cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Membrane inlet laser spectroscopy to measure H and O stable isotope compositions of soil and sediment pore water with high sample throughput.

Rationale The fast and accurate measurement of H and O stable isotope compositions (δ2H and δ18O values) of soil and sediment pore water remains an impediment to scaling-up the application of these isotopes in soil and vadose hydrology. Here we describe a method and its calibration to measuring soil and sediment pore water δ2H and δ18O values using a water vapor-permeable probe coupled to an isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy analyzer. Methods We compare the water vapor probe method with a vapor direct equilibration method, and vacuum extraction with liquid water analysis. At a series of four study sites in a managed desert agroecosystem in the eastern Great Basin of North America, we use the water vapor probe to measure soil depth profiles of δ2H and δ18O values. Results We demonstrate the accuracy of the method to be equivalent to direct headspace equilibration and vacuum extraction techniques, with increased ease of use in its application, and with analysis throughput rates greater than 7 h−1. The soil depth H and O stable isotope profiles show that soil properties such as contrasting soil texture and pedogenic soil horizons control the shape of the isotope profiles, which are reflective of local evaporation conditions within the soils. Conclusions We conclude that this water vapor probe method has potential to yield large numbers of H and O stable isotope analyses of soil and sediment waters within shorter timeframes and with increased ease than with currently existing methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sequential Therapeutic Response Modeling for Tumor Treatment Using Computational Hybrid Control Systems Approach

Objective: Tumorigenesis is due to uncontrolled cell division arising from mutations and alterations in the proliferative controls of the cell population. The fight against tumor growth and development has often relied on combination therapy that has been acclaimed as one of the main standards of care in cancer therapeutics and prevention of drug-related resistances. The toxicity of the combinatorial drugs raises a significant concern whenever patients take two or more drugs concurrently at the maximum tolerated dose. A promising solution in tumor treatment involves the administration of the drugs in an alternating or sequential fashion rather than a simultaneous manner. In this paper, we investigate how feasible such an approach is from a mathematical perspective and propose a switched hybrid control systems framework. Methods: We explore the response of tumor cells dynamics to sequential drugs administration with the aid of a time-dependent switching strategy. A transit compartmentalized model is employed to describe the tumor cells progression to death. Results: The design of the time-based drug switching logic ensures the proliferating tumor cells are repressed. Conclusions: Simulation results are provided using the tumor growth dynamics with sequential drugs intake to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in reducing the tumor size. Significance: This paper is the first attempt to provide a switched hybrid control systems framework on sequential drug administration to biomedical researchers and clinicians.
E-002 Middle cerebral artery pressure changes following pipeline flow diversion

Introduction Pipeline embolization devices (PED) are commonly used for endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms but can be associated with delayed ipsilateral intraparenchymal hemorrhage. Changes in intracranial hemodynamics after PED deployment are poorly understood. Here, we assess middle cerebral artery (MCA) pressure before and after PED treatment. Methods Records of patients with cerebral aneurysms proximal to internal carotid artery terminus treated with PED at our institution between 2015–2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Ipsilateral MCA pressure was recorded before and after PED deployment. Systemic blood pressure was also simultaneously recorded. MCA pressure and ratio of MCA to systemic blood pressure were compared before and after treatment using the paired student t test. Results 11 patients were included. Mean age was 48 years. Systolic, diastolic, and mean MCA pressures did not significantly change after PED (90.1 vs. 86.2 mmHg, p=0.25; 66.3 vs. 64.0 mmHg, p=0.38; 75.8 vs. 74.2 mmHg, p=0.44). However, ratio of systolic MCA to systolic systemic pressure was significantly higher after treatment (0.77 vs. 0.71, p=0.05, fig A), and ratio of diastolic and mean MCA to diastolic and mean systemic pressures tended to increase after PED (1.06 vs. 1.01, p=0.11; 0.93 vs. 0.89, p=0.08). Conclusion Following PED deployment, the ratio of systolic MCA to systemic pressure increased significantly, indicating possible disruption of cerebral autoregulation. Further study may reveal that these altered hemodynamics are responsible for delayed ipsilateral intraparenchymal hemorrhage after PED. Disclosures D. Brunozzi: None. S. Shakur: None. F. Charbel: 2; C; Transonic. 4; C; Ownership VasSol Inc. A. Alaraj: 1; C; NIH. 2; C; Codman-Cordis.
A Review of the Prevention and Medical Management of Childhood Obesity

Prevention and management of childhood obesity remains a public health priority and necessitates an integrated chronic care approach. Obesity prevention efforts should focus on healthy family-based lifestyle modifications. The United States Prevention Services Task Force recommends children older than age 6 of years be screened for obesity and, if clinically indicated, be referred for moderate to high intensity comprehensive behavioral interventions. Childhood obesity and its comorbidities affect most medical specialties. A shared understanding of prevention strategies, lifestyle recommendations, screening guidelines for comorbidities, and stages of treatment will allow for more integrated and collaborative care.
Coated Charcoal Assay of Erythrocyte Vitamin B12 Levels

