cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Geomorphic Morphometric Differences between Populations of Speyeria diana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The wing shape of butterflies can be used as a character to measure individual butterfly and population-level differences in adult forms. We conducted a geometric morphometric analysis of wing shape for Speyeria diana (Cramer & Stoll 1777) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), a species currently threatened by extirpation across portions of its range. We photographed and digitized 243 pinned S. diana specimens from natural history museums in North America and Europe to compare wing shape and size across the historical and current distribution. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to compare variation in landmarks on forewings and hind wings. We used the principal component scores in a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) to test for differences, and interactions, between male and female specimens, eastern and western specimens, low and high elevation specimens, and specimens collected before and after 1950. We found significant differences between wing shape in male and female specimens, with male forewings being narrower and more elongated, possibly making them well suited for patrolling behavior. Female forewings were more rounded and wider, possibly reflecting their life history, because much of their life is spent on the forest floor in search of oviposition sites. We found significant regional differences in male forewing shape, reflecting the long-term geographic and genetic separation between these groups. We also found significant differences in female forewing shape between low and high elevation sites. Speyeria diana female forewings from high elevation populations were narrower than low elevation populations, indicating that these females may be more mobile than those from low elevations with wider forewings. There were no effects of yr since capture of specimens. The wing shape of western populations of S. diana appears to be adapted for low dispersal, supporting other recent findings that also indicate western populations of S. diana are both spatially and genetically isolated. We conclude that the future of S. diana will require the thoughtful preservation of well-connected high elevation habitats, especially in the western distribution where dispersal is more limited than in the east.
Rethinking Debugging as Productive Failure for CS Education

Computational thinking has become the calling card for re-introducing coding into schools. While much attention has focused on how students engage in designing systems, applications, and other computational artifacts as a measure of success for computational thinking, far fewer efforts have focused on what goes into remediating problems in designing systems and interactions because learners invariably make mistakes that need fixing-or debugging. In this panel, we examine the often overlooked practice of debugging that presents significant learning challenges (and opportunities) to students in completing assignments and instructional challenges to teachers in helping students to succeed in their classrooms. The panel participants will review what we know and don't know about debugging, discuss ways to conceptualize and study debugging, and present instructional approaches for helping teachers and students to engage productively in debugging situations.
Composted Turkey Litter: I. Effect on Chemical and Physical Properties of a Pine Bark Substrate

Abstract Cotoneaster dammeri C.K. Schneid. ‘Skogholm’ and Hemerocallis sp. ‘Red Magic’ plants were potted into a pine bark substrate amended with 0, 4, 8, 12, or 16% (by vol.) composted turkey litter and were grown under 1-, 2-, or 3-day irrigation frequencies. Compost increased container capacity and available water 12-16% and 17-30%, respectively, compared to pine bark alone (0% compost). Unavailable water and bulk density increased with increasing compost rate, while air space decreased. Total porosity was unaffected by compost addition. Substrate solutions were extracted from the ‘Skogholm’ cotoneaster containers via the pour-through nutrient extraction method at 0, 18, 36, 54, 78, and 102 days after initiation. Ammonium, NO3, P, K, Ca, Mg, and micronutrient substrate solution concentrations increased with decreased irrigation frequency due to decreased leaching. Substrate nutrient concentrations and pH increased with increasing rate of compost addition. Compost provided adequate nutrient supplies thr...
Transcriptomic Profiling of Adipose Derived Stem Cells Undergoing Osteogenesis by RNA-Seq

Adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) are multipotent in nature that can be differentiated into various cells lineages such as adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic. The commitment of a cell to differentiate into a particular lineage is regulated by the interplay between various intracellular pathways and their resultant secretome. Similarly, the interactions of cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the ECM bound growth factors instigate several signal transducing events that ultimately determine ASC differentiation. In this study, RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to identify the transcriptome profile of osteogenic induced ASCs to understand the associated genotype changes. Gene ontology (GO) functional annotations analysis using Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) bioinformatics resources on the differentially expressed genes demonstrated the enrichment of pathways mainly associated with ECM organization and angiogenesis. We, therefore, studied the expression of genes coding for matrisome proteins (glycoproteins, collagens, proteoglycans, ECM-affiliated, regulators, and secreted factors) and ECM remodeling enzymes (MMPs, integrins, ADAMTSs) and the expression of angiogenic markers during the osteogenesis of ASCs. The upregulation of several pro-angiogenic ELR+ chemokines and other angiogenic inducers during osteogenesis indicates the potential role of the secretome from differentiating ASCs in the vascular development and its integration with the bone tissue. Furthermore, the increased expression of regulatory genes such as CTNNB1, TGBR2, JUN, FOS, GLI3, and MAPK3 involved in the WNT, TGF-β, JNK, HedgeHog and ERK1/2 pathways suggests the regulation of osteogenesis through interplay between these pathways. The RNA-Seq data was also validated by performing QPCR on selected up- and down-regulated genes (COL10A1, COL11A1, FBLN, FERMT1, FN1, FOXF1, LAMA3, LAMA4, LAMB1, IGF1, WNT10B, MMP1, MMP3, MMP16, ADAMTS6, and ADAMTS14).
Long-Term Memory Deficits and Early Onset Dementia in Aging Adult Survivors of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treated with Cranial Irradiation

Abstract Abstract 664 Background: Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who received prophylactic cranial radiation therapy (CRT) are at increased risk for deficits in neurocognitive skills, including attention, working memory and processing speed. As survivors age, global brain injury from CRT may reduce cognitive reserve, placing them at risk for early onset dementia or long-term memory deficits. The prevalence of dementia and memory abnormalities in adult survivors of childhood ALL has not previously been established. Methods: Analyses were conducted on 265 of 445 (60%) eligible survivors of childhood ALL (median age 36 years, range 26–54 years; 52% female) treated with 18Gy (n=127) or 24Gy (n=138) CRT with a median time from CRT of 30 years (range 15–46 years). Participants completed the Wechsler Memory Scale IV, including the Brief Cognitive Status Exam (BSCE), and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). Age-adjusted standard scores were calculated and the BSCE was also adjusted for education level. Prevalence of memory impairment ( Results: Survivors who received 24 Gy CRT had increased impairment on global measures of both short-term recall (33%; p Conclusions: Aging adult survivors of ALL who received 24Gy CRT have reduced cognitive status and significant impairment in short-term and long-term memory. There appears to be a dose response effect selective for long-term narrative and design memory, but not for short term narrative and design memory. These patterns are consistent with early onset of age-related (long-term) memory loss, and early stage dementia, yet at a median age of only 36 years. After 24Gy, survivors have the narrative memory equivalent to a 70 year-old in the general population. Survivors with memory impairment demonstrated reduced integrity on structural and functional neuroimaging in anatomical regions established as essential for memory formation and long-term recall. However, these memory impairments do not seem to affect functional status (employment rates) suggesting that, rather than frank dementia, deficits in middle adulthood are consistent with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Longitudinal evaluation of this population is needed as MCI often progresses into early onset dementia with age. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Reflections on the Death Penalty: Human Rights, Human Dignity, and Dehumanization in the Death House

A working definition of human dignity is developed and applied to the death penalty. It is argued that the death penalty is inherently dehumanizing and hence is a violation of human dignity.
A Stabilizer based Predictive Control Scheme for Smart Inverters in Weak Grid

This paper presents a self-stabilization mechanism based on finite-set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) framework for smart inverters operating in weak grid conditions. As weak grid's large parasitic impedance and low short-circuit-ratio (SCR) challenge the stable operation of grid-connected inverters. Specifically, the inverter may experience frequencies that might excite the LCL filter resonance phenomenon. The inverter stability collapses if this LCL resonance is triggered. To address this issue, a robust predictive controller is proposed that features a self-stabilization mechanism for smart inverters interacting with a weak grid. The proposed methodology utilizes the idea that in stiff grid conditions the grid current feedback (GCF) is stable and in weak grid conditions the inverter current feedback (ICF) is stable. Therefore, the proposed FCS-MPC toggles between GCF and ICF to achieve inherent LCL filter resonance damping. The toggling action between GCF and ICF is leveraged by comparing the moving RMS grid current with threshold current as a constrained in the proposed FCS-MPC cost function. The theoretical analyses are verified by several case studies for a single-phase grid-connected inverter. The analysis and results demonstrated that the proposed FCS-MPC operates well under weak, ultra-weak and stiff grid conditions.
Peran Keluarga dalam Pendidikan Anak pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19

The occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic virus caused the family's role in children's education to become increasingly strategic. Until now not many studies have examined the role of families in children's education. This study aims to analyze deeply the role of the family in children's education. This research is a qualitative ethnographic study. Data were collected using in-depth interview techniques and participatory observation. The data source is the primary source (both parents and mothers) approached by purposive technique and continued with a snowball. The data is then validated by source triangulation techniques and methods. The collected data is then analyzed using the interactive data analysis technique of the Miles and Huberman model, which consists of the stages of data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The results showed that there were 7 main roles of the family in children's education, namely: (1) The function of the faith; (2) Educational functions; (3) The function of socialization; (4) Protection or protection functions; (5) Affection function; (6) Economic functions; (7) Recreational functions. After going through a process of discussion with relevant theories and research results, it was found that the seven roles holistically had never been raised together before. This is a new finding from this research, where this finding will certainly be different from the findings if there is no pandemic, or if disasters occur in other forms. Abstrak Terjadinya pandemi virus covid-19 menyebabkan peran keluarga dalam pendidikan anak menjadi semakin strategis. Hingga saat ini belum banyak penelitian yang mengkaji peran keluarga dalam pendidikan anak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis secara mendalam mengenai peran keluarga dalam pendidikan anak. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif etnografi. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan teknik wawancara mendalam dan observasi partisipatif. Sumber data adalah sumber primer (orangtua baik ayah maupun ibu) yang didekati dengan teknik purposive dan dilanjutkan dengan snowball. Data selanjutnya divalidasi dengan teknik triangulasi sumber dan metode. Data yang terkumpul kemudian dianalisis dengan teknik analisis data interaktif model Miles and Huberman, yang terdiri dari tahap data collection, data reduction, data display, dan conclution. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 7 peran utama keluarga dalam pendidikan anak, yaitu: (1) Fungsi keimanan; (2) Fungsi edukatif; (3) Fungsi sosialisasi; (4) Fungsi proteksi atau perlindungan; (5) Fungsi afeksi; (6) Fungsi ekonomi; (7) Fungsi rekreasi. Setelah melalui proses pembahasan dengan teori-teori dan hasil-hasil penelitian yang relevan, ditemukan bahwa ketujuh peran tersebut secara holistik belum pernah diangkat secara bersama-sama sebelumnya. Hal inilah yang menjadi temuan baru dari penelitian ini, di mana temuan ini tentu akan berbeda dengan temuan jika tidak terjadi pandemic, maupun jika terjadi bencana dalam bentuk-bentuk yang lain.
Involvement of HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a Genes in Dedifferentiation of Adult Mammalian Müller Glia.

Previous studies from this lab have determined that dedifferentiation of Muller glia occurs after eye drop application of an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, PNU-282987, to the adult rodent eye. PNU-282987 acts on α7 nAChRs on retinal pigment epithelial cells to stimulate production of Muller-derived progenitor cells (MDPCs) and ultimately lead to neurogenesis. This current study was designed to test the hypothesis that the activation of genes involved in the HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a signaling pathway in Muller glia leads to the genesis of MDPCs. RNA-seq was performed on a Muller glial cell line (rMC-1) following contact with supernatant collected from a retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell line treated with PNU-282987. Differentially regulated genes were compared with published literature of Muller glia dedifferentiation that occurs in lower vertebrate regeneration and early mammalian development. HB-EGF was significantly up-regulated by 8 h and expression increased through 12 h. By 48 h, up-regulation of Ascl1 and Lin28a was observed, two genes known to be rapidly induced in dedifferentiating zebrafish Muller glia. Up-regulation of other genes known to be involved in mammalian development and zebrafish regeneration were also observed, as well as down-regulation of some factors necessary for Muller glia cell identity. RNA-seq results were verified using qRT-PCR. Using immunocytochemistry, the presence of markers associated with MDCP identity, Otx2, Nestin, and Vsx2, were found to be expressed in the 48 h treatment group cultures. This study is novel in its demonstration that Muller glia in adult rodents can be induced into regenerative activity by stimulating genes involved in the HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a pathway that leads to MDPCs after introducing conditioned media from PNU-282987 treated RPE. This study furthers our understanding of the mechanism by which Muller glia dedifferentiate in response to PNU-282987 in the adult mammalian retina.
Microfluidic Fabrication of Phase-Inverted Microcapsules with Asymmetric Shell Membranes with Graded Porosity

