cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microalloying of molybdenum disilicide with magnesium through mechanical and field activation

Utilizing a two-step method of mechanical and field activation, the heretofore-unachieved goal of incorporating Mg on the Si sub-lattice of MoSi2 was successfully demonstrated. Mechanical activation was done through high-energy ball milling and field activation was achieved through the use of the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The incorporation of Mg was verified by a variety of techniques including XRD, SEM, and EDS.
A bi-stable buckled energy harvesting device actuated via torque arms

A bi-stable switching energy harvester made from a buckled steel structure mounted with uni-axially poled piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride and 3D printed polylactic acid components is constructed and tested. A data collection system and frequency sweeping program is built to drive the device using a custom compression rig fitted with an accelerometer. The energy harvester is tested with the center beam compressed to different degrees of buckling, as well as in its unloaded state. Root mean square (RMS) accelerations are applied to the device in the range of 0.1–0.9g rms by 0.2 g steps. The device is driven with a frequency between 16 and 40 Hz (by 0.5 Hz) in both forwards and backwards sweeps. Finite element modeling program ANSYS is used to model the device and determine undamped pre-stressed modal frequencies, proof mass displacements to 'snap-through', and static buckled profiles for the center beam. As a comparison, a doubly constrained beam (DCB) with the same width and length is constructed and tested in the same manner as the torque arm device. RMS power density for the torque actuated device compressed by 0.13 mm and frequency swept in reverse was 0.246 μW cm−2 (3.13 μW) at 16.5 Hz and 1.5g rms using two 0.19 g proof masses. The DCB RMS power density swept in reverse was 1.287 μW cm−2 (6.18 μW) at 59.5 Hz and 1.5g rms with a 1.38 g proof mass.
Nonprofit organizations as contracted local social service providers in eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Today nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are an important provider of social services in some countries in the eastern Europe-CIS region. Based on field reports from seven countries in the region, we find that the pattern is highly variable, however; and only in central Europe and Croatia are local governments contracting with NPOs to deliver services. More commonly, local governments give grants to NPOs for this purpose. But in some countries local governments provide essentially no support to NPOs for social service delivery. This article outlines the case for NPOs being contracted as service providers, and inventories the current situation in the region with respect to local governments. It concludes with a discussion of the possible reasons for the low incidence of contracting by local governments with NPOs as service providers. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and antacids on the development of gastrointestinal ulcers during treatment with depot‐histamine. A preliminary report

Abstract Depot‐histamine‐induced gastrointestinal ulceration in guinea pigs was used as the criterion for the evaluation of antiulcer effect. Dihydroxy aluminum sodium carbonate and dihydroxy aluminum aminoacetate were found to be the most effective of the antacids tested. Two powerful carbonic anhydrase inhibitors proved to be ineffective.
Autonomous control systems: applications to remote sensing and image processing

One of the main challenges of any control (or image processing) paradigm is being able to handle complex systems under unforeseen uncertainties. A system may be called complex here if its dimension (order) is too high and its model (if available) is nonlinear, interconnected, and information on the system is uncertain such that classical techniques cannot easily handle the problem. Examples of complex systems are power networks, space robotic colonies, national air traffic control system, and integrated manufacturing plant, the Hubble Telescope, the International Space Station, etc. Soft computing, a consortia of methodologies such as fuzzy logic, neuro-computing, genetic algorithms and genetic programming, has proven to be powerful tools for adding autonomy and semi-autonomy to many complex systems. For such systems the size of soft computing control architecture will be nearly infinite. In this paper new paradigms using soft computing approaches are utilized to design autonomous controllers and image enhancers for a number of application areas. These applications are satellite array formations for synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) and enhancement of analog and digital images.
Pyrazinamide and Pyrazinoic Acid Activity against Tubercle Bacilli in Cultured Human Macrophages and in the BACTEC System

Pyrazinamide (PZA) has become an essential component of current 6-month regimens for therapy of tuberculosis. Susceptible strains of tubercle bacilli convert PZA to pyrazinoic acid (POA) through pyrazinamidase (PZase), which resistant strains and Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin lack. PZA susceptibility results obtained in cultured human macrophages were compared with those in the broth BACTEC system with 7H12 medium at pH 6.0 for strains known to be PZase-positive or -negative. Although added POA was unable to inhibit tubercle bacilli in cultured macrophages, it was able to inhibit them at very high concentrations in the BACTEC broth. Intracellularly formed POA would not be able to escape from the macrophage, and therefore would accumulate sufficiently to lower pH to toxic levels for tubercle bacilli. The results suggest that the cultured macrophages contribute actively or passively to the effectiveness of PZA, such as through the proposed mechanism of low pH generated by PZase in the phagolysosomes.
The Thawing of a Frozen Conflict: The Internal Security Dilemma and the 2004 Prelude to the Russo-Georgian War

