cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measuring adherence with therapy for chronic diseases: Implications for the treatment of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

The failure of patients to adhere adequately to prescribed medication and behavioral regimens is an important medical problem. Poor adherence is most common when the treatment regimen is preventive rather than curative, when patients are asymptomatic, and when the duration of treatment is long. For these reasons, adherence with dietary therapy for hypercholesterolemia is well recognized to be a significant clinical and research challenge. Medication adherence has been acknowledged to be a problem for those treatments with significant side effects, such as flushing and pruritus or the low palatability of bile acid sequestering agents. The availability of drugs that lack these effects has long been viewed as an important contribution to improving overall patient compliance. However, the literature on patient adherence with life-long treatment regimens that are simple and palatable (e.g., antihypertensives) suggests that while these improved treatments can enhance adherence, the overall rates of patient compliance still average only 50%. The fact that patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia are at high risk for early coronary artery disease and death if they fail to adhere to therapy is not sufficient to assure high rates of appropriate therapy over long periods of time, as demonstrated by the poor or erratic adherence commonly reported to treatments for other life-threatening diseases, such as advanced renal disease, hemophilia, and type I diabetes. The measurement of patient adherence to hypercholesterolemia therapy is often neglected in clinical practice and inadequate in hypercholesterolemia research.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The confidentiality of interlibrary loan records

Abstract Although professional concern has been directed to the confidentiality of library circulation records, interlibrary loan records have been virtually ignored. The author discusses potential problems for confidentiality within ILL, outlines legal issues related to confidentiality, and proposes guidelines intended to protect library users' right to privacy.
O4-Methyldeoxythymidine replacing deoxythymidine in poly[d(A—T)] renders the polymer resistant to the 3′ → 5′ exonuclease activity of the Klenow and T4 DNA polymerases

We previously reported that O4-alkyl dTTPs could replace, for short times, dTTP in polymer synthesis [Singer et al., PNAS 83, 26-32, 1986]. The reasons for such early termination of synthesis could be either proofreading or the eventual formation of weakly paired primer termini. Utilizing the known 3'----5' exonucleolytic activity of polymerases, in the absence of dNTPs, enabled us to conclude that, in contrast to the digestibility of poly[d(A-T)] which yielded the expected 3'-mononucleotides, the polymerizing enzymes did not digest O4-methyl dT or its neighbors. The presence of the resistant alpha-phosphorothionate linkage did not prevent measurable digestion of poly[d(A-T)] by the Klenow fragment. This, together with evidence that polymerization of O4-methyl dTTP is favored at low temperatures, supports the model proposed by Ollis et al. [Nature 313, 762-766, 1985] showing independent domains for the two activities in the Klenow fragment.
Toll-like receptor 4 and comorbid pain in Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: a multidisciplinary approach to the study of chronic pelvic pain research network study.

Abstract Background: Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) is a condition characterized by pelvic pain and urinary symptoms. Some IC/BPS patients have pain confined to the pelvic region, while others suffer widespread pain. Inflammatory processes have previously been linked to pelvic pain in IC/BPS, but their association with widespread pain in IC/BPS has not been characterized. Methods: Sixty-six women meeting criteria for IC/BPS completed self-report measures of pain as part of the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP), collected 3 days of saliva for cortisol assays, and provided blood samples. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were stimulated with Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 agonists and cytokines were measured in supernatant; IL-6 was also measured in plasma. Associations between inflammatory variables and the likelihood of endorsing extra-pelvic pain, or the presence of a comorbid syndrome, were tested by logistic regression and General Linear Models, respectively. A subset of patients ( n = 32) completed Quantitative Sensory Testing. Results: A one standard deviation increase in TLR-4 inflammatory response was associated with a 1.59 greater likelihood of endorsing extra-pelvic pain ( p = .019). Participants with comorbid syndromes also had higher inflammatory responses to TLR-4 stimulation in PBMCs ( p = .016). Lower pressure pain thresholds were marginally associated with higher TLR-4 inflammatory responses ( p = .062), and significantly associated with higher IL-6 in plasma ( p = .031). Conclusions: TLR-4 inflammatory responses in PBMCs are a marker of widespread pain in IC/BPS, and should be explored in other conditions characterized by medically unexplained pain.
The problem of thromboembolic disease.

Iodine-125-labeled fibrinogen leg scanning, for the diagnosis of incipient as well as rapidly growing thrombi in the leg veins, has proven to be an important adjunct to the study and diagnosis of certain forms of venous thrombosis, and its contributions already have proven to be invaluable. In perspective, however, this technique answers only a small part of the needs of the clinician and investigator for thrombosis detection. Labeling of the fibrinogen with higher energy 131 I and the use of labeled albumin aggregates for both radionuclide venography as well as its direct adherence to clots represent some more recent attempts to image thrombi. The advent of these radionuclide techniques, now offer the field of nuclear medicine great opportunities for extending and expanding its contributions to one of the most important areas of clinical medicine, i.e., the entire spectrum of the thromboembolic disorders.
The influence of urban, suburban, or rural locale on survival from refractory prehospital cardiac arrest.