Microcapsules with liquid cores and solid shells are attractive as dispersible protective micron-sized containers. Applications that rely on molecular mass transport often require a combination of ...
Female Employment, Occupational Status, and Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Family in Mexico

Studies of female participation in economic activities with remuneration in Mexico have shed light on the following: Between 1930 and 1970, total employment in Mexico increased 252 percent, the male labor force expanded 214 percent, and the female labor force about 1,034 percent. In proportion to total employment, the female labor force between 1930-70 quadrupled, while the male labor force diminished slightly. Nonetheless, in 1970 women represented only 19 percent of the total, and less than one-fifth of the women in Mexico aged twelve or over devoted themselves principally to the production of commodities in return for pay.
Challenges, Opportunities, and Interventions for Women Entrepreneurs

Dr./Mrs. or Chief/Mrs. Nike Okundaye or yet “Mama Nike” is used by most of the people who have come to know her and her work. One will think that with all the above titles that Mama Nike is one of the privileged African educated women, unfortunately, this is not the case.
Utility of fluoroscopy alone for monitoring of intrathoracic bleeding complications during transvenous lead extraction.

BACKGROUND Transvenous lead extraction (TLE) carries a significant risk of major complications, namely bleeding into the pericardial sac or thoracic cavity. While echocardiographic imaging has been recommended for intraprocedural monitoring for those complications, no studies had examined the potential benefits of fluoroscopy alone as an alternative to echocardiography. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of fluoroscopy for monitoring intrathoracic bleeding complications during TLE. METHODS This is a single-center retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent TLE of a pacemaker or ICD lead with fluoroscopy-only monitoring. At the beginning of each TLE procedure, baseline fluoroscopic images were obtained for both lung fields and the cardiac silhouette. Similar images were acquired again when hypotension develops during the procedure. RESULTS Fluoroscopy alone (without echocardiographic imaging) was used in 783 consecutive patients (54% women; average age, 71.5 ± 12.9 years) who underwent TLE. There were 93 patients (11.9%) who experienced significant hypotension. Fluoroscopy showed no obvious cause for hypotension in 63 patients. Right ventricular inversion was implied by fluoroscopy in 27 patients. Fluoroscopy detected new pericardial effusion in two patients and new right pleural effusion in one patient, which prompted halting the extraction procedure and therapeutic intervention. Additionally, routine fluoroscopic images revealed the development of an unsuspected new small left pleural effusion in one patient and a pericardial effusion in another. In-hospital mortality rate was 0%. CONCLUSIONS In selected patients undergoing TLE, fluoroscopy can provide valuable information for identifying or excluding cardiovascular causes during periods of intraprocedural hemodynamic instability.
The determinants of national innovative capacity