Abstract Arthus reactions were induced in the dorsal skin, and the subcutaneous connective tissues from the sensitized areas were examined at various stages. The subcutaneous connective tissue was used due to its simplicity of construction and because it could be studied conveniently by both supravital and fixed methods. This combination of tissue and technic allowed both an accurate classification of various types of inflammatory cells and a close examination of their relationships to the blood vessels. Cells transitional between adventitial cells and plasma cells were observed after antigenic stimulation. Their location on the walls of the venules and capillaries indicated that they were adventitial cells but their morphology was that of plasma cells. By supravital technic they exhibited a glassy and homogeneous cytoplasm, a circular formation of neutral red granules, and a diffuse distribution of Janus green granules; and by fixed method they exhibited a chromatin pattern similar to that of plasma cells, an increased cytoplasmic basophilia, and a nucleolus was often present. Small plasma cells appeared simultaneously around the venules and capillaries. The local origin of plasma cells would appear to explain the absence of plasmacytosis during strong tissue plasma cell reactions. Immunofluorescence was only found in plasma cells and in transitional adventitial cells, indicating a functional similarity between the 2 cells.
Research in virtual environments and simulation at the institute for simulation and training of the university of central florida

The Institute for Simulation and Training IST was created in 1984 by the University of Central Florida to provide research support to the U.S. Department of Defense in the area of simulation-based training. In 1989, IST's Visual Systems Laboratory VSL was inaugurated. Focal areas of research at VSL include distributed realtime physical simulation, interoperability among networked simulators, the application of virtual environments to education, training, and design, and head-mounted display technology. Section 1 describes the history of IST and VSL, and VSL's early projects. Section 2 surveys current research projects in three main areas: dynamic environments, interoperability, and virtual environments. Section 3 describes service and educational activities, and Section 4 provides insight into future research plans.
Macronutrients and the Adipose-Liver Axis in Obesity and Fatty Liver.

Macronutrient metabolism is a highly orchestrated process, with adipose tissue and liver each playing central roles in nutrient uptake, processing, transport, and storage. These 2 tissues form an important metabolic circuit, particularly as it relates to lipids as the primary storage form of excess energy. The function of the circuit is influenced by many factors, including the quantity and type of nutrients consumed and their impact on the overall health of the tissues. In this review we begin with a brief summary of the homeostatic disposition of lipids between adipose tissue and liver and how these processes can become dysregulated in obesity. We then explore how specific dietary nutrients and nutrient combinations can exert unique influences on the liver-adipose tissue axis.
Prognostic factors influencing survival in small bowel neuroendocrine tumor with liver metastases.

BACKGROUND Resection of liver metastasis in small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNET) may improve survival, however, factors influencing prognosis are unclear. We evaluated how the extent of resection influences outcomes. METHODS Patients with SBNET with liver metastasis from 1990 to 2013 who underwent resection of the primary tumor were identified. Outcomes among patients undergoing complete resection (CR), partial resection (PR), or no resection (NR) of liver metastases with resection of the primary tumor only were compared. RESULTS One hundred eleven patients met the criteria. The median number of liver lesions was seven and median lesions resected was one. Fifty (45%) patients had NR, 41 (36.9%) underwent CR, and 20 (18.1%) underwent PR. The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 79.4% for NR, 84.7% for PR, and 100% for CR, demonstrating a trend that CR was best, followed by PR then NR (P = .02). 10-year OS showed no significant differences (72.7% NR; 84.7% PR; 82.5% CR; P = .10). Greater than 10 liver lesions (hazard ratio [HR] 3.6; P = 0.04) or receiving chemotherapy (HR 3.7; P = .03) were negative predictors of survival. CONCLUSION The extent of resection of liver disease in SBNET influenced survival at 5 years but not at 10 years. In addition, more than 10 liver lesions and chemotherapy were predictors of mortality.
Broadband, Linear, and High-Efficiency Mm-Wave PAs in Silicon ― Overcoming Device Limitations by Architecture/Circuit Innovations

Mm-Wave 5G links and many emerging mission-critical DoD applications have recently stimulated major research efforts on next-generation mm-Wave power amplifiers (PAs) to deliver nearly "perfect" large-signal performance. Compared to compound semiconductors, silicon often exhibits inferior device-level capabilities on power density, gain, efficiency, linearity, and reliability. On the other hand, silicon technologies offer matured modeling, flexible back-end options, and extensive digital controls, making them a highly versatile and attractive platform for design innovations and system integrations. This paper reviews several recent silicon mm-Wave PAs from multiple research groups, which all leverage architecture/circuit innovations to overcome device limitations and radically advance the state of the art. These design explorations include Doherty/Outphasing active load modulation, continuous-mode operation, broadband harmonic tuning, nonlinearity cancellation, and power-DACs.
Overlapping Clustering of Statistical Software Packages for PC