Abstract While the proximate causes of the 2008 Russo–Georgian war have yet to be satisfactorily investigated, an assessment of an earlier occasion of conflict in South Ossetia in 2004 can lay the groundwork for an analysis of the later war. Like the 2008 war, the 2004 conflict was comprehensible on the basis of the ambitious war plans of opposing sides, but it was ultimately rooted in a security dilemma. The conflict thus provides a precedent for considering how a mix of limited offensive intentions, insecurity, uncertainty, and cognitive shortcuts and misperceptions had the capacity to lead to inadvertent war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.
The Effect of Situational vs. Behavioral Problem Statements on Solution Quality

This experiment explores whether the manner in which a problem is stated to a group influences the nature of the solution. Groups of three, including a discussion leader-member, were asked to develop at least two solutions toward improving output of a circular five-man assembly line. Productivity is limited to the pace of a slow man who must be retained. Many solutions are possible. One solution, rotation, is clearly superior to all others, yet is rarely developed. Leaders were given one of four prepared problem statements to read aloud to their groups prior to 20-minute discussions. The statements differed primarily on a behavioral versus situational dimension. Results indicate that problem statements designed to orient discussion toward situational factors significantly more often cause groups to develop the insightful solution than do behaviorally oriented problem statements. More generally, the results suggest that leader use of basic principles for stating problems can upgrade the quality of the grou...
“Herr Müller vivra’ a Taranto con i suoi colleghi austriaci” Investigations on a Fragment of Italian Phonology

Underlying all linguistic events is the knowledge that speakers and hearers have of a language. To elucidate the nature of this knowledge is the central aim of all linguistic research.
Design of user interfaces for selective editing of digital photos on touchscreen devices

When editing images it is often desirable to apply a filter with a spatially varying strength. With the usual selection tools like gradient, lasso, brush, or quick selection tools, creating masks containing such spatially varying strength values is time-consuming and cumbersome. We present an interactive filtering approach which allows to process photos selectively without the intermediate step of creating a mask containing strength values. In using this approach, the user only needs to place reference points (called control points) on the image and to adjust the spatial influence and filter strength for each control point. The filter is then applied selectively to the image, with strength values interpolated for each pixel between control points. The interpolation is based on a mixture of distances in space, luminance, and color; it is therefore a low-level operation. Since the main goal of the approach is to make selective image editing intuitive, easy, and playful, emphasis is put on the user interface: We describe the process of developing an existing mouse-driven user interface into a touch-driven one. Many question needed to be answered anew, such as how to present a slider widget on a touchscreen. Several variants are discussed and compared.
Dysregulation of the humoral immune response in old mice

The increase in autoantibodies with age of both experimental animals and humans has been thought to reflect a shift in the antibody repertoire from foreign to self antigens. In mice, before immunization, the age-associated increase in antibodies reactive with a prototypic autoantigen, bromelain-treated autologous erythrocytes (BrMRBC), reflected a 3-fold increase in serum IgM and the number of IgM-secreting spleen cells in old compared with young mice. However, the percentage of the IgM-secreting spleen cell repertoire reactive with BrMRBC in old mice was actually approximately 50% that in young mice. In contrast, after immunization with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), old mice showed a 5-fold increase in the percentage of IgM-secreting cells reactive with BrMRBC while young mice showed no significant increase. The converse is true for the percentage of IgM-secreting spleen cells in old mice specific for SBRC, which is 10% the number generated by young mice. The increased autoantibody response of old mice is not, however, linked to their poor response to the nominal antigen. Thus, immunization with phosphorylcholine (PC) conjugated keyhole limpet hemocyanin, an antigen that induces a comparable anti-PC response in old and young mice, also induced more autoantibody forming cells in old than young mice. The increased autoantibody response of old mice after immunization can be accounted for by both an increased number of Ig-secreting spleen cells as well as an increased percentage of the expressed repertoire of IgM-secreting spleen cells that react with autoantigens.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Erythrocyte nuclear measurements of diploid and triploid channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque)

Minor axis, major axis, and volume measurements of erythrocyte nuclei were compared by discriminant analysis to determine which variable best predicted ploidy levels. Predicted correct classification percentages for minor axis, volume, major axis, and all variables combined were 81·33, 86·21, 92·36 and 92·65%, respectively. Minor axis and volume measurements were not as accurate in predicting ploidy levels because nuclear shape changed as the ploidy level changed from the diploid to triploid state. Mean major axis measurements alone classified 92·36% of the fish correctly with a discriminant level of 4·726 μm.
Periprosthetic Humeral Fractures: You're Breakin' My Heart