Abstract There are many variables that can have an effect on survival in cardiopulmonary arrest. This study examined the effect of urban, suburban, or rural location on the outcome of prehospital cardiac arrest as a secondary end point in a study evaluating the effect of bicarbonate on survival. The proportion of survivors within a type of EMS provider system as well as response times were compared. This prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical intervention trial enrolled 874 prehospital cardiopulmonary arrest patients encountered by prehospital urban, suburban, and rural regional EMS area. Population density (patients per square mile) calculation allowed classification into urban (>2000/mi2), suburban (>400/mi2), and rural (0–399/mi2) systems. This group underwent standard advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) intervention with or without early empiric administration of bicarbonate in a 1-mEq/kg dose. A group of demographic, diagnostic, and therapeutic variables were analyzed for their effect on survival. Times were measured from collapse until onset of medical intervention and survival measured as the presence of ED vital signs on arrival. Data analysis used chi-squared with Pearson correlation for survivorship and Student t test comparisons for response times. The overall survival rate was approximately 13.9% (110 of 793), ranging from 9% rural, 14% for suburban, and 23% for urban sites for 372 patients (P = .007). Survival differences were associated with classification of arrest locale in this sample-best for urban, suburban, followed by rural sites. There was no difference in time to bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but medical response time (basic life support) was decreased for suburban or urban sites, and intervention (ACLS) and transport times were decreased for suburban sites alone. Although response times were differentiated by location, they were not necessarily predictive of survival. Factors other than response time such as patient population or resuscitation skill could influence survival from cardiac arrest occurring in diverse prehospital service areas.
Hyaluronan interactions with hydroxyapatite do not alter in vitro hydroxyapatite crystal proliferation and growth.

Abstract The interaction of hyaluronan (Mr range 80–120 X 10 4 ) with poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite, such as is found in calcified cartilage and bone, was studied to challenge the hypothesis that free hyaluronan found in proteoglycan aggregate preparations could affect in vitro mineralization. Using a Langmuir adsorption isotherm, based on uronic acid content, hyaluronan was found to bind to hydroxyapatite with an affinity K of 0.12 ml/μg uronate and N = 6.8 μg uronate/m 2 hydroxyapatite binding sites. This is contrasted with K = .047 ml/μg uronate and N = 9.0 μg uronate/m 2 for a bovine nasal proteoglycan monomer preparation. Although the proteoglycan monomer and aggregate preparations have been reported to inhibit hydroxyapatite growth at concentrations of 1 mg/ml, using solution concentrations of 0, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/ml hyaluronan there were no detectable alterations in the rate of seeded hydroxyapatite growth and proliferation. These data indicate that although in vitro hyaluronan may bind with weak affinity to hydroxyapatite, this interaction does not affect mineral growth, and the presence of hyaluronan would not contribute to the increased inhibitory potential of cartilage proteoglycan aggregate relative to monomer preparations.
Relationships among cell chlorophyll content, photosystem II light-harvesting and the quantum yield for oxygen production in Chlorella

Cells of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris were grown under conditions where total Ch1/cell varied by a factor of almost 80; from 0.02 fmol/cell to nearly 1.6 fmol/cell. The change in Chl/cell was accomplished by an approximately 11-fold increase in RCII/cell along with a 7-fold increase in Chl/RCII. The effective absorption cross section per RCII at 596 nm varied by a factor of 6, increasing with Chl/cell from a minimum of 20 A2 to a maximum of 116 A2. In contrast, over the same range of Chl/cell, the quantum requirement for O2 production remained relatively constant at 10.4 ± 1.8 quanta absorbed/O2 evolved. The results are well described by a simple model in which changes in Chl/cell are produced by coordinated changes in reaction center and light-harvesting complexes. The model predicts that between 20 and 40% of the light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complexes commonly assigned to PSII, do not function as antenna for PSII.
A closed-form expression for write amplification in NAND Flash

The log-structured filesystems typically used in current solid-state drive's (SSD) exhibit write amplification, whereby multiple NAND writes are required for each host write. Write amplification negatively affects the SSD endurance and write throughput. This performance loss depends on the drive over-provisioning and the garbage collection method. This paper presents a novel probabilistic model to analytically quantify the impact of over-provisioning on write amplification under a uniformly-distributed random workload and a greedy garbage collection policy. The analysis shows write amplification approximately independent of NAND block size and number of blocks in the SSD. The analysis is verified by full drive simulations.
Glutamate Dehydrogenase Biosynthesis in Amphibian Liver Preparations

