cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chelated Chromium Electrolyte Enabling High-Voltage Aqueous Flow Batteries

Summary Widespread adoption of renewable energy is limited by the lack of low-cost long-duration energy storage. Redox flow batteries are an attractive option to provide this type of storage because their power and energy components can be scaled independently; however, systems commercialized to date have failed to realize this low-cost potential, primarily because of the cost and performance of the battery chemistry. Here, we resolve these challenges with a negative electrolyte comprised of earth-abundant chromium and an inexpensive chelating agent which operates at a more reducing potential than zinc while inhibiting hydrogen production. Utilizing this electrolyte, we report two of the highest voltage aqueous flow batteries, which have stably operated at room temperature and near neutral pH with high efficiency and high power density. These results demonstrate the ability of chelated metal complexes to prevent water coordination and establish a general method for inhibiting water splitting reactions at highly negative potentials.
Awareness of congenital cytomegalovirus and acceptance of maternal and newborn screening.

Objectives To assess awareness of cytomegalovirus (CMV); attitudes towards screening; and frequency of behaviors that could increase the risk of prenatal infection. Methods We conducted a survey among 726 women at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair. Minnesota residents aged 18-44 were eligible if they had never been pregnant or had been pregnant within the past 10 years. We compared responses between never-pregnant and recently-pregnant women. Results Only 20% of study participants had previously heard of CMV. Remarkably, recently-pregnant women were no more likely to be aware of CMV than never-pregnant women after adjusting for potential confounders. After receiving information about CMV, nearly all participants indicated they believed prenatal (96%) or newborn (96%) screening should be offered. Conclusions Although baseline awareness of CMV was low (even among recently-pregnant women), after learning more about the risks, women supported screening. Several states have passed or proposed legislation promoting CMV education and/or screening programs. We identified important gaps in knowledge about CMV among women who may benefit from education about how to reduce their risk of exposure and who may need to decide whether they would be willing to screen for CMV in the future.
Families OverComing Under Stress (FOCUS): A Family- Centered Preventive Intervention for Families Facing Trauma, Stress, and Adversity: Implementation with Military Families

Over a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq has deﬁned a rapidly evolving set of challenges for military families and their children. It is estimated that about 4 million children and adolescents have had a parent serve in the military since 9/11; many of these have spent much of their childhood with at least one parent leaving and returning in the context of danger. Some children have experienced the hardships of parental injury, illness, and even loss (for review, see Holmes, Rauch, & Cozza, 2013). With an increased risk for combat-related mental health problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as well as physical injuries in their families and extended communities, military children and families face unique and often sustained stressors that may inﬂuence child well-being over time in ways that are not yet well understood.
Risk-sensitive maternal investment: an evaluation of parent–offspring conflict over nest site choice in the wild

Parents increase their fitness by investing resources in offspring. However, such investment is costly for parents, leading to trade-offs, which should shift towards heavier investment in reproduction as females age and future reproductive opportunities decrease. Nests of aquatic turtles laid farther from water have higher survival than those laid closer to shore because nest predators often forage along environmental edges. However, the predation risk of adult females increases farther from water because water is used as refuge from terrestrial predators. Thus, females may balance investment in current offspring versus maternal survival and future offspring. To test whether investment varies depending upon perceived risk, we exposed 30 painted turtles, Chrysemys picta, to simulated predation by capturing and handling them shortly after females chose a nest site. We then released females, which fled to water, and allowed them to return to land and nest undisturbed. We compared the distance to water of nests laid before and after simulated predation. Unexpectedly, females did not vary distance to water in response to simulated predation. Regardless, nest sites chosen after simulated predation were more likely to be depredated than those chosen before simulated predation, suggesting that females altered nest site choice in ways we did not quantify. In addition, although older turtles nested almost twice as far from water as younger turtles, we found no evidence that age influenced maternal response to simulated predation. Our findings suggest that perceived risk of mothers to predation influences nest site choice and subsequently reduces offspring survival in C. picta. In addition, we provide a rare assessment of how plastic maternal investment might vary across reproductive life.
COVID-19 infection: Strategies on when to discontinue isolation, a retrospective study.