Cluster analysis is specially concerned with algorithms for computing non-overlapping classifications, for example partitions or hierarchies, on given object sets. For several economic problems the determination of non-overlapping classifications representing the structure of data is too specific and narrow. In opposition to that given natural overlappings should not be suppressed because the construction of overlapping clusters gives a better insight into the structure of data. In this paper several principles of constructing overlapping clusters e.g. maximal cliques, fuzzy clustering, quasi-hierarchies and pyramidal classification are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of these clumping techniques are discussed in an overlapping clustering of selected software packages.
Engineering Technology Curriculum Development When Similar Programs are Limited

The Innovative Practice Full Paper shown here presents the development of a curriculum in an area that has been phased out and either is not accredited or no longer accredited at other institutions which poses a distinct set of issues in curriculum development. Previous work in areas that are more common was reviewed and the most relevant pedagogy development methodology of Understanding by Design® (UbD™) [1, 2] was utilized to build a curriculum for a team of experienced faculty. The authors consist of experienced faculty trained in both the subject area and with experience working in these areas, in addition to advanced degrees in the subject area and technical education. Undergraduate students aided the authors who are well versed in technical subjects as well as some educational techniques. The UbD™ development of this work is a multi-step process, working backwards. The first step is to recognize the major outcomes for the curriculum and individual courses, and then develop a means to assess the items in this list. After this list is developed a varying level of detail can be utilized to assure that these goals for the courses are met. In the case of this project the desires of the experienced faculty were utilized to develop topics and an overview of lab topics that would support the course objectives and also meet faculty expectations. After this is completed the objectives can be checked against accreditation goals to assure, they are met and then work to either find or recommend various resources to support in class learning tasks. The result of this organized progression is a thorough and well-presented curriculum These steps are shared in-depth view in this paper so that duplication by others in engineering technology or outside of engineering technology may develop new and less common curriculum for their programs. They will see how one set of faculty put UbD™ to use and developed a clear and useful curriculum.
Hydrosulfide complexes of the transition elements: diverse roles in bioinorganic, cluster, coordination, and organometallic chemistry

Sulfur-based ligands are versatile donors that play important roles in a wide array of subdisciplines of inorganic chemistry including organometallic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and cluster science. Despite the breadth of compounds containing sulfur-based ligands, those containing the simplest mercapto group, hydrosulfide ion (HS-), are significantly less developed. The acceptance of H2S/HS- as important biological signaling compounds during the last decade has engendered a renewed interest in the chemistry of these species. Bioinorganic reactivity of hydrosulfide, however, is only one aspect of its fascinating chemistry, much of which revolves around its interactions with transition metal ions. The coordination of HS- to d-block elements produces a unique class of substances that differ in significant ways from more ubiquitous metal thiolates. This review examines the preparation, structure, spectroscopy, and reactivity of such compounds and the roles they play across several fields of chemistry.
The Intersection of Sneakerhead Culture and Racism in the United States of America

Sneakers are an omnipresent force in our modern world. Sneaker culture is effectively an encompassing platform that breeds self-expression and creativity. They have been a continuous presence throughout history, evolving in accordance to societal and cultural changes. Today, sneakers symbolize material status and wealth. However, this has brought on an abundance of sneaker-related violence within the United States, generally geared towards the Black youth. The reason for this type of violence can be attributed to several different components. Sneaker companies create artificial scarcity during sneaker releases, which maximizes product anticipation, consumer excitement and profit projections. This, closely coupled with significantly increased resale prices and glamorized advertisements (which sometimes also indirectly promote violence due to poor product name) transforms sneakers into a dangerous market. However, it is irrational to only place blame on an individual group. Rather, there are many other forces at play, representing a complex network concerning sneaker consumption and associated violence. Through extensive research and interviews, the exploration of the robust theory of consumption, in terms of class distinction theory and the transmission of taste, stimulated further investigation into racial social membership and consumption habits. This has been used to explain that sneaker-related violence is a result of many different failings in society by means of societal imbalance of values and social class, and racial inequality. These issues have merely been highlighted with this form of apparel-violence. We must harness the powerful ability of sneakers to potentially bridge the gap between socioeconomic and racial groups across the United States.
Molecular, spatial and projection diversity of neurons in primary motor cortex revealed by in situ single-cell transcriptomics