Abstract Glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.3) (GDH) was studied with a system in vitro of tadpole and frog liver cube suspensions. A rise in GDH activity was observed in liver from tadpoles immersed in thyroxine (2.6 x 10-8 m) for 8 days. A small rise in enzyme activity was observed in vitro in liver cubes from premetamorphic tadpoles. In the presence of thyroxine (2.6 x 10-8 m to 2.6 x 10-10 m) or triiodothyropropionate (2.6 x 10-9 m or 2.6 x 10-11 m), the mean increase in the specific activity in vitro was twice that of the control over a 48-hour incubation period. Thyroxine stimulated synthesis de novo of immunoprecipitable glutamate dehydrogenase as well as soluble mitochondrial proteins. A specific stimulation of GDH synthesis relative to soluble mitochondrial protein synthesis in vitro was observed at a thyroxine concentration of 2.6 x 10-8 m. Higher concentrations of thyroxine resulted in a specific effect only in liver cubes prepared from tadpoles previously treated with thiourea. Synthesis de novo of GDH was inhibited by puromycin and actinomycin but the total enzyme activity in vitro was increased in the presence of these antibiotics. A continuous conversion of labeled nonimmunoprecipitable precursors into immunoprecipitable GDH was observed in vitro in the absence of any additives to the incubation system. In a single experiment, thyroxine itself appeared to stimulate precursor conversion. The half-disappearance time of labeled immunoprecipitable GDH was 21.2 ± 1.7 hours in vitro and 22.8 hours in vivo. Actinomycin and puromycin inhibited breakdown of immunoprecipitable GDH. Synthesis de novo, precursor conversion, and a rapid turnover of GDH were observed in vitro in liver cubes from premetamorphic and metamorphosing tadpoles as well as in the adult frog. The implications of these basic mechanisms of enzyme regulation are discussed.
Improvement of the Trapezoid Method Using Raw Landsat Image Digital Count Data for Soil Moisture Estimation in the Texas (USA) High Plains

Variations in soil moisture strongly affect surface energy balances, regional runoff, land erosion and vegetation productivity (i.e., potential crop yield). Hence, the estimation of soil moisture is very valuable in the social, economic, humanitarian (food security) and environmental segments of society. Extensive efforts to exploit the potential of remotely sensed observations to help quantify this complex variable are ongoing. This study aims at developing a new index, the Thermal Ground cover Moisture Index (TGMI), for estimating soil moisture content. This index is based on empirical parameterization of the relationship between raw image digital count (DC) data in the thermal infrared spectral band and ground cover (determined from raw image digital count data in the red and near-infrared spectral bands).The index uses satellite-derived information only, and the potential for its operational application is therefore great. This study was conducted in 18 commercial agricultural fields near Lubbock, TX (USA). Soil moisture was measured in these fields over two years and statistically compared to corresponding values of TGMI determined from Landsat image data. Results indicate statistically significant correlations between TGMI and field measurements of soil moisture (R2 = 0.73, RMSE = 0.05, MBE = 0.17 and AAE = 0.049), suggesting that soil moisture can be estimated using this index. It was further demonstrated that maps of TGMI developed from Landsat imagery could be constructed to show the relative spatial distribution of soil moisture across a region.
A study on chatter boundaries of cylindrical plunge grinding with process condition-dependent dynamics

Abstract This paper presents a systematic study on the chatter characteristics of cylindrical plunge grinding processes. Chatter occurrence under a wide range of operating conditions is experimentally identified. The unique transient chatter behaviors during spark-in and spark-out of plunge grinding are also studied; and the transient chatter occurrence is separated from the steady-state chatter occurrence, which is used to define the chatter boundaries. It is shown that the measured structure dynamics of the wheel/workpiece exhibit strong dependency on grinding conditions. The dynamic/chatter model of cylindrical plunge grinding [H. Li, Y.C. Shin, A time-domain dynamic model for chatter prediction of cylindrical plunge grinding processes, ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 128(2) (2006) 404–415] is improved to handle the grinding force-dependent structure dynamics, and the modified model is validated by comparing the predicted chatter boundaries with experimental chatter conditions.
Role of activation of calcium-sensitive K+ channels in NO- and hypoxia-induced pial artery vasodilation