Objective Add to available understanding of COVID-19 to help decrease further spread of SARS-CoV-2 by providing protocol providers can consider when giving patients recommendations to retest as well as length of time for self-isolation. Methods We retrospectively collected data from the electronic medical record of patients in the Mayo Clinic Florida's COVID Virtual Clinic. Hundred and eighteen patients with detectable results for the virus were followed. Data reviewed in this study included (1) length of time from detectable to undetectable results; (2) length of time from onset of symptoms to undetectable result; (3) length of time from resolution of fever to undetectable result. Results Fifty-three percent of studied patients eligible for discontinuation of self-isolation had detectable viral RNA, and therefore, underwent repeat testing. In these patients, the mean from the date of their first detectable result to attaining an undetectable result was 14.89 days. The mean time for onset of symptoms to undetectable testing was 21.5 days. Conclusions Hundred and eighteen patients with detectable results for SARS-CoV-2 were followed in the Mayo Clinic Florida COVID Virtual Clinic; 53% of patients still showed detectable viral RNA despite meeting CDC guidelines for discontinuation of self-isolation, prompting us to propose following a more cautious guideline that other providers could consider as a strategy to discontinue self-isolation, including increasing length of days since symptom onset.
Advancing healthcare technology education and innovation in academia.

A national network of medical technology incubators provides experiential training for the next generation of medical entrepreneurs and enables creation of innovative technologies for pressing clinical needs.
Transmission Line Based on The Voltage Stability Control

This paper focuses on discussing, the transmission line networks need to be browbeaten ever more completely. The more efficient use of the transmission network has already led to a situation where many power systems are operated more often and longer close to voltage stability limits. A power system stressed. The transfer capacity of an existing transmission line network needs to be increased without central reserves and without compromising the power scheme's security. For voltage, stability can cause a system to collapse. At any point in time, the condition that operates a power system should be stable. There are various operational criteria that the system has to meet in order to function as required.Environmental and economic constraints make it possible for power systems to operate nearer to their stability limits. It is, therefore, both critical and challenging to maintain a system that is secure and stable. In recent years, planners and researchers of power systems have concentrated much of their attention on systems' voltage stability.
Masculinity at Work

Aspects of masculinity have implications for organizational dynamics and human relations in the context of gender at work. Those aspects include: relational styles, ways of caring, self-reliance, a worker/provider tradition, risk-taking, group orientation, use of humor, and (in some instances) heroism. First, a description of possible enactments of these aspects of masculinity in the workplace will be presented. Then, in addition to simply describing these aspects of masculinity, a more sophisticated approach will extend the scope and advance the conversation to explore the relationships these aspects of masculinities have to the daily lives of employees in the workplace, including the mismatches, the tensions, and the resistances such as retribution or imposter syndrome. Finally, the chapter concludes with a consideration for how these aspects of masculinity shape organizational workplace climate and behavioral norms in the workplace (i.e., masculinity contest culture), where implications might include behavioral, affective, or somatic responses such as anxiety and stress, aggression, adaptive or maladaptive risk-taking, avoidance of femininity, and so on.
Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction: Survey Findings of Healthcare Employee Wellness During COVID-19 Pandemic using ProQOL

Introduction. Healthcare systems are being bombarded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding burnout, compassion fatigue, and potential protective factors, such as compassion satisfaction, will be important in supporting the vital healthcare workforce. The goal of the current study was to understand the key factors of burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction among healthcare employees during the pandemic within the U.S. in April 2020. Methods. The authors conducted a single-center, cross-sectional online survey using the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Questionnaire and three open-ended questions around stress and responses to stress during COVID-19 at a large Midwestern academic medical center with nearly 16,000 employees. Results. Healthcare employees (613) representing over 25 professions or roles and 30 different departments within the health system were surveyed. Participants reported low levels of compassion fatigue and burnout, but moderate levels of compassion satisfaction. Compassion satisfaction was notably higher than prior literature. Key areas of stress outside of work included family, finances and housing, childcare and homeschooling, and personal health. Conclusions. This was a cross-sectional survey, limiting causal analyses. Also, based on the qualitative responses, the ProQOL was somewhat insufficient in assessing the breadth of stressors, particularly outside of work, that healthcare employees faced due to the pandemic. Although compassion satisfaction was elevated during the initial phases of the pandemic, providing some possible protection against burnout, this may change as COVID-19 continues to surge. Healthcare systems are encouraged to assess and address the broad range of work and non-work-related stressors to best serve their vital workforce.
Matched neurofeedback during fMRI differentially activates reward-related circuits in active and sham groups.