Abstract A mammalian brain is comprised of numerous cell types organized in an intricate manner to form functional neural circuits. Single-cell RNA sequencing provides a powerful approach to identify cell types based on their gene expression profiles and has revealed many distinct cell populations in the brain1-3. Single-cell epigenomic profiling4,5 further provides information on gene-regulatory signatures of different cell types. Understanding how different cell types contribute to brain function, however, requires knowledge of their spatial organization and connectivity, which is not preserved in sequencing-based methods that involve cell dissociation3,6. Here, we used an in situ single-cell transcriptome-imaging method, multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH)7, to generate a molecularly defined and spatially resolved cell atlas of the mouse primary motor cortex (MOp). We profiled ∼300,000 cells in the MOp, identified 95 neuronal and non-neuronal cell clusters, and revealed a complex spatial map in which not only excitatory neuronal clusters but also most inhibitory neuronal clusters adopted layered organizations. Notably, intratelencephalic (IT) cells, the largest branch of neurons in the MOp, formed a continuous spectrum of cells with gradual changes in both gene expression profiles and cortical depth positions in a highly correlated manner. Furthermore, we integrated MERFISH with retrograde tracing to probe the projection targets for different MOp neuronal cell types and found that projections of MOp neurons to other cortical regions formed a many-to-many network with each target region receiving input preferentially from a different composition of IT clusters. Overall, our results provide a high-resolution spatial and projection map of molecularly defined cell types in the MOp. We anticipate that the imaging platform described here can be broadly applied to create high-resolution cell atlases of a wide range of systems.
Mind the Queue: A Case Study in Visualizing Heterogeneous Behavioral Patterns in Livestock Sensor Data Using Unsupervised Machine Learning Techniques

Sensor technologies allow ethologists to continuously monitor the behaviors of large numbers of animals over extended periods of time. This creates new opportunities to study livestock behavior in commercial settings, but also new methodological challenges. Densely sampled behavioral data from large heterogeneous groups can contain a range of complex patterns and stochastic structures that may be difficult to visualize using conventional exploratory data analysis techniques. The goal of this research was to assess the efficacy of unsupervised machine learning tools in recovering complex behavioral patterns from such datasets to better inform subsequent statistical modeling. This methodological case study was carried out using records on milking order, or the sequence in which cows arrange themselves as they enter the milking parlor. Data was collected over a 6-month period from a closed group of 200 mixed-parity Holstein cattle on an organic dairy. Cows at the front and rear of the queue proved more consistent in their entry position than animals at the center of the queue, a systematic pattern of heterogeneity more clearly visualized using entropy estimates, a scale and distribution-free alternative to variance robust to outliers. Dimension reduction techniques were then used to visualize relationships between cows. No evidence of social cohesion was recovered, but Diffusion Map embeddings proved more adept than PCA at revealing the underlying linear geometry of this data. Median parlor entry positions from the pre- and post-pasture subperiods were highly correlated (R = 0.91), suggesting a surprising degree of temporal stationarity. Data Mechanics visualizations, however, revealed heterogeneous non-stationary among subgroups of animals in the center of the group and herd-level temporal outliers. A repeated measures model recovered inconsistent evidence of a relationships between entry position and cow attributes. Mutual conditional entropy tests, a permutation-based approach to assessing bivariate correlations robust to non-independence, confirmed a significant but non-linear association with peak milk yield, but revealed the age effect to be potentially confounded by health status. Finally, queueing records were related back to behaviors recorded via ear tag accelerometers using linear models and mutual conditional entropy tests. Both approaches recovered consistent evidence of differences in home pen behaviors across subsections of the queue.
Staphylcoccus aureus metabolites promote IL-10.

Glycolytic Staphylococcus aureus generate lactate that targets specific histone deacetylases to stimulate the production of IL-10 and enable biofilm formation.
El español coloquial como estrategia pedagógica: rasgos y relación con el género discursivo en el aula universitaria

The university class shows a communicative situation that has been characterized, sometimes, as a high formality discourse. In relation to the situation that is established in the classroom, the teacher will choose an appropriate language. With this research, we intend to analyze the characteristics of the linguistic strategy of several professors of the University of Malaga, by identifying typical features of colloquial Spanish, with the intention of determining whether these features predominate in the language used by teachers. Colloquiality has been defined as an informal register of the conversation itself, so the presence of these colloquial features in the classroom will allow us to approach the communicative situation in which a university class develops. The sample consists of seven professors of which 20 variables characteristic of colloquial Spanish have been measured qualitatively. Ordered from least to greatest, the study subjects have presented 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 18 and 19 of all the proposed features, suggesting a predominance of colloquiality in the university class.
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy with Young People: Why Insurance Coverage Matters

