized by reduction to highly insoluble chromium hydroxide or iron chromium hydroxide solid solution. This case is particularly favorable since chromium is not easily reoxidized under ambient environmental conditions. Uranium and technetium will also be reduced to less soluble forms, and chlorinated solvents will be destroyed.« less
Hyperlipemia and hemolysis. I. Interaction of sodium oleate with human erythrocytes

Summary1. The initial step in human erythrocyte lysis by oleate at pH 7.2 ± 0.1 and concentrations below 8 × 10-4 M involves erythrocyte-oleate binding: oleate binding by a standard number of erythrocytes in a fixed volume is a function of oleate concentration, temperature, and contact time. 2. Once lytic quantities of oleate are bound, hemolysis proceeds at pH 7.2 ± 0.1 as a function of quantity bound and of temperature. Lysis cannot be checked by repeated iced saline washings. A mean minimum of approximately 7 × 10-9 μg of sodium oleate is required/erythrocyte at 37°C, pH 7.1 for lysis at rates detectably faster than controls; the sodium oleate binding mechanism appears saturated with a mean of approximately 111 × 10-9 μg/erythrocyte. 3. Lowered surface tension of oleate solutions does not influence hemolysis rates under conditions tested. 4. Cyanide retards oleate hemolysis; other non-specific enzyme inhibitors fail to do so. 5. Following oleate hemolysis, hemolytic substances are released; these proba...
Dynamics of Fluid Flow in a Heated Zig-Zag Square Microchannel

This paper deals with the dynamics of flow in a zigzag square microchannel subjected to uniform external heat flux (H2 thermal boundary condition). The heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics is studied using CoventorWare™. *umerical studies are performed using microchannels with hydraulic diameter ranging from 100 -m to 300 -m for Reynolds number between 25 and 500. The angle which each arm of the zigazg microchannel makes with the axial direction is varied from between 10 o and 30 o with increments of 10 o . The effect of number of turns in a repeating unit for a specific length of the microchannel is also investigated in this paper. The *usselt number and Poiseuille number in a zigzag microchannel is found to be totally different from that in a straight square microchannel of the same geometric dimensions. These two parameters are found to increase with increase in Re for zigzag microchannels with fixed geometry. T he individual effect of each of these parameters is to increase both *usselt number and Poiseuille number for a specific Reynolds number. The enhancement is highest with increase in number of turns while it is the lowest with increase in hydraulic diameter. The enhancement in *usselt number and Poiseuille number is explained using the flow profile in the microchannels.
Hydrocortisone Dosing for Hypotension in Newborn Infants: Less Is More

Journal of Pediatrics, The - In Press.Proof corrected by the author Available online since jeudi 5 mai 2016
Comparative Institutional Analysis of Urban Residents Medical Insurance——Based on 9 Experimental Schemes of 3 Provinces in the East,Middle and West of China

This paper analyzes the Urban Residents' Basic Medical Insurance System(URBMIS) in nine cities of three provinces from nine aspects,and evaluates their performances.The study shows that URBMIS design must stick to the principle of combination of unified system framework with decentralization of decision-making to organically integrate the natural evolution of the system with subjective design.
Hierarchical games and fair systems of taxation

Mathematical model of income and corporative taxes is considered as an hierarchical game of different social groups. Existence of equilibrium solution is proven, and constructive method of determining this equilibrium is discussed.
An autoregressive model for a single-hop relay channel

In this paper, we developed a mathematical model for a single-hop relay-based communication channel. Assuming the transmitter-to-relay and receiver-to-relay channels are non-line-of-sight flat fading channels, we show that the real and imaginary components of the combined single channel have Laplace probability density functions. We, therefore, develop a complex Laplace autoregressive process (AR) that captures the statistical characteristics of the fading process of the relay channel. Such an AR model makes channel simulations simple, and eases formulation of such problems as data detection in a state-space form for convenient application of well-known algorithms. Furthermore, the autocorrelation of the developed Laplace AR model has Yule-Walker type of properties that enables us to configure its parameters to match to the second-order statistical characteristics of the channel through autocorrelation matching. The derivation of the channel model is illustrated through an example and computer simulations.
High frequency dielectric measurements of liquids and solids

The dielectric properties of solid and liquid specimens have been acquired using millimeter and submillimeter wave polarizing interferometers. Dielectric data for benzene, cyclohexane, 1,4 dioxane, delrin, polyethylene, and sapphire from 100 to 600 GHz is presented. The results can be used to examine molecular properties of the specimens.
Enhanced device lifetime of double-heterojunction nanorod light-emitting diodes