Abstract Motivated by differences in innovation intensity across advanced economies, this paper presents an empirical examination of the determinants of country-level production of international patents. We introduce a novel framework based on the concept of national innovative capacity. National innovative capacity is the ability of a country to produce and commercialize a flow of innovative technology over the long term. National innovative capacity depends on the strength of a nation’s common innovation infrastructure (cross-cutting factors which contribute broadly to innovativeness throughout the economy), the environment for innovation in a nation’s industrial clusters, and the strength of linkages between these two. We use this framework to guide an empirical exploration into the determinants of country-level differences in innovation intensity, examining the relationship between international patenting (patenting by foreign countries in United States) and variables associated with the national innovative capacity framework. While there are important measurement issues arising from the use of patent data, the results suggest that the production function for international patents is well-characterized by a small but nuanced set of observable factors. We find that while a great deal of variation across countries is due to differences in the level of inputs devoted to innovation (RD technological change: choices and consequences (O33); economic growth and aggregate productivity: comparative studies (O57).
Targeted gene expression profiling of inverted papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Inverted papilloma (IP) is a sinonasal tumor with a well-known potential for malignant transformation. The purpose of this study was to identify the genes and pathways associated with IP, with progression to carcinoma-in-situ and invasive carcinoma. METHODS To determine genes and molecular pathways that may indicate progression and correlate with histologic changes, we analyzed six IP without dysplasia, five IP with carcinoma-in-situ, and 13 squamous cell carcinoma ex-IP by targeted sequencing. The HTG EdgeSeq Oncology Biomarker Panel coupled with next-generation sequencing was used to evaluate 2560 transcripts associated with solid tumors. RESULTS Progressive upregulation of 11 genes were observed (CALD1, COL1A1, COL3A1, COL4A2, COL5A2, FN1, ITGA5, LGALS1, MMP11, SERPINH1, SPARC) in the order of invasive carcinoma > carcinoma-in-situ > IP without dysplasia. When compared with IP without dysplasia, more genes are differentially expressed in invasive carcinoma than carcinoma-in-situ samples (341 downregulated/333 upregulated vs. 195 downregulated/156 upregulated). Gene set enrichment analysis determined three gene sets in common between the cohorts (epithelial mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix organization, and coagulation). CONCLUSIONS Progressive upregulation of genes specific to IP malignant degeneration has significant clinical implications. This panel of 11 genes will improve concordance of histologic classification, which can directly impact treatment and patient outcomes. Additionally, future studies on larger tumor sets may observe upregulation in the gene panel that preceded histologic changes, which may be useful for further risk stratification.
The Impact of Coinfection Dynamics on Host Competition and Coexistence

AbstractParasites can mediate competition among host species in an ecological community by differentially affecting key parameters that normally give one species a competitive edge. In nature, howe...
Grapevine breeding in the Southern United States

Abstract Southern grapes have played an important role in the history of grapevine breeding. Bunch grape and muscadine breeders have been working in the South to develop adapted cultivars for more than a century. Most of these are muscadines, but a few bunch grapes continue to have a place. Improvement in many traits is possible for muscadines through breeding. Seedlessness plus thinner skins and more crisp textures could introduce this native fruit to a broader range of consumers beyond the Southern US. Major objectives for table grapes are resistance to fruit cracking, improved postharvest handling, improved flavors, better winter hardiness, better disease resistance, new flavor profiles, berry and cluster shapes, and skin and flesh textures. The South, perhaps more than any other region of the US, is in need of better cultivars to help expand muscadine and bunch grape production for fresh markets and wine.
Scattering Theory for Particles with Spin

For a point particle with spin, our plane wave solutions are of the form with coordinate representation,
Characterization of Intracellular Ca2+ Handling in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Isolated from Amputated Human Limbs

High Ca2+ scores assessed by computed tomography in the lower limbs of patients with peripheral artery disease are associated with a greater risk of amputation and all-cause mortality. Direct assessment of intracellular Ca2+ handling in peripheral vascular smooth muscle cells (VSM) of humans likely to undergo an amputation is unknown due to the invasiveness of such measures. We directly characterized intracellular VSM Ca2+ handling in arteries from amputated human limbs stratified by the number of diagnosed cardiovascular (CV) risk factors ( 6 CV risk factors). VSM were enzymatically isolated from peripheral arteries and were digitally imaged using the fluorescent intracellular Ca2+ indicator, fura-2. Cells were exposed to 80 mM K+ in physiologic Ca2+ to assess Ca2+ entry through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCC). Caffeine was used in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+ to release intracellular Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). VSM from patients with >6 CV risk factors had eleva...
Correlation preserving discretization

Discretization is a crucial preprocessing primitive for a variety of data warehousing and mining tasks. In this article we present a novel PCA-based unsupervised algorithm for the discretization of continuous attributes in multivariate datasets. The algorithm leverages the underlying correlation structure in the dataset to obtain the discrete intervals, and ensures that the inherent correlations are preserved. The approach also extends easily to datasets containing missing values. We demonstrate the efficacy of the approach on real datasets and as a preprocessing step for both classification and frequent item set mining tasks. We also show that the intervals are meaningful and can uncover hidden patterns in data.
Nyblade Receives 2012 Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service: Response