Treatment of periprosthetic humeral fractures is challenging, and there are few reports in the literature describing outcomes. Most of these fractures can be treated nonoperatively with functional bracing or casting. Failure to achieve union by 3 months, prosthetic loosening, or unacceptable alignment are indications for surgical intervention. The timing and pattern of the fracture dictate the specific type of operative management. Surgical options include internal fixation around a fixed stem with plates, screws, or cerclage cables. A long stem prosthesis may be indicated if there is loosening or the fracture is identified intraoperatively. Outcomes in the literature show mixed results with loss of motion being the most common reason for unsatisfactory outcomes.
Hemolysis of Chicken Erythrocytes by t-Butyl Hydroperoxide and Protection by Plasma

Abstract Chicken erythrocytes treated with 100-μM t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) were more than 80% hemolyzed in 2 h and more than 90% hemolyzed after 4 h of incubation. Autologous plasma retarded the rate of hemolysis of chicken red cells produced by t-BHP. Dialysis of chicken plasma resulted in a marked decrease in the ability of plasma to protect erythrocytes from hemolysis by t-BHP. Low molecular weight components of plasma such as uric acid are hypothesized to account for much of the dialyzable material that protects red cells from hemolysis.
Entanglement throughout Economic Science: The End of a Separate Welfare Economics

In the 1980s, Amartya Sen (1987, p. 51) complained of ‘the impoverishment of welfare economics’. By 1993, Sir Partha Dasgupta (1993, p. 71), citing Hilary Putnam, had embraced the entanglement of theory, facts and values, and presented a theoretically rigorous, factually based, and deeply ethical social welfare function, which has rich non-utilitarian ethical elements sharply distinguishing it from the old ‘welfarist’ construction, and which he called a social evaluation function. Those things that the ‘new’ welfare economics had notoriously shied away from, above all interpersonal comparisons, are in full flower in Dasgupta's concept, and he is so confident of the moral support of his colleagues in the field that he seldom discusses ethical issues. Could one ask for anything more? We believe one can, and that framing this work as a separate branch of economics called ‘welfare theory’ limits its reach and influence, and offers its enemies an excuse for evading its message. What is more we argue that the l...
Differences in the microenvironment of a polycarbonate caging system: bedding vs raised wire floors

The microenvironment of polycarbonate cages housing rats with and without various types of bedding was compared with that of cages that utilized wire floor inserts with different bedding types. Parameters monitored were temperature, humidity, ammonia concentrations and particulates. No differences were noted in the various caging types in relation to temperature and humidity measurements. Significant differences in ammonia concentrations existed in some of the cages when bedding material was used. The use of raised floorwalk inserts also demonstrated significant differences in particulate counts to cages without inserts. The data obtained demonstrated that contact bedding was useful in controlling ammonia generation and that a raised floorwalk insert reduced significantly the aerosolization of bedding particles that could be ingested or inhaled by the rats.
Where's the Rally? Approval and Trust of the President, Cabinet, Congress, and Government Since September 11

There has been much debate over whether the United States has changed in any lasting and fundamental manners since September 11, 2001. Immediately following the carnage, editorialists and pundits proclaimed a national loss of innocence, the end of American exceptionalism, the new globalization of terror, and other cataclysmic shifts. One year later, it is still too early to be certain which claims will stand the test of time, and which will eventually come to seem overblown or simply off the mark. Our concern in this symposium is limited to civic engagement in the aftermath of the assaults, and this note will be narrower still in focus. Here, I attempt an early, mid-rally assessment of public approval of, and trust in, government and political figures.
A Re-examination of Machine Learning Approaches for Sentence-Level MT Evaluation

Recent studies suggest that machine learning can be applied to develop good automatic evaluation metrics for machine translated sentences. This paper further analyzes aspects of learning that impact performance. We argue that previously proposed approaches of training a HumanLikeness classifier is not as well correlated with human judgments of translation quality, but that regression-based learning produces more reliable metrics. We demonstrate the feasibility of regression-based metrics through empirical analysis of learning curves and generalization studies and show that they can achieve higher correlations with human judgments than standard automatic metrics.
Section IV: Macromolecular imaging of cartilage.

Hyaline articular cartilage is composed of very few cells (chondrocytes), surrounded by a large extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix is composed primarily of water and two macromolecules: the collagen fibers and the amorphous proteoglycan (or the associated glycosaminoglycans). Importantly, the macromolecular status of cartilage is inextricably responsible for the biomechanical properties and functional integrity of the tissue. Destruction of the collagen-proteoglycan matrix in …
Multilocus Sequence Types Associated with Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Sepsis and Meningitis in Canada

Group B streptococci (GBS), a leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis, are transferred to neonates from colonized mothers during childbirth. Prior studies using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) have found specific GBS clones (e.g., sequence type 17 [ST-17]) to be associated with neonatal disease in several geographic locations. Few population-based studies, however, have been conducted to determine the frequency of disease caused by specific GBS clones. MLST was used to assess the genetic diversity of 192 GBS strains from neonates and young children identified by population-based surveillance in Alberta, Canada, from 1993 to 2002. Comparisons were made to 232 GBS strains collected from colonized pregnant women, and all strains were characterized for one of nine capsule (cps) genotypes. A total of 47 STs were identified, and more than 80% of GBS strains were represented by 7 STs that have been shown to predominate in other populations. ST-17 and ST-19 were more prevalent in strains causing early onset disease (EOD) and late onset disease (LOD) than from pregnant women, whereas STs 1, 12, and 23 were more common in pregnant women. In addition, ST-17 strains and close relatives more frequently caused meningitis than sepsis and LOD versus EOD in this population of neonates. Further research is required to better understand why strains belonging to the ST-17 phylogenetic lineage are more likely to cause both LOD and meningitis and may provide clues into the pathogenesis of these conditions.
Comparison of health outcomes among affiliated and lay disaster volunteers enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry.