It has been previously observed that nitric oxide (NO) contributes to hypoxic pial artery dilation and that both sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a releaser of NO, and hypoxia elicit dilation via activation of ATP-sensitive K+ channels in the newborn pig. Other studies, however, have shown that NO activates calcium-sensitive K+ (K(Ca)) channels. The present study, therefore, was designed to investigate the role of K(Ca)-channel activation in NO and hypoxic dilation and to relate this mechanism to the previously observed role of NO in hypoxic dilation in newborn pigs equipped with closed cranial windows. SNP (10(-8) and 10(-6) M) elicited pial artery dilation that was unchanged in the presence of the K(Ca)-channel antagonist iberiotoxin (10(-7) M; 10 +/- 1 and 20 +/- 1 vs. 9 +/- 1 and 20 +/- 2% for 10(-8) and 10(-6) M SNP in the absence and presence of iberiotoxin, respectively). Responses to S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate were similarly unchanged by iberiotoxin. In contrast, iberiotoxin attenuated the dilation resulting from moderate and severe hypoxia (arterial PO2 approximately 35 and 25 mmHg, respectively; 27 +/- 1 vs. 21 +/- 2 and 34 +/- 1 vs. 16 +/- 2% for moderate and severe hypoxia in the absence and presence of iberiotoxin, respectively). Iberiotoxin blocked responses to the K(Ca)-channel agonist NS-1619, whereas responses to the ATP-sensitive K+ agonist cromakalim were unchanged (8 +/- 1 and 15 +/- 1 vs. 1 +/- 1 and 1 +/- 1% for 10(-8) and 10(-6) M NS-1619 in the absence and presence of iberiotoxin, respectively). These data show that NO and guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate do not elicit dilation via K(Ca)-channel activation. However, activation of K(Ca) channels does contribute to hypoxic pial dilation. Finally, these data suggest that substances other than NO are involved in the contribution of K(Ca)-channel activation to hypoxic pial artery dilation.
A hybrid electronically coupled current comparator

A new versatile electronically coupled current comparator is presented in the paper. Its simpler design is more convenient for manufacturing yet it retains high accuracy in either manual or automated version. It provides a resolution of one part in 10/sup 6/ and has an estimated uncertainty less than 5/spl middot/10/sup -6/ in magnitude and less than 5 /spl mu/rad in phase at power frequencies.
Sesquiterpene emissions from pine trees--identifications, emission rates and flux estimates for the contiguous United States.

Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions were studied using vegetation enclosure experiments. Particular emphasis was given to sesquiterpene compounds (SQT), although monoterpenes (MT) were also characterized. SQT were detected in emissions from seven (out of eight) pine species that were examined. Thirteen SQT compounds were identified; the most abundant ones were β-caryophyllene, α-bergamotene, β-farnesene, and α-farnesene, with emission rates increasing exponentially with temperature. Regression analysis yielded exponential dependencies of both MT and SQT emissions on temperature of the form E = E0 × exp(β(T − T0)). This resulted in SQT basal emission rates (E0 defined at T0 = 30 °C) ranging between <4 and 620 ng (carbon) gdw-1 h-1 (gdw = gram dry weight). The average value of the exponential temperature response factor β for SQT emissions, taken from all experiments, was 0.17 °C-1, whereas the value for monoterpenes was 0.11 °C-1. The average, total SQT emissions from pines were estimated t...
HIV Among Adolescents in the United States in the Twenty-First Century: Learning to Manage a Chronic Illness

In the twenty-first century HIV treatment with antiretroviral (ART) medication is the key to prevention and longevity for infected adolescents. HIV is no longer a death sentence and a newly infected adolescent can expect to live well into their 50s. Maintaining an undetectable viral load significantly reduces the likelihood of sexual transmission of the virus. However, there are major barriers to attaining this goal, for example, nonadherence to medication regimens due to stigma which inhibits disclosure and social support, depression which inhibits motivation and effort, and harsh or punitive religious beliefs which impair self-care. For some medications may no longer be effective. Health disparities in death rates from HIV-related causes exist with young African-American men who have sex with men disproportionately affected. Behavioral approaches to living well with HIV are effective and needed. Palliative care remains a concern for those who have not benefited from recent advances.
On the Relevance of Recent Developments in Sociolinguistics to the Study of Language Learning and Early Education.

Recent developments in sociolinguistics have contributed to the study of language learning in early education, including bilingual education. Some progress has been made in overcoming barriers which in the past have served to inhibit the effective application of linguistic knowledge in the language classroom. This article suggests some of the ways in which sociolinguistics is relevant to the study of language learning and early education.
Retinal image segmentation using texture, thresholding, and morphological operations

Retina blood vessel segmentation plays an important role in diagnosing the pathologies (diseases), which occur as swelling in parts of the vasculature, changing of width along blood vessels, and tortuosity that later on may cause blindness. In this paper, we have proposed a robust, combined method for blood tree segmentation on a 2D image. In our algorithms, the preprocessing takes place, such as image filtration and color contrast enhancement, and after that, the combined approach for image segmentation and classification are executed using texture, thresholding, and morphological operation. We tested our method on a number of fundus images with different views and intensities. Our method gives clearer and more accurate output for ophthalmologists, and automated retinal image diagnosis.
HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY FOR RADIATION INDUCED HEMORRHAGIC CYSTITIS