Background and purpose Functional MRI neurofeedback (fMRI-nf) leverages the brain's ability to self-regulate its own activity. However, self-regulation processes engaged during fMRI-nf are incompletely understood. Here, we used matched feedback in an fMRI-nf experimental protocol to investigate whether brain processes recognize true neurofeedback signals. Methods We implemented an existing fMRI-nf protocol to train lateralized motor activity using a finger-tap task in conjunction with real-time feedback. Twelve healthy, right-handed, adult participants were assigned into age- and sex-matched active and sham study groups. Matched participant pairs received the same visual feedback, based on brain activity of the participant from the active group. We compared group-averaged activation maps before, during, and after neurofeedback, and analyzed changes in lateralized motor activity due to neurofeedback. Results Active and sham groups demonstrated different brain activation to the same feedback during neurofeedback. In particular, there was higher activation in visual cortex, secondary somatosensory cortex, and right inferior frontal gyrus in the active group compared to the sham group. Conversely, sham participants demonstrated higher activation in anterior cingulate cortex, left frontal pole, and posterior superior temporal gyrus. Despite differing brain activations during neurofeedback, neither group demonstrated significant improvement in lateralized motor activity from pre to postfeedback scan in the same session. We also observed no significant difference between pre and postfeedback activation maps, suggesting that no significant finger-tap related functional reorganization had occurred. Conclusions These findings suggest that fMRI neurofeedback paradigms that monitor or incorporate activity from regions reported here would provide enhanced efficacy for research investigation and clinical intervention.
Effect of gravity on the shape of a droplet on a fiber: Nearly axisymmetric profiles with experimental validation

We study the effect of gravity on barrel-shaped droplets on fibers using theoretical analyses, numerical simulations, and experiments. By performing a perturbation analysis in the limit of small Bond numbers and small dimensionless droplet volumes, we formulate a nearly axisymmetric solution that describes the shape of the droplet. The leading-order solution yields the axisymmetric profile and the first-order correction incorporates the effect of gravity. We validate our solution by comparing droplet shape and contact line predictions with experiments and Surface Evolver simulations.
Reciprocal cross-sensitization between cocaine and RU 24969 in male and female preweanling rats.

Abstract Neuronal adaptations involving dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems are responsible for behavioral sensitization. Because of common underlying mechanisms, cross-sensitization between compounds of different drug classes can be observed. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a one- or four-day pretreatment regimen of RU 24969 (a 5-HT1A/1B receptor agonist) would reciprocally cross-sensitize with cocaine or methamphetamine in male and female preweanling rats. Rats were pretreated with RU 24969 (0 or 5 mg/kg) for 4 days (PD 17–20) and then challenged with cocaine (10 or 20 mg/kg) or methamphetamine (1 or 2 mg/kg) on PD 22. Reciprocal cross-sensitization was also assessed (i.e., rats were pretreated with psychostimulants and tested with RU 24969). In a follow-up experiment, the ability of RU 24969 and cocaine to reciprocally cross-sensitize was assessed using a one-day pretreatment regimen. Reciprocal cross-sensitization between cocaine and RU 24969 was evident in preweanling rats, whereas methamphetamine and RU 24969 did not cross-sensitize. When a one-trial pretreatment regimen was used, cross-sensitization was only detected when rats were pretreated with RU 24969 and tested with cocaine, but not the reverse. In sum, the present results show that the nonselective 5-HT1A/1B receptor agonist RU 24969 cross-sensitizes with cocaine, but not methamphetamine, in preweanling rats. This dichotomy may be a function of cocaine having a greater affinity for the serotonin transporter than methamphetamine.
Transfer of care for people with severe forms of thalassemia: Learning from past experiences to create a transition plan.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the need for developing standardized healthcare transition plans for persons with severe forms of thalassemia as life expectancy continues to improve. DESIGN AND METHODS This study utilized an original questionnaire to explore the factors that determined whether individuals residing in North America transferred their thalassemia care from a pediatric to an adult specialist, and what components they believed should be included in a healthcare transition plan. RESULTS Approximately one-third of respondents remained under the care of a pediatric hematologist, most commonly citing the thalassemia knowledge of the specialist as their reason for not transferring their care. Additionally, this group also reported more thalassemia-related services available at their healthcare facility, better access to flexible hours for blood transfusions and increased satisfaction with their care. Adults with thalassemia recommend enhanced communication between patient and provider and building opportunities for patients to assume the role of self advocate as key components for a healthcare transition plan. CONCLUSIONS There is an inconsistency in the transfer-of-care experience of adults with severe forms of thalassemia living in North America. Development of a healthcare transition program would benefit from the input of those who have gone through this process. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS A well informed healthcare transition program can enhance the quality of life of those with thalassemia. The training and educational background of nurses and genetic counselors make them uniquely qualified to guide patients on how to advocate for themselves and to ensure continuity of care during a healthcare transition.
Hematologic Conditions of Small Ruminants

Anemia is a clinically important syndrome in small ruminants. Anemia can be divided into regenerative and nonregenerative forms. Differentials for regenerative anemia include hemorrhage owing to gastrointestinal or external parasitism or hemostatic disorders, and hemolysis owing to infectious, osmotic, toxic, and nutritional causes. Differentials for nonregenerative anemia include inflammatory and chronic diseases, renal failure, pancytopenia, copper deficiency, and heavy metal toxicosis. Iron deficiency anemia can be caused by chronic gastrointestinal and external hemorrhage or nutritional deficiency and may be mildly regenerative or nonregenerative. Appropriate diagnostic tests are described along with treatments, including blood transfusion, parasite control, and prevention.
A Hierarchy for Replica Quantum Advantage