Abstract Background Volunteers (non-professional rescue/recovery workers) are universally present at man-made and natural disasters and share experiences and exposures with victims. Little is known of their disaster-related health outcomes. Methods We studied 4974 adult volunteers who completed the World Trade Center Health Registry 2006–07 survey to examine associations between volunteer type (affiliated vs. lay) and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); new or worsening respiratory symptoms; post-9/11 first diagnosis of anxiety disorder, depression, and/or PTSD; and asthma or reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS). Affiliated volunteers reported membership in a recognized organization. Lay volunteers reported no organizational affiliation and occupations unrelated to rescue/recovery work. Adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) were calculated using multinomial regression. Results Lay volunteers were more likely than affiliated volunteers to have been present in lower Manhattan, experience the dust cloud, horrific events and injury on 9/11 and subsequently to report unmet healthcare needs. They had greater odds of early post-9/11 mental health diagnosis (ORadj 1.6; 95% CI: 1.4–2.0) and asthma/RADS (1.8; 1.2–2.7), chronic PTSD (2.2; 1.7–2.8), late-onset PTSD (1.9; 1.5–2.5), and new or worsening lower respiratory symptoms (2.0; 1.8–2.4). Conclusions Lay volunteers' poorer health outcomes reflect earlier, more intense exposure to and lack of protection from physical and psychological hazards. There is a need to limit volunteers' exposures during and after disasters, as well as to provide timely screening and health care post-disaster.
Water vapor diffusion in Mars subsurface environments

The diffusion coefficient of water vapor in unconsolidated porous media is measured for various soil simulants at Mars-like pressures and subzero temperatures. An experimental chamber which simultaneously reproduces a low-pressure, low-temperature, and low-humidity environment is used to monitor water flux from an ice source through a porous diffusion barrier. Experiments are performed on four types of simulants: 40–70 µm glass beads, sintered glass filter disks, 1–3 µm dust (both loose and packed), and JSC Mars–1. A theoretical framework is presented that applies to environments that are not necessarily isothermal or isobaric. For most of our samples, we find diffusion coefficients in the range of 2.8 to 5.4 cm^2 s^-1 at 600 Pascal and 260 K. This range becomes 1.9–4.7 cm^2 s^-1 when extrapolated to a Mars-like temperature of 200 K. Our preferred value for JSC Mars–1 at 600 Pa and 200 K is 3.7 ± 0.5 cm^2 s^-1. The tortuosities of the glass beads is about 1.8. Packed dust displays a lower mean diffusion coefficient of 0.38 ± 0.26 cm^2 s^-1, which can be attributed to transition to the Knudsen regime where molecular collisions with the pore walls dominate. Values for the diffusion coefficient and the variation of the diffusion coefficient with pressure are well matched by existing models. The survival of shallow subsurface ice on Mars and the providence of diffusion barriers are considered in light of these measurements.
Effect of antimicrobial monomer-containing adhesive on shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets.

Abstract A new antibacterial and fluoride-releasing bonding system consists of a self-etching primer that contains an antibacterial monomer and a bonding agent that contains sodium fluoride. This study was to determine the effect of using this new adhesive on the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets. Forty molar teeth were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 20 teeth that were etched for 15 seconds with 35% phosphoric acid, washed with a water spray for 10 seconds, and dried to a chalky white appearance, and the sealant was applied to the etched surface. The precoated brackets were placed on the teeth and light cured. Group 2 consisted of 20 teeth that were etched with 35% phosphoric acid for 15 seconds as suggested by the manufacturer when bonding to intact enamel. The teeth were washed with a water spray for 10 seconds and dried to a chalky white appearance, and the primer containing antibacterial monomer was applied to the etched surface, left for 20 seconds, and sprayed with ...
Invasive Plants Versus Their New and Old Neighbors: A Mechanism for Exotic Invasion