AbstractPurpose: Radiation therapy has been used successfully to treat pelvic malignancy but morbidity from hemorrhagic cystitis remains a major long-term sequela in 1 to 2% of patients. Obliterative endarteritis secondary to ionizing radiation leads to tissue hypoxia and poor healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been demonstrated to improve angiogenesis and promote healing in radiation injured tissue, including the bladder. We describe the treatment and long-term followup of a cohort of patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen for hemorrhagic cystitis.Materials and Methods: A total of 17 patients (mean age 62 years) with hemorrhagic cystitis received hyperbaric oxygen following failure of standard treatment modalities. Hyperbaric oxygen was administered on a once daily schedule (mean number of treatments 14) until hematuria resolved. Followup ranged from 9 to 60 months (mean 21).Results: Hematuria resolved completely in 11 of 17 patients (64%), 2 had only residual microscopic hematuria, 2 had improvemen...
Embodiment, Disembodiment, Learning by Doing, and Returns to Scale in Nineteenth-Century Cotton Textiles

As the key conveyance of nineteenth-century American industrialization and early experimentation with tariff policy, the antebellum textile sector has always received extensive attention by economic historians. In the past two decades, we have learned much about industrial financing, investment behavior, productivity growth, the nature of the production function, and the optimality of tariff policy, yet we remain ignorant still on some fundamental issues. One of these involves a better understanding of the equipment replacement decision under conditions of rapid growth, technological improvement, and variable tariff policies. But most importantly, the identification of sources of productivity improvement and their magnitude had remained inadequately understood until very recently with the appearance of Paul David's article in this Journal. David's important contribution applies aggregate production function analysis to textiles in an effort to isolate the determinants of labor productivity growth during the three decades preceding the Civil War. The model is neoclassical with a Cobb-Douglas specification, variable returns to scale, disembodied technical progress and with a learning variable explicitly introduced into the production function. David finds evidence of constant returns to scale, strong learning effects, high rates of disembodied technical progress, and improved labor quality, the latter sufficient to offset the alleged downward pressure on productivity attributable to a long-run decline in input (especially labor) utilization rates.
The frequency of polyembryonic seedlings and polyploids from ms1 soybean

Seed from homozygous recessivems1 genetic male-sterile soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants was studied for frequencies of polyembryonic seedlings and different levels of polyploidy among abnormal seedlings from six different source populations: Amesms1 (Ams), North Carolinams1 (NCms), Tonicams1 (Tms), Urbanams1 (Ums), and F4 generation seed obtained from crosses ofms1 to two chromosome interchange lines (Ams x Clark T/T and Ums x KS-172-11-3). Frequencies of polyembryony observed in Tms, Ums, Ams, NCms, F4 seed from Ams x Clark T/T, and F4 seed from Ums x KS-172-11-3 were 3.6%, 2.4%, 3.1%, 2.5%, 2.2% and 0.1%, respectively. Frequencies of abnormal seedlings from these six sources varied from 1.7% (Ums X KS-172-11-3) to 16.8% (Ams X Clark T/T). Frequencies of polyploids among the abnormal seedlings ranged from 6.8% in Ums x Ks-172-11-3 to 66.7% in Tms. On average, the frequency of polyploid individuals from monoembryonic seedlings was 1.22%. Chromosome number of these seedlings varied from 20 to 200. Variation of the frequencies of polyembryonic seedlings and polyploid progeny among abnormal seedlings suggested that the mechanism(s) controlling the characters of polyembryony and formation of polyploids was associated with thems1 gene and was affected by other gene(s) or environmental factors.
Mass transfer in supported forths

Operating and mass transfer characteristics are reported for a supported froth apparatus consisting of a dual-flow sieve plate column with eggcrate packing above the plate. The assembled packing produced a series of vertical tubes and served to support the froth generated at the plate, increasing its height and consequently the contact time. Addition of the packing improved the mass transfer efficiency. Systems studied were ammonia–air–water and carbon dioxide–air–water. Effects of liquid and gas rate as well as packing size and spacing are correlated. A model based on measurable physical parameters was developed to predict efficiency, and a generalized correlation of efficiency was developed.
Extracellular Enzyme Activities and Carbon Chemistry as Drivers of Tropical Plant Litter Decomposition