I would like to thank Peter Shearer for his citation and the Seismology, Geodesy, and Tectonophysics sections for this honor. Paul Silver was a friend and mentor, and so receiving this award is especially meaningful. I first met Paul in 1993 when I was a postdoc writing a National Science Foundation proposal to deploy a seismic network in Tanzania and recall his strong encouragement to not cut back on the size of the project in spite of the cost. The project, which was funded, helped pave the way for the development of AfricaArray more than a decade later, illustrating Paul's far-reaching influence on the community through his support of junior scientists.
A Confident Pluralism

The ongoing tension between religious liberty and gay rights is a striking example of our country’s profound and deep differences. But we are also divided over many other issues: immigration, criminal justice, abortion, contraception, poverty, and education, to name a few. Each of these differences pulls at the threads of a purported unity in pursuit of a “common good.” In light of our contemporary situation, this Article argues that we can and must live with deep and irresolvable differences in our beliefs, values, identities, and groups through a “confident pluralism.” A confident pluralism embraces a “right to differ” from state and majoritarian norms. It is rooted in the conviction that protecting the integrity of one’s own beliefs and normative commitments does not depend on coercively silencing opposing views.A confident pluralism seeks to maximize the spaces where dialogue and persuasion can coexist with deep and intractable differences about beliefs, commitments, and ways of life. It is based upon two normative premises. The first is a suspicion of state power, a view that operates primarily as a constraint upon government. The second is a commitment to letting differences coexist, until (and unless) persuasion eliminates those differences. The second premise suggests that it is better to tolerate than to protest, better to project humility than certainty, and better to wait patiently for the fruits of persuasion than force the consequences of coercion.Part I sets out the meaning and scope of a confident pluralism. Part II considers three of its aspirations: tolerance, humility, and patience. Part III examines the pluralist argument in the current political moment, and Part IV addresses its relationship to anti-discrimination norms. Part V suggests some of the legal and constitutional implications of a confident pluralism. Part VI explores more tentatively its implications for institutional pluralism, private monopolies, boycotts, and speech.
At War's End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict

All fourteen major peacebuilding missions launched between 1989 and 1999 shared a common strategy for consolidating peace after internal conflicts: immediate democratization and marketization. Transforming war-shattered states into market democracies is basically sound, but pushing this process too quickly can have damaging and destabilizing effects. The process of liberalization is inherently tumultuous, and can undermine the prospects for stable peace. A more sensible approach to post-conflict peacebuilding would seek, first, to establish a system of domestic institutions that are capable of managing the destabilizing effects of democratization and marketization within peaceful bounds and only then phase in political and economic reforms slowly, as conditions warrant. Peacebuilders should establish the foundations of effective governmental institutions prior to launching wholesale liberalization programs. Avoiding the problems that marred many peacebuilding operations in the 1990s will require longer-lasting and, ultimately, more intrusive forms of intervention in the domestic affairs of these states. This book was first published in 2004.
Spherical and Anisotropic Metallic Nanomaterials‐Based NSET Biosensors

The ability to integrate metal nanoparticles into biological systems has had a major impact in biology and biomedicine. The development of nanobased biosensors has increased tremendously over the past few years, as demonstrated by the large number of scientific publications in this area. In this chapter we discuss recent efforts in the development of a nanomaterials surface energy transfer (NSET) probe for sensing biomolecules. Such a probe can improve the analytical figures of merit, such as detection limits, sensitivity, selectivity, and dynamic range, relative to currently available commercial systems. Keywords: metallic nanomaterials; nanomaterials surface energy transfer; size-dependent; distance-dependent; biosensors; RNA folding; cancer detection
Modeling and designing powder mixing processes utilizing compartment modeling

Abstract Powder mixing has been the subject of research for a number of years due to its importance in a variety of industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals, food and consumer goods manufacturing. Although a number of different models have been proposed in the literature, most of them are either empirical or require computationally intensive calculations that make them difficult to implement for realistic systems. The aim of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of powder mixing utilizing a simplified framework based on compartment modeling that efficiently and accurately capture the system behavior. A V-blender is used as a case study in order to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach in characterizing mixing, whereas a continuous mixer is modeled in order to investigate the effect of different control strategies.
A new class of strongly photorefractive materials

Certain doped compound semiconductors exhibit persistent photoconductivity (PPC) at low temperatures as a result of the optical ionization of electrons from deep, spatially localized, donor levels known as DX centers. We calculate that this release of carriers also produces a refractive index shift (through the plasma effect) which is 30 times larger than that of conventional photorefractive materials, We report the results of diffraction measurements on samples of AlGaAs which support this prediction. The induced index changes can be erased by heating above an annealing temperature determined by the material composition. >
Nonwoven Fabrics, Staple Fibers