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are emerging as solution-processable, high-performance materials for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Understanding the failure mechanism(s) is of both fundamental and practical importance, yet little is known of how QD-LEDs fail. Here, we have carried out accelerated device lifetime measurements on double heterojunction nanorod- (DHNR) and QD-LEDs. A common dependence of device lifetime on the initial driving voltage is observed over more than two orders of magnitude range in the initial luminance. This behavior is independent of whether the emitting materials are DHNRs or QDs prepared under different conditions. Reducing the hole injection barrier by doping HTL allows lower voltage operation, leading to longer device lifetimes. DHNRs with a band structure that further lowers the hole injection barrier require even lower driving voltages and therefore lead to longer device lifetimes than core/shell QDs. At 1000 cd m−2, the DHNR-LED exhibits no significant degradation even after more than 200 h of continuous operation. QD-LEDs, on the other hand, are completely degraded in less than ∼100 h under the same initial luminance conditions. Hole accumulation/trapping leading to HTL degradation, which in turn deteriorates electroluminescence but not the photoluminescence, is suggested to be the main cause of degradation of both DHNR- and QD-LEDs.
Multisite Electrophysiology Recordings in Mice to Study Cross-Regional Communication During Anxiety.

Recording neural activity in awake, freely moving mice is a powerful and flexible technique for dissecting the neural circuit mechanisms underlying pathological behavior. This unit describes protocols for designing a drive and recording single neurons and local field potentials during anxiety-related paradigms. We also include protocols for integrating pharmacologic and optogenetic means for circuit manipulations, which, when combined with electrophysiological recordings, demonstrate input-specific and cell-specific contributions to circuit-wide activity. We discuss the planning, execution, and troubleshooting of physiology experiments during anxiety-like behavior. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: anxiety; in vivo electrophysiology; implant construction; local field potentials; multisite recordings; implant design
Immunomodulatory Effects of Human Cryopreserved Viable Amniotic Membrane in a Pro-Inflammatory Environment In Vitro

Chronic wounds remain a major clinical challenge. Human cryopreserved viable amniotic membrane (hCVAM) is among the most successful therapies, but the mechanisms of action remain loosely defined. Because proper regulation of macrophage behavior is critical for wound healing with biomaterial therapies, we hypothesized that hCVAM would positively regulate macrophage behavior in vitro, and that soluble factors released from the hCVAM would be important for this effect. Primary human pro-inflammatory (M1) macrophages were seeded directly onto intact hCVAM or cultured in separation via transwell inserts (Soluble Factors) in the presence of pro-inflammatory stimuli (interferon-γ and lipopolysaccharide) to simulate the chronic wound environment. Macrophages were characterized after 1 and 6 days using multiplex gene expression analysis of 37 macrophage phenotype- and angiogenesis-related genes via NanoString™, and protein content from conditioned media collected at days 1, 3 and 6 was analyzed via enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. Gene expression analysis showed that Soluble Factors promoted significant upregulation of pro-inflammatory marker IL1B on day 1 yet downregulation of TNF on day 6 compared to the M1 macrophage control. In contrast, intact hCVAM, which includes both extracellular matrix, viable cells, and soluble factors, promoted downregulation of pro-inflammatory markers TNF, CCL5 and CCR7 on day 1 and endothelial receptor TIE1 on day 6, and upregulation of the anti-inflammatory marker IL10 on day 6 compared to the M1 Control. Other genes related to inflammation and angiogenesis (MMP9, VEGF, SPP1, TGFB1, etc.) were differentially regulated between the Soluble Factors and intact hCVAM groups at both time points, though they were not expressed at significantly different levels compared to the M1 Control. Interestingly, Soluble Factors promoted increased secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), while direct contact with hCVAM inhibited secretion of TNF, relative to the M1 Control. Both Soluble Factors and intact hCVAM inhibited secretion of MMP9 and VEGF, pro-inflammatory proteins that are critical for angiogenesis and remodeling, compared to the M1 Control, with intact hCVAM having a stronger effect. In a simulated pro-inflammatory environment, intact hCVAM has distinct anti-inflammatory effects on primary human macrophages, and direct macrophage contact with intact hCVAM is required for these effects. These findings are important for the design of next generation immunomodulatory biomaterials for wound repair and regenerative medicine that may include living cells, soluble factors, or a controlled drug delivery system.
Relaxed operator fusion for in-memory databases: making compilation, vectorization, and prefetching work together at last

In-memory database management systems (DBMSs) are a key component of modern on-line analytic processing (OLAP) applications, since they provide low-latency access to large volumes of data. Because disk accesses are no longer the principle bottleneck in such systems, the focus in designing query execution engines has shifted to optimizing CPU performance. Recent systems have revived an older technique of using just-in-time (JIT) compilation to execute queries as native code instead of interpreting a plan. The state-of-the-art in query compilation is to fuse operators together in a query plan to minimize materialization overhead by passing tuples efficiently between operators. Our empirical analysis shows, however, that more tactful materialization yields better performance.We present a query processing model called "relaxed operator fusion" that allows the DBMS to introduce staging points in the query plan where intermediate results are temporarily materialized. This allows the DBMS to take advantage of inter-tuple parallelism inherent in the plan using a combination of prefetching and SIMD vectorization to support faster query execution on data sets that exceed the size of CPU-level caches. Our evaluation shows that our approach reduces the execution time of OLAP queries by up to 2.2× and achieves up to 1.8× better performance compared to other in-memory DBMSs.
In the Absence of Central pre-B Cell Receptor Selection, Peripheral Selection Attempts to Optimize the Antibody Repertoire by Enriching for CDR-H3 Y101.