An increased understanding of integrated behavioral healthcare highlights the importance of mental and physical wellness anchored by person-centered interventions. Evidence is accumulating in support of non-traditional, empirically supported mental health interventions such as equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP). Historically and currently, insurance companies neglect to cover EFP as a prevention and treatment strategy for children, youth, and families. Without coverage, the cost of participating in EFP is a financial barrier to accessing the intervention. Not covering and not reimbursing costs for this non-traditional intervention represents a crucial misstep by the insurance industry. EFP’s strong history and professionalization, its comparable cost to talk therapy, a growing research base demonstrating EFP’s benefits for youth, and policy efforts toward increasing person-centered, innovative, integrated healthcare approaches suggest greater access to interventions such as EFP is needed. Because EFP may be more accessible to those who might not traditionally attend or respond positively to talk therapy sessions, it should not be available only to those with the most privilege. Insurance coverage and reimbursement for EFP is necessary to advance the field, aid service standardization, integrate service tracking systems, and increase the research quality, all of which would ultimately benefit youth mental health. This paper aims to serve as a resource for social work practitioners looking to recommend, engage in, or advocate for EFP.
On the Exact Variance of Tsallis Entanglement Entropy in a Random Pure State

The Tsallis entropy is a useful one-parameter generalization to the standard von Neumann entropy in quantum information theory. In this work, we study the variance of the Tsallis entropy of bipartite quantum systems in a random pure state. The main result is an exact variance formula of the Tsallis entropy that involves finite sums of some terminating hypergeometric functions. In the special cases of quadratic entropy and small subsystem dimensions, the main result is further simplified to explicit variance expressions. As a byproduct, we find an independent proof of the recently proven variance formula of the von Neumann entropy based on the derived moment relation to the Tsallis entropy.
Managing Congestion in Matching Markets

Problem definition : Participants in matching markets face search and screening costs when seeking a match. We study how platform design can reduce the effort required to find a suitable partner. P...
Ships and Slaves

Ship sales, a balance-of-payments credit separate from merchandise, are generated as the product of price and volume. Superior price data than predecessors employed is the main contribution here. Slave imports are a debit item. For U.S.-ship transportation of slaves (whether from Africa or the Caribbean), the cost of purchase is pertinent; for foreign-ship disembarkations, the U.S. selling price is applicable. The balance of payments includes only the cost or revenue of the slave-ship owners; excluded are the costs to the enslaved people themselves (liberty, dignity, labor exploitation).
Topological Frustration as a New Parameter to Tune Morphology Revealed through Exploring the Continuum between A-B-C 3-Arm Star and Linear Triblock Polymers

Block polymers assemble into a variety of phase-separated morphologies based on volume fraction (φ) and interactions (χ) of the respective blocks. The arrangement of three different polymer blocks ...
Linking multi-media modeling with machine learning to assess and predict lake chlorophyll a concentrations

Abstract Eutrophication and excessive algal growth pose a threat on aquatic organisms and the health of the public, environment, and the economy. Understanding what drives excessive algal growth can inform mitigation measures and aid in advance planning to minimize impacts. We demonstrate how simulated data from weather, hydrological, and agroecosystem numerical prediction models can be combined with machine learning (ML) to assess and predict chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations, a proxy for lake eutrophication and algal biomass. The study area is Lake Erie for a 16-year period, 2002–2017. A total of 20 environmental variables from linked and coupled physical models are used as input features to train the ML model with chl a observations from 16 measuring stations. Included are meteorological variables from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, hydrological variables from the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, and agricultural management practice variables from the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) agroecosystem model. The consolidation of these variables is conducive to a successful prediction of chl a. Aside from the synergistic effects that weather, hydrology, and fertilizers have on eutrophication and excessive algal growth, we found that the application of different forms of both P and N fertilizers are highly ranked for the prediction of chl a concentration. The developed ML model successfully predicts chl a with a coefficient of determination of 0.81, bias of −0.12 μg/l and RMSE of 4.97 μg/l. The developed ML-based modeling approach can be used for impact assessment of agriculture practices in a changing climate that affect chl a concentrations in Lake Erie.
4 – The Secondary Vascular System

This chapter examines the secondary vascular system of fishes. The arteriovenous vascular circuit of the gills may be considered as the branchial part of the secondary circulation. The secondary system originates from tiny vessels with a diameter of about 10–14 μm branching from primary arteries. They are irregularly curled, often branching, and occur in clusters. The secondary circulation has been observed in vivo in the transparent glass catfish, Kryptopterus bicirrhis . The groups of anastomoses occur along primary segmental arteries and give rise to one or two secondary arteries, which lead to the membranous part of the anal fin. Secondary arteries along both sides of the fin rays give rise to characteristic long, straight, secondary capillaries, which run across the fin membrane to join secondary veins along the opposite fin rays. The in vivo analysis of the partitioning of cardiac output in rainbow trout, based on blood sampled from the branchial vein, dorsal aorta, and sinus venosus, showed that plasma skimming occurred in the gills because hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration was only 3.5% and 1.04 g/100 ml, respectively, in the branchial vein.
The Generic User/Nonuser and the Process of Adoption

This study attempted to reveal significant differences between users and non-users of generic products on three important dimensions: demographic, psychographic, and behavioristic. A general profile in each case resulted. Such profiles can be valuable to the marketing strategist as an aid in market segmentation and targeting.
HIV-specific CD8+ T cell function in children with vertically acquired HIV-1 infection is critically influenced by age and the state of the CD4+ T cell compartment.