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the production methods, properties, and uses of nonwoven fabrics. The discussion includes a brief introduction, short history, and compilation of definitions of a nonwoven fabric. The processes used to manufacture nonwovens are grouped into four categories according to parent technology: textile, paper, extrusion, and hybrid, and into four sequences of operation: fiber selection, web formation, bonding, and finishing. Descriptions and illustrations of the manufacturing sequences follow. Production trends and product applications are discussed. Keywords: Definitions; Nonwoven processes; Fibers; Web formation; Textile cardings; Nonwoven cards; Web formation; Web consolidation; Needle punching; Disposables; Durables
Clinal variation explains taxonomic discrepancy in the calling songs of shield-back katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae: Aglaothorax).

Understanding the relationship between mating trait evolution and speciation requires data from a variety of taxa. I analysed the calling songs of the shield-back katydid genus Aglaothorax, which represents a little-known lineage of acoustic insects. Field-collected males of all described species and most subspecies were recorded under controlled laboratory conditions. Discriminant analysis was 90.5% successful in separating song types, but the song types thus delineated did not correspond to currently recognized taxa as defined by morphology. The discrepancy is caused by two species, Aglaothorax morsei and Aglaothorax longipennis, the songs of which vary in a cline across the Transverse Ranges and the Los Angeles Basin of southern California. From west to east, pulse rate and duty cycle decrease and interpulse interval increases. Selection for species recognition at a contact zone, sexual selection and interactions between signals and the environment are considered as causes of the cline. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101, 910–921.
Differential actions of follistatin and follistatin-like 3

Follistatin (FS) is an important physiological regulator of activin and other TGFβ superfamily members. The recently discovered follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3; a.k.a. FLRG; FSRP) shares significant structural and functional homology with FS, but also has some interesting differences, including a prominent nuclear localization. The existence of these two related proteins allows detailed molecular and biochemical comparisons of the biologic roles of their individual structural elements. Current studies indicate that the heparin binding sequence is essential for the ability of FS to inhibit autocrine activin but is not sufficient to confer this activity on FSTL3. Preliminary analysis of FSTL3 transgenic mice suggests that FSTL3 regulates gonadal development and function through inhibition of the paracrine activity of activin and/or other related factors. These studies have identified important structural elements necessary for biological activity of FS and FSTL3 and potential roles for FSTL3 in vivo.
Anti-inflammatory Properties of an Oxidized Sterol

A polar photoproduct of cholesterol oxidation, 7-ketocholesterol, was able to inhibit in a dose-dependent manner the mouse ear-swelling response to irritants such as croton oil or cantharidin. Its anti-inflammatory properties were much less than equivalent concentrations of hydrocortisone, but the oxidized sterol did not induce any systemic effects (as measured by thymolytic activity), as did topical hydrocortisone. It is concluded that 7-ketocholesterol has weak anti-inflammatory activity, and its mode of action may be different from that of glucocorticoids.
Customer-centric optimal resource reconfiguration for service outlets

How to optimally configure its service resources is always a key for the service providers to improve efficiency and quality of service. Fail to optimize service capability often causes long queues in many on-site service outlets, for example, retail stores, bank branches or government agencies. A first step to do service capability configuration is to identify and understand customer demand and preference. In previous research, these metrics are often obtained by general high-level (e.g. city level or district level) surveys which are not detailed enough for modeling specific customer experience at a given site. Further more, customer satisfaction is not considered as a key objective compared to cost and profit, which often leads to decisions that do not accommodate customer experiences adequately. A deep understanding of customer behavior will greatly help service providers achieve the commercial transformation from product-centric to customer-centric and enhance their market share and competitive strength. In this paper, we propose a customer-centric service resource reconfiguration method which identifies customer demand and preference from internal historical transaction data. Agent simulation is adopted to model the stochastic service processes and customer behavior in optimizing service resources.
1329 EFFECT OF MATERNAL DIABETIC CONTROL ON NEONATAL MORBIDITY