We prove that given the ability to make entangled measurements on at most $k$ replicas of an $n$-qubit state $\rho$ simultaneously, there is a property of $\rho$ which requires at least order $2^n / k^2$ measurements to learn. However, the same property only requires one measurement to learn if we can make an entangled measurement over a number of replicas polynomial in $k, n$. Because the above holds for each positive integer $k$, we obtain a hierarchy of tasks necessitating progressively more replicas to be performed efficiently. We introduce a powerful proof technique to establish our results, and also use this to provide new bounds for testing the mixedness of a quantum state.
Daughters and Lovers

Although the current psychodynamic understanding of personality development was founded on the child’s perception of the father, his protection and his power, the father himself was presented in static terms. He was there, and the child responded, projected, mis-perceived, incorporated, and wove a sequence of age-appropriate fantasies around its reactions. The mother, however, as her primary role was discovered, was conceptualized in much more dynamic terms: not only was she there and subject to the infant’s psychical uses, but she was “schizophrenogenic,” “binding,” “seductive,” “inadequate,” “overprotective,” “abandoning,” “cold,” or, at best, “good enough.” The dynamic interaction with fathers has yet to be codified. This chapter and the next are presentations by two fathers, a child psychoanalyst and a child psychiatrist, who describe and reflect their personal and professional experiences with the fathering of daughters.
A general multi-user undo/redo model

A general multi-user undo/redo model must satisfy several requirements. It must be compatible with an existing single-user undo/redo model, give individual users autonomy in executing undo/redo commands, support undo/redo of remote commands and the remote effects of local commands, be independent of the coupling, multicast, and concurrency control model, and allow undo/redo of arbitrary commands. We have developed a multi-user undo/redo model for meeting these requirements. The model constructs the command history of a particular user by including all local commands and those remote commands whose results were made visible to that user. It allows a user to undo/redo corresponding commands in the command histories of all users of a program. Moreover, it allows a user to undo/redo both symmetric user-interface commands and asymmetric collaboration commands. We have implemented the model in a collaboration system called Suite. In this paper, we motivate, describe, and illustrate these requirements and our model.
Peace: A Public Purpose for Punitive Damages?

There is widespread agreement that tort (and criminal) law developed historically as an alternative to violence. Given that pedigree, it is not surprising that preserving the peace would be pursued as a goal of punitive damages, as is claimed in several cases and law review articles. The precise relationship between peace and punitive damages is left relatively vague. However, a recent article by Professor Anthony Sebok can be used to fill in the details.Professor Sebok constructs a private-law theory of punitive damages that emphasizes two features. First, punitive damages are awarded for violations of only a certain kind of right: the right to dignity. Second, punitive-damages awards are personal punishment. This Essay argues that those features can also be used to explain punitive damages' role in preserving the peace. Violations of the right to dignity are the most likely to be met with violence. Furthermore, the punishment's personal nature maximizes the appeal of the legal system as an alternative to violence. However, three significant changes-the increased reliance on criminal law as a means of social control, the advent of corporations, and the establishment of a general social norm against violent solutions to serious conflicts-have substantially decreased the necessity of a pacificatory function for punitive damages.
We Don't Live Here Anymore: A Critical Analysis of Government Responses to the Foreclosure Crisis

Government responses to the foreclosure crisis, while often popular among the voters, have generally failed beyond their initial stages, disabling the natural tendency of the market to correct itself and, at their worst, contributing in part to turning entire neighborhoods into vacant wastelands of residential real estate. Successful solutions to such crises require careful consideration of the “ripple” effects of any proposed action. This article examines the history of the foreclosure moratorium, from the 1800s, through the Great Depression, and to the modern day, noting that the advent of the government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have changed the rules of the game for government intervention in the residential real estate market. The article continues, discussing the effects on “Main Street” of creating blanket delays to the foreclosure process, and it concludes by proposing a model for an effective foreclosure relief program.
Diet‐induced obesity alters immune cell infiltration and expression of inflammatory cytokine genes in mouse ovarian and peri‐ovarian adipose depot tissues