The immunology of vertical HIV transmission differs from that of adult infection in that the immune system of the infant is not fully matured, and the factors that influence the functionality of CD8+ T cell responses against HIV in children remain largely undefined. We have investigated CD8+ T cell responses in 65 pediatric subjects with vertically acquired HIV-1 infection. Vigorous, broad, and Ag dose-driven CD8+ T cell responses against HIV Ags were frequently observed in children who were older than 3 years of age and maintained CD4+ T cell counts >400 cells/μl. In contrast, younger age or a CD4+ T cell count <400 cells/μl was associated with poor CD8+ T cell responses and high HIV loads. Furthermore, subjects with a severely depleted and phenotypically altered CD4+ T cell compartment had circulating Gag-specific CD8+ T cells with impaired IFN-γ production. When viral load was not suppressed by antiviral treatment, subjects that fell below the putative age and CD4+ T cell count thresholds had significantly reduced CD8+ T cell responses and significantly higher viral loads. Thus, the data suggest that fully effective HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses take years to develop despite an abundance of Ag in early life, and responses are further severely impaired, independent of age, in children who have a depleted or skewed CD4+ T cell compartment. The results are discussed in relation to differences between the neonatal and adult immune systems in the ability to respond to HIV infection.
Oldest known ant fossils discovered

Here we report fossil ants, including a new genus of Ponerinae, about 50 million years (Myr) older than the previous oldest specimens. These discoveries in amber from the Turonian stage (92 Myr ago) of New Jersey in the United States have important implications for estimates dating the origin of ants, and extend the age of an extant ant subfamily back about 50 Myr.
Capital Punishment Reforms in Illinois: Comparing the Views of Police, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders

On 9 March 2011, Governor Patrick Quinn abolished capital punishment in Illinois stating that the state’s system of imposing the death penalty was inherently flawed. Quinn’s announcement followed an eleven-year effort to end the death penalty that began with a 2000 moratorium on executions imposed by then Governor George Ryan. This moratorium was the direct result of the appellate reversal of a series of death-row convictions. Prompted by these reversals, Ryan also created the Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment to study the use of the death penalty in Illinois. As a result of this effort, comprehensive legislation was enacted to reform the Illinois death penalty system, and the Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee was formed to gauge the implementation and impact of the reforms. Working with the Committee, the authors’ surveyed 413 Illinois police departments, 102 Illinois State’s Attorneys’ Offices, and all 99 Public Defender’s Offices in an effort to determine the extent to which criminal justice agencies had implemented the requirements of the capital punishment reform legislation, and whether there were any significant barriers to the implementation of the legislative requirements. This paper reports the results of this inquiry, and argues that capital punishment ended in Illinois because of the complexity of the death penalty and the perceived inability to devise a system free of racial, geographic, and economic bias and not the failure of the criminal justice community to implement the reforms recommended by the Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment.
Optical properties of thiol-stabilized gold-cluster solutions

We note that the nonlinear optical response for these small cluster compounds is dominated by acoustic/thermal mechanisms at low fluence. At higher fluences, a novel absorptive mechanism contributes to the nonlinear optical response. A consequence is that these materials can act as optical limiting materials with lower thresholds than common suspension limiters such as carbon-black suspensions.
Consumer Satisfaction with Speech-Language Pathology Services in University Clinics

Abstract This study examined consumer satisfaction with speech-language therapy services in two university clinics as reported by 96 clients and caregivers. Satisfaction was related to student speech-language pathologists' communication with clients and families. Explaining clients' communication problems, discussing session objectives, describing progress, providing home programming, and offering strategies for maintaining skills after discharge contributed to perceptions of effective service. Survey findings hold implications for supervision of student clinicians. Positive feedback confirms that students are providing quality service and supervisors are teaching clinical skills and managing service delivery. Feedback that points out deficiencies can help students and supervisors set goals for improvement.
Urethral stricture. Treatment with internal urethrotomy and silastic catheter intubation.