Sequential developmental checkpoints are used to ‘optimize’ the B cell antigen receptor repertoire by minimizing production of autoreactive or useless immunoglobulins and enriching for potentially protective antibodies. The first and apparently most impactful checkpoint requires µHC to form a functional preBCR by associating with surrogate light chain, which is composed of VpreB and λ5. Absence of any of the preBCR components causes a block in B cell development that is characterized by severe immature B cell lymphopenia. Previously, we showed that preBCR controls the amino acid content of the third complementary determining region of µHC (CDR-H3) by using a VpreB amino acid motif (RDR) to select for tyrosine at CDR-H3 position 101 (Y101). In antibodies bound to antigen, Y101 is commonly in direct contact with the antigen, thus preBCR selection impacts the antigen binding characteristics of the repertoire. In this work, we sought to determine the forces that shape the peripheral B cell repertoire when it is denied preBCR selection. Using BrdU incorporation and evaluation of apoptosis; we found that in the absence of preBCR there is increased turnover of B cells due to increased apoptosis. CDR-H3 sequencing revealed that this is accompanied by adjustments to DH identity, DH reading frame (RF), JH, and CDR-H3 amino acid content. These adjustments in the periphery led to wild type levels of CDR-H3 Y101 content among transitional (T1), mature recirculating, and marginal zone (MZ) B cells. However, peripheral selection proved incomplete, with failure to restore Y101 levels in follicular B cells and increased production of dsDNA binding IgM antibodies.
New Results on the SiO2/Si Interface

We describe here high resolution x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements of six SiO2/Si interfaces representing contrasts between oxides grown on (100) vs. (111) surfaces, grown by wet and dry oxidation processes, and processed with and without post-oxidation annealing (POA). These measurements reveal significant trends in the distribution of suboxide states among these samples.
SOLVING SYSTEMS OF POLYNOMIAL EQUATIONS

Polynomials in one variable Grobner bases of zero-dimensional ideals Bernstein's theorem and fewnomials Resultants Primary decomposition Polynomial systems in economics Sums of squares Polynomial systems in statistics Tropical algebraic geometry Linear partial differential equations with constant coefficients Bibliography Index.
Investment Incentives and Regulation in Financial Networks

In a model of financial networks that admits both debt and equity interdependencies, we show that financial organizations have incentives to choose excessively risky portfolios, and overly correlate their portfolios with those of their counterparties. We show how optimal regulation differs as a function of an organization's financial centrality and its available investment opportunities. We discover that optimal regulation depends non-monotonically on the correlation of banks' investments, with maximal restrictions for intermediate levels of correlation. Moreover, in standard core-periphery networks it can be uniquely optimal to treat banks asymmetrically: restricting the investments of one core bank while allowing an otherwise identical core bank (in all aspects, including in network centrality) to invest freely.
A Population-Level Analysis of Pituitary Carcinoma from the National Cancer Database.

Objectives Pituitary carcinoma is a rare entity with fewer than 200 total cases reported in the English literature. Analysis of the population-level data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) affords the opportunity to study this poorly understood tumor type. Methods The NCDB was queried for site, histology, and metastasis codes corresponding to pituitary carcinoma. Statistical analyses were performed to determine factors associated with overall survival (OS). Results A total of 92 patients with pituitary carcinoma met inclusion criteria. The 1 and 5 years of OS for all patients was 93.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.2–98.6%) and 80.0% (95% CI: 71.6–89.4%), respectively. Patients with invasive primary tumor behavior had 1 and 5 years of OS of 69.2% (95% CI: 48.2–99.5%) and 52.7% (95% CI: 31.2–89.2%), respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that compared with benign primary behavior, invasive behavior had increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1,296, 95% CI: 15.1– > 2,000). Surgery without adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy was the most common therapy (48.9%), followed by no treatment (40.2%). Compared with surgery alone, no treatment had worse OS (HR, 11.83, 95% CI: 1.41–99.56). Increasing age and female sex were both associated with increased mortality. Conclusions The most common treatment for pituitary carcinoma is surgery alone followed by no surgery. Surgery alone has significantly better OS compared with no treatment. The efficacy of radiation, chemotherapy, and neurohormonal treatments needs to be examined with prospective studies.