Invading exotic plants are thought to succeed primarily because they have escaped their natural enemies, not because of novel interactions with their new neighbors. However, we find that Centaurea diffusa, a noxious weed in North America, has much stronger negative effects on grass species from North America than on closely related grass species from communities to which Centaurea is native. Centaurea’s advantage against North American species appears to be due to differences in the effects of its root exudates and how these root exudates affect competition for resources. Our results may help to explain why some exotic species so successfully invade natural plant communities. Exotic plants threaten the integrity of agricultural and natural systems throughout the world. Many invasive species are not dominant competitors in their natural systems, but competitively eradicate their new neighbors. One leading theory for the exceptional success of invasive plants is that they have escaped the natural enemies that hold them in check, freeing them to
Radiotherapeutic Management of Lymphomas

Basic Concepts: Historically, radiation therapy was an early curative treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and it was also an effective treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Although effective multi-agent chemotherapy regimens for both HL and NHL have since been developed, radiation therapy remains an integral part of both curative and palliative management of lymphomas. Combined-modality therapy (CMT) has become standard in more clinical scenarios for HL than NHL, likely due to the more predictable progression and spread of HL. Nevertheless, the basic concepts affecting the optimal use of radiation in both diseases are similar, namely: staging, the dose–response relationship, combined-modality therapy, and risk/response-adapted therapy.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important cause of viral lower respiratory tract illness (LRI) in infants and children worldwide and causes significant LRI in the elderly and in immunocompromised patients. The goal of RSV vaccination is to prevent serious RSV-associated LRI. There are several obstacles to the development of successful RSV vaccines, including the need to immunize very young infants, who may respond inadequately to vaccination; the existence of two antigenically distinct RSV groups, A and B; and the history of disease enhancement following administration of a formalin-inactivated vaccine. It is likely that more than one type of vaccine will be needed to prevent RSV LRI in the various populations at risk. Although vector delivery systems, synthetic peptide, and immune-stimulating complex vaccines have been evaluated in animal models, only the purified F protein (PFP) subunit vaccines and live attenuated vaccines have been evaluated in recent clinical trials. PFP-2 appears to be a promising vaccine for the elderly and for RSV-seropositive children with underlying pulmonary disease, whereas live cold-passaged (cp), temperature-sensitive (ts) RSV vaccines (denoted cpts vaccines) would most probably be useful in young infants. The availability of cDNA technology should allow further refinement of existing live attenuated cpts candidate vaccines to produce engineered vaccines that are satisfactorily attenuated, immunogenic, and phenotypically stable.
Microbial Diversity in Oceanic Systems: rRNA Approaches to the Study of Unculturable Microbes

A standard method for enumerating marine bacteria from a water sample is to grow them on nutrient plates and count colonies. In low nutrient aquatic habitats, however, the number of bacterial colonies that can be grown using standard plating methods is frequently from one to four orders of magnitude fewer than the number of cells observed by direct microscopic count (Jannasch and Jones 1959). This well-documented observation, dubbed the “great plate count anomaly” (Staley and Konopka 1985), has led to much speculation about the identity, physiological ability and metabolic status of the observed but apparently uncultivatible microbes. These are well-defined questions that have nevertheless gone unanswered since the late 1800’s (Roszak and Colwell 1987).
African immigrant women and intimate partner violence: a systematic review

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to systematically review and synthesize the available empirical research related to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the lives of African immigrant women. A comprehensive literature search for articles that were published between the years 2005 and 2015 was performed using the following databases: Academic Search Complete, Criminal Justice Abstracts, CINAHL Plus, Family Studies Abstract, JSOR, MEDline, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Social Services Abstract. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The literature on prevalence rates and types of violence, risk factors for IPV, mental health problems and coping strategies, and help-seeking behavior are discussed. Suggestions for future research are included.
Disulfide-constrained peptides that bind to the extracellular portion of the prostate-specific membrane antigen

The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a well-characterized surface antigen, overexpressed in the most advanced, androgen-resistant human prostate cancer cells. We sought to exploit PSMA cell surface properties as a target for short peptides that will potentially guide protein-based therapeutics, such as viral vectors, to prostate cancer cells. Two separate phage display peptide strategies were applied, in parallel, to purified PSMA protein bound to two separate substrates. We reasoned that peptide sequences common to both substrate selections would be specific binders of PSMA. Additionally, the design allowed for stringent cross-selections, where phage populations from one selection condition could be applied to the alternative substrate. These strategies resulted in a series of phage displayed peptides able to bind to PSMA by ELISA and direct binding assays, both with purified protein and in prostate cancer cells. Cell binding is competitively inhibited by purified PSMA. The synthesized peptides are capable of enhancing PSMA carboxypeptidase enzymatic activity, suggesting protein folding stabilization. The discovery of these peptides provides the foundation for subsequent development of peptide targeted therapeutics against prostate cancer.
Quantum mechanical phase and time operator

The phase operator for an oscillator is shown not to exist. It is replaced by a pair of non-commuting sin and cos operators which can be used to define uncertainty relations for phase and number. The relation between phase and angle operators is carefully discussed. The possibility of using a phase variable as a quantum clock is demonstrated and the states for which the clock is most accurate are constructed.
The Quality of Diaspora