Litter quality parameters such as nitrogen and lignin content correlate with decomposition rates at coarse scales, but finescale mechanisms driving litter decomposition have proven more difficult to generalize. One potentially important driver of decomposition is the activity of extracellular enzymes that catalyze the degradation of complex compounds present in litter. To address the importance of this mechanism, we collected 15 Hawaiian plant litter types and decomposed them in fertilized and control plots for up to two years. We measured litter nutrient content and carbon chemistry prior to decomposition, as well as extracellular enzyme activities, mass loss, and litter nutrient content over time. We found that water-soluble carbon content, cellobiohydrolase activities, and polyphenol oxidase activities were significantly correlated with mass loss. Enzyme activities and decomposition rate constants both varied significantly by litter type, and fertilization increased mass loss rates in five litter types. Some litter types that decayed faster under fertilization also showed timedependent increases in carbon-degrading enzyme activities, but others decayed faster independent of enzyme changes. These results suggest that extracellular enzyme activities partially determine litter decomposition rates, but high soluble carbon content may circumvent the requirement for enzyme-catalyzed decomposition.
Pressure effects on transient plasma discharge in air

Summary form only given. Nanosecond scale pulsed high voltage discharges in air/fuel mixtures can generate radicals which in turn have been shown to improve combustion efficiency in gasoline fueled internal combustion engines. We are exploring the possibility to extend such transient plasma generation and expected radical species generation to the range of pressures encountered in compression-ignition (diesel) engines having compression ratios of ~20:1, thereby improving lean burning efficiency and extending the range of lean combustion. Our preliminary experiments on streamer propagation velocities have shown deviations from simple (pd = const.) based similarity law in the pressure range of 1-8 bar in synthetic air [1]. Here we report the results of streamer propagation experiments in the extended range of air pressures, 8-20 bar. In order to extend our work to 20 bar, the pulse generator output voltage is increased to 80 kV and pulse width is adjusted to match the streamer propagation time across the gap. The gap size is reduced to 1 mm and so does the anode radius to maintain similar electric field distribution. Optical data obtained from PI-MAX 3 ICCD camera is complemented with electrical measurements to deduce average streamer velocities. An empirical scaling factor will be derived and will be beneficial for electrode and pulse generator design in Transient Plasma Assisted Internal Combustion experiments.
The Promise of Nanocomposite Thermoelectric Materials

The concept of using nanocomposite thermoelectric materials in bulk form for practical applications is presented. Laboratory studies have shown the possibilities of nanostructures to yield large reductions in the thermal conductivity while at the same time increasing the power factor. Theoretical studies have suggested that structural ordering in nano-systems is not necessary for the enhancement of ZT, leading to the idea of using nanocomposites as a practical scale-up technology for making bulk thermoelectric materials with enhanced ZT values. Specific examples are presented of nanocomposite thermoelectric materials developed by our group based on the familiar silicon germanium system, showing enhanced thermoelectric performance through nano-structuring.
Preliminary Investigation on the Association between Depressive Symptoms and Driving Performance in Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) patients commit many errors on driving simulation tasks and cognitive dysfunction appears to be one important contributor to impaired driving in HF. Clinical modifiers of cognition may also play a key role. In particular, depression is common in HF patients, linked with cognitive dysfunction, and contributes to reduced driving fitness in non-HF samples. However, the associations among depressive symptoms, cognition, and driving in HF are unclear. Eighteen HF patients completed a validated simulated driving scenario, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and a cognitive test battery. Partial correlations controlling for demographic and medical confounds showed higher BDI-II score correlated with greater number of collisions, centerline crossings, and % time out of lane. Increased depressive symptoms correlated with lower attention/executive function, and reduced performance in this domain was associated with a greater number of collisions, centerline crossing, and % time out of lane. Depressive symptoms may be related to poorer driving performance in HF, perhaps through association with cognitive dysfunction. However, larger studies with on-road testing are needed to replicate our preliminary findings before recommendations for clinical practice can be made.
Mad men, women and steroid cocktails: a review of the impact of sex and other factors on anabolic androgenic steroids effects on affective behaviors

For several decades, elite athletes and a growing number of recreational consumers have used anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) as performance enhancing drugs. Despite mounting evidence that illicit use of these synthetic steroids has detrimental effects on affective states, information available on sex-specific actions of these drugs is lacking. The focus of this review is to assess information to date on the importance of sex and its interaction with other environmental factors on affective behaviors, with an emphasis on data derived from non-human studies. The PubMed database was searched for relevant studies in both sexes. Studies examining AAS use in females are limited, reflecting the lower prevalence of use in this sex. Data, however, indicate significant sex-specific differences in AAS effects on anxiety-like and aggressive behaviors, interactions with other drugs of abuse, and the interplay of AAS with other environmental factors such as diet and exercise. Current methods for assessing AAS use have limitations that suggest biases of both under- and over-reporting, which may be amplified for females who are poorly represented in self-report studies of human subjects and are rarely used in animal studies. Data from animal literature suggest that there are significant sex-specific differences in the impact of AAS on aggression, anxiety, and concomitant use of other abused substances. These results have relevance for human females who take these drugs as performance-enhancing substances and for transgender XX individuals who may illicitly self-administer AAS as they transition to a male gender identity.
Improving Protein Fold Recognition by Deep Learning Networks