SUMMARY Dysregulation of immune cells and/or altered inflammatory signaling have been implicated with reproductive dysfunction. Physiological changes leading to perturbations in the profile of immune cells and/or pro-inflammatory cytokines in or around female reproductive tissue could potentially have profound effects on ovarian function. Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation due, in part, to increased immune cell infiltration and inflammation in visceral adipose depots. This study investigated the impact of diet-induced obesity on immune cell infiltration and inflammation in peri-ovarian adipose tissue and mRNA expression of key inflammatory markers and microRNAs (miRs) in ovarian tissue. Six-week-old female C57Bl/6J mice were fed a standard chow or high-fat diet (HFD; 60% kcal fat) for approximately 7 months, at which time peri-ovarian adipose tissue and ovarian tissues were collected. Histological analysis of peri-ovarian adipose tissue from obese mice revealed increased (P < 0.05) adipocyte size and the presence of crown-like structures, the morphological presentation of infiltrating immune cells in adipose tissue, along with increases (P < 0.05) in the mRNA levels of markers of T-cells, activated macrophages, inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines. Ovarian mRNA levels of Il1b, Il6, Tnfa, p55, p75, Ccl2, Ikbkb, and Rela were higher in obese tissue (P < 0.05), with a strong trend (P = 0.06) for an increase in Nos2 and RELA protein. Additionally, ovarian miR125b and miR143 levels were decreased (P = 0.1). These data demonstrate that diet-induced obesity elevates expression of inflammatory-mediator genes in both the ovary and surrounding adipose depot, potentially negatively affecting ovarian function. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80: 948–958, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Development of Very Low Frequency Self-Nulling Probe for Inspection of Thick Layered Aluminum Structures

Nondestructive evaluation technologies have recently been challenged to inspect thick, layered, conducting materials for fatigue and corrosion damage. Structures that fall into this class, such as airframe wings, pose significant difficulties for conventional inspection techniques. Reflections of ultrasound at layer boundaries cause serious problems for the application of ultrasonic inspection methods. Conventional eddy-current inspection techniques are also compromised due to the exponential decay of electromagnetic energy with depth into a conductor.
A Theoretical Analysis of the k-Satisfiability Search Space

Local search algorithms perform surprisingly well on the k -satisfiability (k -SAT) problem. However, few theoretical analyses of the k -SAT search space exist. In this paper we study the search space of the k -SAT problem and show that it can be analyzed by a decomposition. In particular, we prove that the objective function can be represented as a superposition of exactly k elementary landscapes. We show that this decomposition allows us to immediately compute the expectation of the objective function evaluated across neighboring points. We use this result to prove previously unknown bounds for local maxima and plateau width in the 3-SAT search space. We compute these bounds numerically for a number of instances and show that they are non-trivial across a large set of benchmarks.
The disempowering empowerment of children's consumer “choice”: Cultural discourses of the child consumer in North America

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore how discourses of children's empowerment through goods have emerged and function as a key narrative among many in children's commercial industries, particularly in the USA and Canada.Design/methodology/approach – The central philosophical and theoretical approach guiding this inquiry rests on the notion that the “child consumer” exists as a rhetorical figure which has an existence that is as consequential as “real,” biographical children. The child consumer arises from, and in many ways resides in, discourses produced by marketers, retailers, researchers and advertisers on the pages of marketing publications, often framing the imaginations and guiding the actions of advertisers, retailers, merchandisers and marketers. Articles from trade publications such as AdWeek, BrandWeek, Brandmarketing; KidScreen and Progressive Grocer, in addition to books written by marketers about the children's market since the 1990s, were examined.Findings – Three key themes – ch...
Dietary influences on the hepatic mixed-function oxidase system in the rat after portacaval anastomosis.

Studies were undertaken to determine the influence of diet on the hepatic mixed-function oxidase system in rats after portacaval anastomosis. Male rats fed either a cereal-based or purified diet underwent portacaval anastomosis. Weight gain after surgery was highly dependent on the diet. Because rats fed the cereal-based diet weighed 50% less at 4–5 wk after portacaval shunt surgery than unoperated controls fed the same diet, pair-fed unoperated controls were also studied. Rats fed the purified diet grew normally after shunting and therefore studies with this diet did not require pair-fed controls. Shunted rats fed the cereal-based diet had lower liver weights, hepatic microsomal protein concentrations, ethylmorphine N-demethylase, aniline hydroxylase, and cytochromes P450 and b5 when compared with corresponding values in unoperated controls fed the same diet ad libitum; comparisons with pair-fed controls indicated that decreased intake of the cereal-based diet could account for part but not all of the changes seen after portacaval anastomosis. It was shown in rats fed the purified diet that sham operation had no effect on the mixed-function oxidase system, whereas portacaval anastomosis resulted in reduced liver weight, microsomal protein, ethylmorphine N-demethylase, aniline hydroxylase, and cytochrome P450. In comparing shunted rats fed the two types of diet, in contrast with the effects of these diets in normal rats, these hepatic microsomal mixed-function oxidase system components were generally lower in the shunted rats fed the cereal diet. It is concluded that although decreased mixedfunction oxidase activity occurs after portacaval anastomosis in the rat, the diet can have an additional substantial influence. Dietary influences on drug oxidations may be an important consideration in drug therapy after portacaval anastomosis.
A strategy for active remote sensing amid increased demand for spectrum