Abstract Twenty-two patients with long-standing postgonococcal strictures were treated with internal urethrotomy and six weeks of silastic catheter intubation. Follow-up consisted of a series of retrograde urethrograms, urine culture and sensitivity tests, and rate of disapperance of symptoms. Only 7 had successful results; in terms of these criteria, infections and chronicity of the condition are given as reasons for the low success rate.
Exogenous attention influences visual short‐term memory in infants

Two experiments examined the hypothesis that developing visual attentional mechanisms influence infants' Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM) in the context of multiple items. Five-and 10-month-old infants (N = 76) received a change detection task in which arrays of 3 differently colored squares appeared and disappeared. On each trial one square changed color and one square was cued; sometimes the cued item was the changing item, and sometimes the changing item was not the cued item. Ten-month-old infants exhibited enhanced memory for the cued item when the cue was a spatial pre-cue (Experiment 1) and 5-month-old infants exhibited enhanced memory for the cued item when the cue was relative motion (Experiment 2). These results demonstrate for the first time that infants younger than 6 months can encode information in VSTM about individual items in multiple-object arrays, and that attention-directing cues influence both perceptual and VSTM encoding of stimuli in infants as in adults.
The Genetics of the Newer Human Blood Factors

Publisher Summary The terms “blood factor,” “blood group,” “antigen,” or more specifically “agglutinogen” refers to a property of the red blood cells that is produced by a gene capable of expressing itself either in single or double dose. The blood factor is demonstrable by agglutination—more rarely by hemolysis—of the red blood cells when allowed to react with a serum containing a specific antibody. This chapter presents a more detailed definition of blood factors in terms of their antibodies and a table of the better known human blood factors or antigens that determine at least nine fixed points on the chromosomes, which also gives the possible number of combinations of both genotypes and phenotypes.
Reducing Impediments to Collaboration in a Virtual World

This paper presents a knowledge-based approach to reducing impediments to collaboration in a distributed environment. A major impediment to such collaboration is the issue of communications - clearly and efficiently expressing the desires of every stakeholder in the process, as well as the major decisions and the rationale behind these decisions. The approach described in this paper, embodied in the MATE system, provides a framework for making these decisions in the engineering design process, by eliciting and capturing the goals and desires of every stakeholder in the design process through utility and expense functions. The system uses a four faceted knowledge-based approach of knowledge acquisition, discovery, management and repository to focus on various areas of functionality to be used in the design process. The MATE approach will be combined with the SSPARCy approach, also developed in this group, to address crucial applications that are today contingent on geographical proximity to occur with equal or superior effectiveness in a virtual world. While this paper analyzes a situation involving engineering design, the proposed knowledge-based approach is equally applicable to collaboration in business, healthcare, government, and other environments.
Using Modeling Software to Visualize Biomechanics in an Introductory Undergraduate Bioengineering Course

The modeling software MADYMO was used as a visual teaching tool for teaching human body modeling during an introductory undergraduate bioengineering course. The human body modeling lecture was covered during the six-week biomechanics section of a 15-week course. The students in this introductory bioengineering course were primarily second year, second semester students, from a wide range of engineering disciplines. Biomechanics is a challenging topic to teach to undergraduate students because of the students’ limited understanding of general mechanics and physiology. Education research has shown the effectiveness of using visual teaching tools (Felder, 1988). MADYMO is an industry-standard modeling tool for human crash response. Considering the challenges of introducing human body modeling in a single lecture to undergraduate students, we believe using MADYMO as a visual tool helps the students realize a basic understanding and appreciation for human body modeling.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Contribution of increasing CO2 and climate change to the carbon cycle in China's ecosystems

[1] Atmospheric CO2 and China's climate have changed greatly during 1961–2000. The influence of increased CO2 and changing climate on the carbon cycle of the terrestrial ecosystems in China is still unclear. In this article we used a process-based ecosystem model, Biome-BGC, to assess the effects of changing climate and elevated atmospheric CO2 on terrestrial China's carbon cycle during two time periods: (1) the present (1961–2000) and (2) a future with projected climate change under doubled CO2 (2071–2110). The effects of climate change alone were estimated by driving Biome-BGC with a fixed CO2 concentration and changing climate, while the CO2 fertilization effects were calculated as the difference between the results driven by both increasing CO2 and changing climate and those of variable climate alone. Model simulations indicate that during 1961–2000 at the national scale, changes in climate reduced carbon storage in China's ecosystems, but increasing CO2 compensated for these adverse effects of climate change, resulting in an overall increase in the carbon storage of China's ecosystems despite decreases in soil carbon. The interannual variability of the carbon cycle was associated with climate variations. Regional differences in climate change produced differing regional carbon uptake responses. Spatially, reductions in carbon in vegetation and soils and increases in litter carbon were primarily caused by climate change in most parts of east China, while carbon in vegetation, soils, and litter increased for much of west China. Under the future scenario (2071–2110), with a doubling CO2, China will experience higher precipitation and temperature as predicted by the Hadley Centre HadCM3 for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment. The concomitant doubling of CO2 will continue to counteract the negative effects of climate change on carbon uptake in the future, leading to an increase in carbon storage relative to current levels. This study highlights the role of CO2 fertilization in the carbon budget of China's ecosystems, although future studies should include other important processes such as land use change, human management (e.g., fertilization and irrigation), environmental pollution, etc.
Properties of solutions of stochastic differential equations with continuous-state-dependent switching