For accurate recognition of protein folds, a deep learning network method (DN-Fold) was developed to predict if a given query-template protein pair belongs to the same structural fold. The input used stemmed from the protein sequence and structural features extracted from the protein pair. We evaluated the performance of DN-Fold along with 18 different methods on Lindahl’s benchmark dataset and on a large benchmark set extracted from SCOP 1.75 consisting of about one million protein pairs, at three different levels of fold recognition (i.e., protein family, superfamily, and fold) depending on the evolutionary distance between protein sequences. The correct recognition rate of ensembled DN-Fold for Top 1 predictions is 84.5%, 61.5%, and 33.6% and for Top 5 is 91.2%, 76.5%, and 60.7% at family, superfamily, and fold levels, respectively. We also evaluated the performance of single DN-Fold (DN-FoldS), which showed the comparable results at the level of family and superfamily, compared to ensemble DN-Fold. Finally, we extended the binary classification problem of fold recognition to real-value regression task, which also show a promising performance. DN-Fold is freely available through a web server at http://iris.rnet.missouri.edu/dnfold.
Trade and Mobility:The Political Economy of Interindustry Labor Mobility in Globalization

Globalization has become part of the structural reality of the modern political economy with which governments either have to engage carefully or ignore with great cost. Existing literature has proposed the compensation (Cameron 1978) or social risk insurance (Rodrik 1997) hypotheses to explain the government response to increasing involvement in globalization of trade. In this paper I discuss an under-explored relationship between involvement to international trade and levels of interindustry labor mobility. From a general equilibrium model I show that interindustry labor mobility can have implications on income distribution among labor owners. High labor mobility levels entail that all labor owners across industries will earn similar income commensurate with their labor market skills regardless of the differentiating impact of globalization, hence alleviating the negative consequences of globalization; on the other hand, low labor mobility levels tend to do the opposite and aggravate the negative distributional effects of globalization. I distinguish two scenarios based on different assumptions about the endogeneity of interindustry labor mobility. In both scenarios I expect countries more involved in globalization to have higher labor mobility levels. In discussing the possibility of endogenous labor mobility, I explore what policies can change labor mobility levels in what directions. I test these claims on both OECD and global samples. In empirical analysis, I make use of a newly constructed dataset on interindustry labor mobility levels of all countries from 1961 to 2003.
Retirement Funds in Bankruptcy: Clark v. Rameker

This article discusses whether those individuals who have filed for protection under Federal bankruptcy law should be permitted to shield funds in inherited Individual Retirement Accounts ("IRAs") from their creditors. Recently, two U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals issued opposing opinions about this issue. On November 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Clark v. Rameker. Oral arguments were made before the U.S Supreme Court on Monday, March 24, 2014 in this case, so a determination of this issue should be forthcoming in 2014. This article describes the relevant statutes and cases, and it analyzes arguments and public policy surrounding the issue.
"TBD": A Flexible Technology Training Model for Smaller Campuses

When scheduling training workshops on small college campuses, it can be difficult to accommodate the varied schedules of faculty and staff. In 2012, the IT department at Lewis & Clark College moved from a pre-determined schedule of training classes to a mix of scheduled workshops and "TBD" (To Be Determined) classes scheduled based on interest and availability. This change, along with adding on-demand resources such as screencasts and lynda.com, has enabled us to respond better to the training needs of our campus community and created opportunities for long-term engagement. This paper examines the factors we considered when making these adjustments to our training workshop schedule and the campus response (which has been mostly positive). Also it will discuss plans to further integrate face-to-face training with on-demand resources through "curated" lynda.com lesson plans used in conjunction with 1:1 individual consulting.
Beam instability issues of the 50 GeV × 50 GeV muon collider ring

Single bunch instabilities for the $50\mathrm{GeV}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}50\mathrm{GeV}$ muon collider are discussed. An impedance budget of the collider is estimated. A phase-slip factor of $|\ensuremath{\eta}|=1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ is desired to avoid excessive rf systems. Potential-well distortion of a smooth bunch can be compensated by rf cavities. Accumulated growth in energy due to imperfections and noises in the muon bunch can be reduced by smoothing the bunch distribution before injection. The growth due longitudinal microwave instability is small because of the compensated rf cavities, the finite lifetime of the muons, and the choice of a small $|\ensuremath{\eta}|$. Beamloadings in the compensating rf cavities are large and suitable feed-forward cancellation is required. Transverse microwave instability can be damped by chromaticities and octupoles. Beam breakup can be cured by Balakin-Novokhatsky-Smirnov damping in principle, but is nontrivial in practice. When beam breakup is small, it can possibly be damped by a betatron tune spread in the beam.
Evaluation of a synthetic pyrethroid for control of stable flies and horn flies on cattle.