Scientific users of the radio spectrum (such as earth scientists using remotely sensed data and radar astronomers) have an important stake in spectrum policy. To support the U.S. presidential initiative for Spectrum Management for the 21st Century, a presentation of current uses and future needs of scientific users of the spectrum was organized by the National Academy of Sciences. A committee of 16 experts in Earth remote sensing, ionospheric sensing, radar astronomy, and public policy met 4 times over one year to produce a report with consensus findings and recommendations.
Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass—a Surgical Approach for Anomalous Right Coronary Artery From Left Aortic Sinus of Valsalva

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left aortic sinus of Valsalva, although rare, has been associated with myocardial ischemia and sudden death. Methods of surgical correction include ostial reconstruction, excision and translocation of the vessel origin, and coronary artery bypass grafting. We describe a 39-year-old man with symptoms of myocardial ischemia and an anomalous right coronary artery in whom we performed the new, minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass procedure with use of the right internal mammary artery.
Cation effluxes associated with the uptake of TPP+, TPA+, and TPMP+ by Neurospora: evidence for a predominantly electroneutral influx process

Abstract Previously observed anomalies in the transport of lipid-soluble cations (LSI's) - presumed voltage-probe ions - by intact fungal cells [1] prompted a systematic investigation of ion exchanges induced by high (millimolar) concentrations of the particular species tetraphenylphosphonium ion (TPP+), tetraphenylarsonium ion (TPA+), and triphenylmethylphosphonium ion (TPMP+). With low extracellular free Ca2+ (no calcium added to the medium), influx of the LSI's was biphasic, indicating rapid entry into the cytoplasm followed by sequestration into a subcompartment. The latter process, especially, was strongly inhibited by extracellular Ca2+ (1 mM). Contrary to the expectation for electrophoretically driven entry of LSI's into fungal cells, no major efflux of protons (acidification of the medium) could be measured; in fact, significant alkalinization of the medium was observed. The major cellular inorganic cations, K+ or Na+ (under different conditions), were released during LSI uptake, but with kinetic behavior which clearly ruled out direct coupling to the uptake of TPP+, TPA+, or TPMP+. The major mechanism for entry of these lipid-soluble cations into Neurospora appears to be electroneutral diffusion in combination with one or more hydrophilic anions. Subsequent penetration of the fungal vacuoles would result in binding of LSI's to storage polyanions (viz., polyphosphate) and concomitant displacement of the normal vacuolar cations, such as basic amino acids and polyamines, thus leading to alkalinization of the extracellular medium. The observed effluxes of cytoplasmic K+ and Na+ should result independently from energetic changes (i.e., uncoupling of the mitochondria) and are most easily described by simple, but asynchronous, changes in the average rate constants for entry and exit of the alkali-metal cations.
OPTIMAL NEUROMUSCULAR CONTROL OF SPINE SYSTEMS

The goal of this work is to present methodology to first evaluate the performance of an in vivo spine system and then to synthesize optimal neuromuscular control for rehabilitation interventions. This is achieved 1) by determining control system parameters such as static feedback gains and delays from experimental data, 2) by synthesizing the optimal feedback gains to attenuate the effect of disturbances to the system using modern control theory, and 3) by evaluating the robustness of the optimized closed-loop system. We also apply these methods to a postural control task, with two different control strategies, and evaluate the robustness of the spine system with respect to longer latencies found in the low back pain population. This framework could be used for rehabilitation design as discussed at the end of the paper.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Firmness perception influences women’s preferences for vaginal suppositories

Microbicides are being actively researched and developed as woman-initiated means to prevent HIV transmission during unprotected coitus. Along with safety and efficacy, assessing and improving compliance is a major area of research in microbicide development. We have developed carrageenan-based semisoft vaginal suppositories and have previously evaluated how physical properties such as firmness, size and shape influence women’s willingness to try them. Firmness has previously been quantified in terms of small-strain storage modulus, G’, however large-strain properties of the gels may also play a role in the firmness perception. In the current study we prepared two sets of suppositories with the same G’ but different elongation properties at four different G’ values (250, 2500, 12,500, 25,000 Pa): For convenience we refer to these as “brittle” and “elastic”, although these terms were never provided to study participants. In the first of two tests conducted to assess preference, women compared pairs of brittle and elastic suppositories and indicated their preference. We observed an interaction, as women preferred brittle suppositories at lower G’ (250, 2500 Pa) and elastic ones at a higher G’ (25,000 Pa). In the second test, women evaluated samples across different G’, rated the ease-of-insertion and willingness-to-try and ranked the samples in order of preference. Brittle suppositories at G’ of 12,500 Pa were most preferred. In vitro studies were also conducted to measure the softening of the suppositories in contact with vaginal simulant fluid (VSF). Release of antiretroviral drug tenofovir in VSF was quantified for the brittle and elastic suppositories at G’ of 12,500 Pa to determine the effect of suppository type on release. The initial rate of release was 20% slower with elastic suppositories as compared to brittle suppositories. Understanding how different physical properties simultaneously affect women’s preferences and pharmacological efficacy in terms of drug release is required for the optimization of highly acceptable and efficacious microbicides.
Mixed aluminum and indium oxide cations: controlling reactivity