I propose to return to the two inaugural intellectual events in African Diaspora Studies, a 1965 conference in Dar es Salaam and a 1979 conference in Washington, DC, in order to tease out how the original debates in those conferences helped form the contemporary study of the African diaspora. I pay especial attention to the question of the relationship between diaspora and nationalism, since the concept of the African diaspora was proposed and promoted at a key moment in the development of black nationalism as an ideology in North America and a practical concern in decolonizing Africa.
Remote evaluation

A new technique for computer-to-computer communication is presented that can increase the performance of distributed systems. This technique, called remote evaluation, lets one computer send another computer a request in the form of a program. A computer that receives such a request executes the program in the request and returns the results to the sending computer. Remote evaluation provides a new degree of flexibility in the design of distributed systems. In present distributed systems that use remote procedure calls, server computers are designed to offer a fixed set of services. In a system that uses remote evaluation, server computers are more properly viewed as programmable processors. One consequence of this flexibility is that remote evaluation can reduce the amount of communication that is required to accomplish a given task. In this paper we discuss the semantics of remote evaluation and its effect on distributed system design. We also summarize our experience with a prototype implementation.
Efficacy of commercial produce sanitizers against nontoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 during processing of iceberg lettuce in a pilot-scale leafy green processing line.

Chemical sanitizers are routinely used during commercial flume washing of fresh-cut leafy greens to minimize cross-contamination from the water. This study assessed the efficacy of five commercial sanitizer treatments against Escherichia coli O157:H7 on iceberg lettuce, in wash water, and on equipment during simulated commercial production in a pilot-scale processing line. Iceberg lettuce (5.4 kg) was inoculated to contain 106 CFU/g of a four-strain cocktail of nontoxigenic, green fluorescent protein–labeled, ampicillin-resistant E. coli O157:H7 and processed after 1 h of draining at ~22°C. Lettuce was shredded using a commercial slicer, step-conveyed to a flume tank, washed for 90 s using six different treatments (water alone, 50 ppm of peroxyacetic acid, 50 ppm of mixed peracid, or 50 ppm of available chlorine either alone or acidified to pH 6.5 with citric acid [CA] or T-128), and then dried using a shaker table and centrifugal dryer. Various product (25-g) and water (50-ml) samples collected during pr...
Nutrition and antheridiol-induced branching in Achlya ambisexualis.

A supply of nitrogen, carbon and energy is required for the initiation of branches in Achlya ambisexualis by antheridiol. The level of nutrient determines whether the branches initiated will be veg...
Redescription of Tomosvaryella frontata (Diptera: Pipunculidae)

Tomosvaryella frontata (Becker, 1897) is redescribed and illustrated from specimens reared from the Tamarix leafhopper, Opsius stactogalus Fieber, in Nice, France. In some respects it resembles a Dorylomorpha , but its wing venation places it in Tomosvaryella Aczel.
Dialogue for Fostering Participation or Manipulation

Dialogue is a communication form which enables open and honest communication between employees and management. Without dialogue there can be no exchange of information and ideas nor any shared unde...
Total colpocleisis: technical considerations.

Introduction We present a video describing the technical considerations for performing a total colpocleisis in the management of symptomatic post-hysterectomy pelvic organ prolapse.
Genetic Algorithms with Lego Mindstorms and Matlab.

This paper presents a case study in combining Lego Mindstorms NXT with Matlab/Simulink to help students in an undergraduate Machine Learning course study genetic algorithm design and testing. The project uses the VU-LRT toolbox to enable students to access the hardware capabilities of the Mindstorms platform from within Matlab. The course’s enrollment was comprised of students from several majors with a variety of programming backgrounds. The course is part of an interdisciplinary cognitive science concentration. We report on the VU-LRT toolbox, the considerations imposed by the diversity of the student population on the design of the laboratory module and student evaluations of the laboratory module.
Responses of fluke-infected and fluke-free cattle to experimental reinfection with Salmonella dublin.

Cattle, aged nine to 18 months, were given sublethal doses of Salmonella dublin either intravenously, orally on two occasions, or by contact for 19 to 22 weeks with a persistent excretor. When challenged by intravenous injection of 10 9 S dublin at 10 to 22 weeks after their first exposure to S dublin 22 out of 36 animals survived. All similarly challenged cattle, which had not been previously exposed to S dublin , died. Infection with Fasciola hepatica did not alter the ability of cattle to survive reinfection with S dublin but the bacteria persisted in the tissues and were excreted in the faeces of fluke-infected animals for longer than in fluke-free animals. The ability to survive reinfection and to eliminate S dublin from the tissues was apparently unrelated to agglutinating antibody titres or delayed hypersensitivity.
Global and hepatocyte-specific ablation of Bmal1 induces hyperlipidaemia and enhances atherosclerosis