A synthetic pyrethroid ( m -phenoxybenzyl cis, trans- (±)-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate) received from FMC Corporation as 2 isomer ratios designated FMC 33297 and FMC 41655 was highly effective against stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), and horn flies, Haematobia irritans (L.), on cattle. In the preliminary test (spot test), as low as 0.0075% AI applied to a small area of a steer controlled stable flies for 8 days posttreatment. In secondary tests (large-cage test), whole-animal sprays of 0.05% AI controlled stable flies for 7–10 days and horn flies for 17–42 days. In field tests, whole-animal sprays of 0.05% AI controlled horn flies (25 or fewer flies/animal) ca. 20 days, whereas the standard, 0.5% methoxychlor, controlled horn flies less than 10 days.
Control of a Turbine Tip Leakage Vortex Using Casing Vortex Generators

An experiment was conducted in a linear cascade of Pak-B blades to simulate the ∞ow in the tip-gap region of a low pressure turbine blade row, and investigate the sensitivity of the ∞ow to casing-mounted passive and active vortex generators. The inlet Reynolds number was 5£10 5 corresponding to an inlet Mach number of 0.2 and an exit Mach number of 0.3. The gap-to-chord ratio was 5%. The ∞ow was documented using blade-tip static pressure measurements and downstream total pressure loss coe‐cients. Additionally, surface ∞ow visualization was performed on the cascade end-wall for a greater understanding of the gap∞ow behavior. These measurement techniques were used to investigate the response of the ∞ow to passive ∞ow control using vortex generators located on the cascade end-wall. The vortex generators were designed to produce vorticity of opposite sign of the tip-leakage vortex. Vortex generators that were of the height and roughly half the height of the clearance gap were investigated. Additionally, two placements of the vortex generator were investigated: on the wall directly across from the trailing edge of the blade and approximately 0.25cx upstream of the trailing edge. All investigated placements and sizes of the passive vortex generators reduced the total pressure loss associated with the tip leakage vortex. A 25% reduction was achieved with both heights of the vortex generators when placed at the upstream location. When placed at the trailing edge, the shorter vortex generator resulted in a 15% reduction of total pressure loss associated with the tip leakage vortex, and the taller vortex generator resulted in a 20% reduction. The sensitivity of the ∞ow to the passive devices was used to determine placement and design of a plasma actuator on the end-wall as an active ∞ow control mechanism. Three plasma actuators were investigated, one of which resulted in a 7% decrease in total pressure loss associated with the tip leakage vortex.
How Advertorials Deactivate Advertising Schema MTurk-Based Experiments to Examine Persuasion Tactics and Outcomes in Health Advertisements

Advertorials—advertisements camouflaged as editorial material—are a pervasive advertising strategy. Presentational features of advertorials, such as a small or omitted advertisement label and useful information presented in an editorial format prior to promoting a product, are likely to give impressions to readers that the reading material is a useful resource rather than advertising material. We examined the cognitive and persuasive effects of health product–related advertorials based on a schema-laden information processing model framework. Study 1 (n = 337) found that advertorials were less likely to trigger advertising schema, especially consumer awareness of persuasive intent. Study 2 (n = 336) found that the structure presenting useful information before advertising a related product decreased consumer skepticism. Overall, readers exhibited more positive attitudes toward advertorials than they did toward traditional advertisements due to decreased awareness of persuasive intent (Study 1) and adverto...
Anatomy and Physiology of Erection, Ejaculation, and Orgasm

Male sexual dysfunction encompasses erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory disorders, male endocrinopathies, and alterations in orgasm. These conditions are accompanied by significant psychological burdens for men, their partners, and the couple’s relationship. Recognition of these conditions as alterations of normal erectile function stems from a growing understanding of the anatomy and physiology of erection, ejaculation, and male orgasm. Development and delivery of effective treatment requires the practitioner to understand the form and function of these systems within the male. This chapter provides a current understanding of the anatomy and physiology of male sexual function as a basis for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of erectile and sexual dysfunction.
Diversity in American biology, 1900-1940

This paper argues both that the decentralized and democratic context in the United States prior to World War II encouraged the development of diverse approaches, programs, and institutional supports for the biological sciences, and that the resulting pluralism is consistent with the complex and messy ways that science is used in a democratic society. This is not a claim that only U.S. science experiences such diversity, nor that the way science plays out in our American form of modified constitutional democracy, are unique. Rather, my intention is to underline the particular character of the diversity and its implications for science and to begin further discussion of this phenomenon. I challenge others to pursue comparative analysis for other places and times, so that we can begin to explore more deeply what meaning this diversity - or the lack thereof - holds for science more generally.