Abstract Direct laser vaporization of pellets made of aluminum oxide and indium oxide was used to form mixed-metal oxide cations in a Fourier transform mass spectrometer. Indium-rich species dominate the ion abundance distribution, even when a 17-to-1 molar ratio of aluminum to indium is used. The reactivity of two series of ions, Al x In y O + ( x + y =2) and Al x In y O + 2 ( x + y =3), with N 2 O and NO 2 was studied. The presence of indium in the reactant ion acts to strongly inhibit oxidation.
Micromechanics of solvent crazes in polystyrene

Double exposure holographic interferometry (DEHI) is used to determine the strain energy release rate, craze opening displacement profile, and craze stress profile ofn-heptane and methanol crazes growing from cracks in polystyrene.n-heptane crazes have strain energy release rates (SERRs) close to those of cracks and their stress profile is almost crack-like in that the tensile stress across the craze falls almost to zero. On the other hand, the SERRs of methanol crazes are only 30 to 55% the SERR of a crack depending on stress intensity factorK I of the precrack from which they are grown. The stress profile of the methanol craze shows it to be strongly load-bearing away from the craze tip, apparently as a result of the strain hardening of the craze fibrils. The stress concentration in front of the methanol craze tip is only 40% of that in front of then-heptane craze tip. The opening displacements of the methanol craze are almost as large as those of a crack very near its tip but are much less than those of a crack at large distances behind the tip. The Dugdale model of a strip yielding zone provides a poor representation of the craze opening displacements of the growing methanol craze. Dry (static) methanol crazes have larger opening displacements in response to an incremental tensile strain at moderate prestrains than at either low or high prestrains, suggesting that the craze fibrils undergo a yielding/strain-hardening process as the strain is increased similar to that observed in polycarbonate crazes by Kopp and Kambour. Dryn-heptane crazes do not show this response but rather open linearly with increasing prestrain. The opening displacement for long (dry)n-heptane crazes is almost crack-like whereas the largest opening of a dry methanol craze is only ∼ 20% of that of a crack. Dry methanol crazes break at aK IC that is ∼ 40% of theK IC of precracked but uncrazed specimens. The strongest (shortest) dryn-heptane crazes fail at only ∼ 7% ofK IC of uncrazed specimens and theK IC of the dryn-heptane crazes decreases markedly with increasing craze length.
Effect of Active Layer Morphology on Poly3-Hexylthiophene Phytochemical Chemiresistor Sensor Performance

Plants emit phytochemicals (volatile organic compounds) as a defensive mechanism to protect themselves from insect herbivores and parasites. One of the most common phytochemicals excreted in response to bark beetle infestations is $\gamma$ -terpinene. The goal of this investigation is to develop a simple, low-cost sensor that could be used to detect these volatile organic compounds and hence early stages of insect infestations. The sensor is composed of a silicon-based substrate with interdigitated electrodes and an active sensing film, poly3-hexylthiophene (P3HT). The effect of varying morphology of the P3HT film on sensor performance is investigated. Morphology of the P3HT thin film is varied by using different solvents and casting methods. The casting methods investigated are spin coating and drop casting. The solvents under investigation are chloroform and toluene. Chloroform is found to be a better solvent while spin coating is the better casting method. This paper also investigated the sensor mechanism of P3HT sensors. Atomic force microscopy images showed structures that are consistent with a model in which the resistance increase of the chemi-resistor sensors is due to adsorption of analyte within crystalline regions. This adsorption reduced the mobility of the charged carriers.
Kidney transplants in African Americans and non-African Americans: equivalent outcomes with living but not deceased donors.