Circadian rhythms controlled by clock genes affect plasma lipids. Here we show that global ablation of Bmal1 in Apoe-/- and Ldlr-/- mice and its liver-specific ablation in Apoe-/- (L-Bmal1-/-Apoe-/-) mice increases, whereas overexpression of BMAL1 in L-Bmal1-/-Apoe-/- and Apoe-/-mice decreases hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis. Bmal1 deficiency augments hepatic lipoprotein secretion and diminishes cholesterol excretion to the bile. Further, Bmal1 deficiency reduces expression of Shp and Gata4. Reductions in Shp increase Mtp expression and lipoprotein production, whereas reductions in Gata4 diminish Abcg5/Abcg8 expression and biliary cholesterol excretion. Forced SHP expression normalizes lipoprotein secretion with no effect on biliary cholesterol excretion, while forced GATA4 expression increases cholesterol excretion to the bile and reduces plasma lipids in L-Bmal1-/-Apoe-/- and Apoe-/- mice. Thus, our data indicate that Bmal1 modulates lipoprotein production and biliary cholesterol excretion by regulating the expression of Mtp and Abcg5/Abcg8 via Shp and Gata4.
Range and velocity disambiguation in medium PRF radar with the DBSCAN clustering algorithm

Disambiguation in range and velocity is a key aspect of target detection in medium PRF radar systems. In this work, the DBSCAN clustering algorithm is applied to the disambiguation problem. The algorithm has been tested on raw range/doppler data collected from the venerable APG-66 radar system with good results.
Genetic population structure in an equatorial sparrow: roles for culture and geography

Female preference for local cultural traits has been proposed as a barrier to breeding among animal populations. As such, several studies have found correlations between male bird song dialects and population genetics over relatively large distances. To investigate whether female choice for local dialects could act as a barrier to breeding between nearby and contiguous populations, we tested whether variation in male song dialects explains genetic structure among eight populations of rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) in Ecuador. Our study sites lay along a transect, and adjacent study sites were separated by approximately 25 km, an order of magnitude less than previously examined for this and most other species. This transect crossed an Andean ridge and through the Quijos River Valley, both of which may be barriers to gene flow. Using a variance partitioning approach, we show that song dialect is important in explaining population genetics, independent of the geographic variables: distance, the river valley and the Andean Ridge. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that song acts as a barrier to breeding among populations in close proximity. In addition, songs of contiguous populations differed by the same degree or more than between two populations previously shown to exhibit female preference for local dialect, suggesting that birds from these populations would also breed preferentially with locals. As expected, all geographic variables (distance, the river valley and the Andean Ridge) also predicted population genetic structure. Our results have important implications for the understanding whether, and at what spatial scale, culture can affect population divergence.
The Kinetics of Decarburization of Cr —1% Mo Steel in Sodium

Recent data and published data on the de-carburization kinetics of Cr–1% Mo steel in sodium from 800 to 1300°F were correlated by expressing changes in bulk carbon content of samples of different t...
Effect of acute ozone exposure on the lung metabolomes of obese and lean mice

Pulmonary responses to the air pollutant, ozone, are increased in obesity. Both obesity and ozone cause changes in systemic metabolism. Consequently, we examined the impact of ozone on the lung metabolomes of obese and lean mice. Lean wildtype and obese db/db mice were exposed to acute ozone (2 ppm for 3 h) or air. 24 hours later, the lungs were excised, flushed with PBS to remove blood and analyzed via liquid-chromatography or gas-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for metabolites. Both obesity and ozone caused changes in the lung metabolome. Of 321 compounds identified, 101 were significantly impacted by obesity in air-exposed mice. These included biochemicals related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, which were each increased in lungs of obese versus lean mice. These metabolite changes may be of functional importance given the signaling capacity of these moieties. Ozone differentially affected the lung metabolome in obese versus lean mice. For example, almost all phosphocholine-containing lysolipids were significantly reduced in lean mice, but this effect was attenuated in obese mice. Glutathione metabolism was also differentially affected by ozone in obese and lean mice. Finally, the lung metabolome indicated a role for the microbiome in the effects of both obesity and ozone: all measured bacterial/mammalian co-metabolites were significantly affected by obesity and/or ozone. Thus, metabolic derangements in obesity appear to impact the response to ozone.
Combining Explicit Quantum Solvent with a Polarizable Continuum Model

A promising approach for accurately modeling both short-range and long-range solvation effects is to combine explicit quantum mechanical (QM) solvent with a classical polarizable continuum model (PCM), but the best PCM for these combined QM/classical calculations is relatively unexplored. We find that the choice of the solvation cavity is very important for obtaining physically correct results since unphysical double counting of solvation effects from both the QM solvent and the classical dielectric can occur with a poor choice of cavity. We investigate the dependence of electronic excitation energies on the definition of the PCM cavity and the self-consistent reaction field method, comparing results to large-scale explicit QM solvent calculations. For excitation energies, we identify the difference between the ground and excited state dipole moments as the key property determining the sensitivity to the PCM cavity. Using a linear response PCM approach combined with QM solvent, we show that excitation ene...
Racial Bias and Repeated Interaction in the NBA

There is strong evidence of racial bias in organizations but little understanding of how it changes with repeated interaction. This paper proposes that repeated interaction has the potential to red...
Creation of a long-acting nanoformulated dolutegravir.