Abstract This work is concerned with several properties of solutions of stochastic differential equations arising from hybrid switching diffusions. The word “hybrid” highlights the coexistence of continuous dynamics and discrete events. The underlying process has two components. One component describes the continuous dynamics, whereas the other is a switching process representing discrete events. One of the main features is the switching component depending on the continuous dynamics. In this paper, weak continuity is proved first. Then continuous and smooth dependence on initial data are demonstrated. In addition, it is shown that certain functions of the solutions verify a system of Kolmogorov's backward differential equations. Moreover, rates of convergence of numerical approximation algorithms are dealt with.
Properties of an anion/H+ cotransport system in L1210 cells that utilizes phthalate as a nonphysiological substrate.

[14C]Phthalate is transported into L1210 cells via two separate routes, an anion exchange system whose primary substrates are folate compounds, and a second less active system which is sensitive to bromosulfophthalein. When the principal uptake component was blocked by a specific irreversible inhibitor of this system, the remaining route (at pH 7.4) appeared to be saturable and was inhibited by several anions in addition to bromosulfophthalein (K i =2 μm), including 8-anilino-1-naphthalein sulfonate (K i =25 μm), unlabeled phthalate (K i =500 μm), and chloride (K i =3500 μm). A pronounced effect by pH was also observed. Influx and total uptake of phthalate both increased progressively with decreasing pH and reached values that were 20-fold higher at pH 6.0, compared with pH 7.4. This pH-dependent increase could be blocked, however, by the addition of compounds (nigericin and carbonylcyanidem-chlorophenylhydrazone) which, in combination, collapse proton gradients. Phthalate efflux was relatively insensitive to changes in extracellular pH but could be inhibited (up to 90%) by bromosulfophthalein. Several other anions also inhibited efflux, but to a lesser extent, while chloride, phthalate, lactate, glycolate and acetate enhanced efflux up to 1.8-fold. Efflux also increased at pH 6.0, but not at pH 7.5, upon addition of nigericin and carbonylcyanidem-chlorophenylhydrazone. These results suggest that phthalate is a nonphysiological substrate for a carrier system which mediates transport via an anion/H+ symport mechanism. This system is not the lactate/H+ symport carrier of L1210 cells since: (A) phthalate and lactate influx were inhibited to differing degrees by various anions; and (B) lactic anhydride inhibited the influx and efflux of lactate but had no effect on the transmembrane movement of phthalate. The specificity of this system suggests that its primary anion substrate may be chloride.
Neuroeconomics: The Shadow of the Future

Humans and other animals tend to disregard future benefits and costs when choosing between immediate and delayed gratification. This tendency can lead to the choice of options that are not in one's own long-term interest. A new study looks at the neurophysiological basis of this self-defeating behavior.
DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF PHENOBARBITAL DOSAGE REQUIREMENTS IN NEWBORN INFANTS FOR SEIZURE CONTROL

DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF PHENOBARBITAL DOSAGE REQUIREMENTS IN NEWBORN INFANTS FOR SEIZURE CONTROL
What drives proteins into the major or minor grooves of DNA

The energetic profiles of a significant number of protein-DNA systems at 20°C reveal that, despite comparable Gibbs free energies, association with the major groove is primarily an enthalpy driven process, whereas binding to the minor groove is characterized by an unfavorable enthalpy that is compensated by favorable entropic contributions. These distinct energetic signatures for major versus minor groove binding are irrespective of the magnitude of DNA bending and/or the extent of binding-induced protein refolding. The primary determinants of their different energetic profiles appear to be the distinct hydration properties of the major and minor grooves, namely that the water in the AT-rich minor groove is in a highly ordered state and its removal results in a substantial positive contribution to the binding entropy. Since the entropic forces driving protein binding into the minor groove are a consequence of displacing water ordered by the regular arrangement of polar contacts, they cannot be regarded as hydrophobic.
Adhesive Bonding and Performance Testing of Bonded Wood Products

Despite the importance of durable wood bonds, the factors that lead to durability are not well understood, and the internal forces exerted upon the bondline are often overlooked. Durability requires that the bonded assembly resist dimensional changes of wood with fluctuation of wood moisture levels. Both bonding and bond breaking steps need to be understood at cellular and nanoscale, in addition to the larger spatial scales normally examined. With both internal and external forces being significant, interphase and bulk adhesive properties need to be better understood. Systematic studies of the bonding process, the forces upon the bondline, and the locus of failure using different types of adhesives and wood species should improve our ability to design wood adhesives. Modifications of wood surfaces, along with spectroscopic and microscopic analyses, are important tools to understand bond formation and failure.