Background. The outcome differences between ethnic groups after kidney transplantation have led to the characterization of African Americans (AA) as having high immune risk. Several multicenter clinical trials have reported better outcomes when AA receive higher doses of immunosuppression (I/S), suggesting pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) differences. However, the donor source has not been cited as an risk factor for outcome. Methods. Patient and graft survival rates of 469 AA were compared with 308 non-African Americans (nAA) who received kidney transplants between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2002, and were followed-up through December 31, 2003. Gender, age, and I/S protocol were not different between the groups. Based on outcomes, open and laparoscopic donor groups were combined for analysis. Deceased donor kidneys comprised 49% of the AA kidneys but only 32% of the nAA kidneys (P <.000). Kaplan-Meier survival statistics were used for both patient and graft survival. Results. Patient survival rates for AA compared with nAA at 1, 3, 5, and 7 years were not statistically different for living (log rank statistic, 1 df, P =.56) versus deceased donor kidneys (log rank statistic, 1 df, P =.15). Kidney graft survival rates for AA compared with nAA at 1, 3, 5, and 7 years for living donor were similar (log rank statistic, 1 df, P =.493), but significantly different for deceased donor kidneys (log rank statistic, 1 df, P =.026). Conclusions. The majority of living donation occurred between ethnically similar donor-recipient pairs, whereas deceased donors tended to be nAA. The difference demonstrated by donor source suggests that antigens may be more dissimilar or uniquely different between ethnic groups.
Effects of Inertia and Gravity on Liquid Plug Splitting at a Bifurcation

Liquid plugs may form in pulmonary airways during the process of liquid instillation or removal in many clinical treatments. During inspiration the plug may split at airway bifurcations and lead to a nonuniform final liquid distribution, which can adversely affect treatment outcomes. In this paper, a combination of bench top experimental and theoretical studies is presented to study the effects of inertia and gravity on plug splitting in an airway bifurcation model to simulate the liquid distributions in large airways. The splitting ratio, Rs, is defined as the ratio of the plug volume entering the upper (gravitationally opposed) daughter tube to the lower (gravitationally favored) one. Rs is measured as a function of parent tube Reynolds number, Rep; gravitational orientations for roll angle, phi, and pitch angle, gamma; parent plug length LP; and the presence of pre-existing plug blockages in downstream daughter tubes. Results show that increasing Rep causes more homogeneous splitting. A critical Reynolds number Rec is found to exist so that when Rep < or = Rec, Rs = 0, i.e., no liquid enters the upper daughter tube. Rec increases while Rs decreases with increasing the gravitational effect, i.e., increasing phi and gamma. When a blockage exists in the lower daughter, Rec is only found at phi = 60 deg in the range of Rep studied, and the resulting total mass ratio can be as high as 6, which also asymptotes to a finite value for different phi as Rep increases. Inertia is further demonstrated to cause more homogeneous plug splitting from a comparison study of Rs versus Cap (another characteristic speed) for three liquids: water, glycerin, and LB-400X. A theoretical model based on entrance flow for the plug in the daughters is developed and predicts Rs versus Rep. The frictional pressure drop, as a part of the total pressure drop, is estimated by two fitting parameters and shows a linear relationship with Rep. The theory provides a good prediction on liquid plug splitting and well simulates the liquid distributions in the large airways of human lungs.
LIMITATIONS OF THE IN VITRO PITUITARY INCUBATION SYSTEM AS AN ASSAY FOR ACTH-RELEASING ACTIVITY

The applicability of Saffran and Schally's in vitro pituitary incubation technique to the detection of the ACTH-releasing activity of blood serum fractions, obtained from intact, stressed, adrenalectomized, and stressed–adrenalectomized donor rats, was investigated. The various fractions assayed in this system were found to be markedly active. The activity, which bore no apparent relationship to the physiological state of the donors, was related in part to inhibition of ACTH inactivation, in part to enhanced release of ACTH by the incubated pituitaries. In view of the non-specificity of the observed responses, it is suggested that the increased in vitro release of ACTH may reflect passive leakage of the hormone, as opposed to true secretory activity, and the physiological significance of findings obtained with this method is seriously questioned.
Calcitonin gene-related peptide evokes fast and slow depolarizing responses in guinea pig coeliac neurons

Pressure application of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) evoked in a population of coeliac neurons three types of response: a fast, a slow and a biphasic depolarization consisting of the first two responses in sequence. The fast and slow depolarization exhibited distinct electrophysiological and pharmacological characteristics, suggesting that these two responses may be mediated by separate CGRP receptors. Moreover, our results show that CGRP is one of the few peptides known to date that cause a fast, sodium-sensitive depolarization.
Terminal nucleoside assay of ribonucleic acid by ligand-exchange chromatography☆

Abstract The nucleosides released from polyribonucleosides and RNA's by alkaline hydrolysis may be identified and quantitated by ligand-exchange chromatography on a copper-loaded chelating ion exchanger. With a suitably sensitive ultraviolet absorbance monitor and recorder, this analysis can be effected on as little as 10 nM of free nucleoside in 1–2 hr with an accuracy (standard deviation) of 3–4%. Dephosphorylation prior to alkaline hydrolysis allows the assay of nucleosides bearing primary phosphate residues in the 3′- (or 2′-) position. The method is useful in quantitating the nucleoside at the aminoacyl-accepting end of tRNA's.