Potent antiretroviral activities and a barrier to viral resistance characterize the human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) integrase strand transfer inhibitor dolutegravir (DTG). Herein, a long-acting parenteral DTG was created through chemical modification to improve treatment outcomes. A hydrophobic and lipophilic modified DTG prodrug is encapsulated into poloxamer nanoformulations (NMDTG) and characterized by size, shape, polydispersity, and stability. Retained intracytoplasmic NMDTG particles release drug from macrophages and attenuate viral replication and spread of virus to CD4+ T cells. Pharmacokinetic tests in Balb/cJ mice show blood DTG levels at, or above, its inhibitory concentration90 of 64 ng/mL for 56 days, and tissue DTG levels for 28 days. NMDTG protects humanized mice from parenteral challenge of the HIV-1ADA strain for two weeks. These results are a first step towards producing a long-acting DTG for human use by affecting drug apparent half-life, cell and tissue drug penetration, and antiretroviral potency. Current ART for treatment of HIV-1 infection requires a strict daily regimen adherence. Herein, the authors report the manufacture and characterization of a nanoformulated dolutegravir prodrug with improved cell and tissue penetration, a remarkable apparent half-life and the potential for bimonthly drug administration.
Deep fusion of heterogeneous sensor modalities for the advancements of ADAS to autonomous vehicles

The object detection technology is an essential aspect for the developments of the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the autonomous driving vehicles (ADV). To achieve the standards of the developments, the state of the art should robustly achieve high accuracy and precision under various conditions (e.g. weather, illumination, exposures). This study proposes a sub-system framework that comprises of raw heterogeneous sensors fusion, hierarchical region of interest (ROI) detection with DCNN-based detectors, and decision fusion to provide rigorous and reliable object detection framework that can handle various spectra of driving environments. Experimental results have demonstrated the aimed purpose of the proposed framework.
A New Look at Selfish Routing

We revisit price of anarchy in network routing, in a new model in which routing decisions are made by self-interested components of the network, as opposed to by the flows as in (12). This significant departure from previous work on the problem seeks to model Internet routing more accurately. We propose two models: the latency model in which the network edges seek to minimize the average latency of the flow through them on the basis of knowledge of latency conditions in the whole network, and the pricing model in which network edges advertise pricing schemes to their neighbors and seek to maximize their profit. We show two rather surprising results: the price of stability in the latency model is unbounded — Ω(n 1 60 ) — even with linear latencies (as compared with 4 in (12) for the case in which routing decisions are made by the flows themselves). However, in the pricing model in which edges advertise pricing schemes — how the price varies as a function of the total amount of flow — we show that, under a condition ruling out monopolistic situations, all Nash equilibria have optimal flows; that is, the price of anarchy in this model is one ,i n the case of linear latencies with no constant term.
Persistence of human vascular endothelium in experimental human prostate cancer bone tumors.

Using the SCID-human model, we recently found that human circulating prostate cancer cells formed tumors in human bone but not mouse bone (Nemeth et al. Cancer Res 1999; 59: 1987–93). It is possible that this tissue preference was mediated by interaction between human tumor cells and human endothelial cells within the implanted bone tissue. We sought to determine the relative amounts of human and mouse vasculature within human bone implants and resulting prostate cancer bone tumors in the SCID-human model. Paraffin sections of plain bone implants or PC3 or LNCaP human bone tumors were double stained for factor VIII (all vessels) and human CD31 (human vessels) followed by fluorescent secondary reagents. At 4 weeks post implantation (when cancer cells are typically introduced), the vasculature within human bone fragments remained primarily human (84.5%), and this pattern persisted to at least 10 weeks (91.6% human). Injection of PC3 cells into the bone resulted in an increase in mouse-derived vessels, however the majority (58%) of the vessels remained human even after the formation of large bone tumors. LNCaP bone tumors were highly angiogenic, and there was a sharp decline in the proportion of vessels which were antigenically human (36.8%), suggesting recruitment of mouse endothelial cells during the angiogenic process. Nonetheless, the persistence of human vasculature suggests the SCID-human model can be used to study the interaction between bone-seeking tumor cells, such as prostate cancer, and human bone endothelium in vivo, and to test potential therapeutic strategies which may depend on the presence of human vessels.
Outbreaks of Disease

In considering outbreaks of disease, there are four key issues which need to be addressed: Non-use regimes dealing with outbreaks of disease The reporting mechanisms for disease outbreaks and trends Challenges facing the Ad Hoc Group in addressing outbreaks of disease Possible solutions for the Ad Hoc Group