To determine the effect of timing and degree of diabetic control on neonatal morbidity, 115 insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) pregnancies were prospectively studied. Patients enrolled prior to 9 weeks gestation were randomly assigned to one of two groups with these management goals: I - strict control (FBS 60-80 mg%, 90 rain postprandial BS < 120) or II -customary control (FBS 80-100 mg%, 90 rain PPBS < 140). A group enrolled after the first trimester (HI) was managed identically to Group H. A nondiabetic group (IV) matched for race, gestational age, type of delivery and sex of neonate was analyzed for comparison. The following table lists percent incidence of neonatal complications: We conclude that: 1) strict control reduces the incidence of hypoglycemia; 2) early control reduces birth asphyxia regardless of the type of control; 3) timing and type of diabetic control do not appear to affect the other neonatal complications listed. * Clinical, chemical and radiographic criteria, a - IDDM vs. control, p < 0.05; b - strict vs. customary, p = 0.01; c - early vs. late, p < 0.001
Personal and clinical exercise-related attitudes and behaviors of freshmen U.S. medical students.

Abstract To determine personal and clinical exercise-related attitudes and behaviors of freshmen U.S. medical students, we surveyed 1,906 entering freshman medical students (response rate = 87%; average age = 24 years) in 17 U. S. medical schools. Students reported a median of 45 min/day of exercise, 80 min/week each of mild and moderate exercise, and 100 min/week of strenuous exercise. Nearly all students (97.6%) engaged in some moderate or vigorous exercise in a typical week. Sixty-four percent complied with U. S. Department of Health and Human Services exercise recommendations. Most freshmen (79%) believed it would be highly relevant to their future practices to counsel patients about exercise; predictors included intention to provide primary care, excellent health, prevention emphasis by their personal physician, and performing more strenuous exercise.
Leveraging Social Networks for Effective Spam Filtering

The explosive growth of unsolicited e-mails has prompted the development of numerous spam filter techniques. Bayesian spam filters are superior to static keyword-based spam filters in that they can continuously evolve to tackle new spam by learning keywords in new spam emails. However, Bayesian spam filters are easily poisoned by clever spammers who avoid spam keywords and add many innocuous words in their emails. Also, Bayesian spam filters need a significant amount of time to adapt to a new spam based on user feedback. Moreover, few current spam filters exploit social networks to assist in spam detection. In order to develop an accurate and user-friendly spam filter, we propose a SOcial network Aided Personalized and effective spam filter (SOAP) in this paper. In SOAP, each node connects to its social friends; i.e., nodes form a distributed overlay by directly using social network links as overlay links. Each node uses SOAP to collect information and check spam autonomously in a distributed manner. Unlike previous spam filters that focus on parsing keywords (e.g., Bayesian filters) or building blacklists, SOAP exploits the social relationships among email correspondents and their (dis)interests to detect spam adaptively and automatically. In each node, SOAP integrates four components into the basic Bayesian filter: social closeness-based spam filtering, social interest-based spam filtering, adaptive trust management, and friend notification. We have evaluated the performance of SOAP using simulation based on trace data from Facebook. We also have implemented a SOAP prototype for real-world experiments. Experimental results show that SOAP can greatly improve the performance of Bayesian spam filters in terms of accuracy, attack-resilience, and efficiency of spam detection. The performance of the Bayesian spam filter is SOAP’s lower bound.
Decimated Arrays For Spectrum Analysis

ABSTRACT We describe heterodyne spectrum analyzers that operate with a significantlyreduced number of photodetector elements. The technique is to decimate anN- element photodetector array by retaining only every Mth element. Wetime -share the remaining elements by scanning the spectrum across the decimatedarray. Each photodetector therefore produces, as a time sequence of samples, thespectral content of the received signal over its associated spatial frequency range. 1. BACKGROUND FOR THE HETERODYNE SPECTRUM ANALYZER The heterodyne spectrum analyzer consists of a conventional spectrum analyzer,modified to include a reference function in the Fourier plane.' Figure 1 shows aMach -Zehnder interferometer in which the lower branch contains a BraggFigure 1. Heterodyne spectrum analyzer cell in plane Pi driven by the signal f(t) that we want to analyze. The Fourier transform of this signal, created in plane P2, is given by 00 F(ol,t) = f a(x)f(t- T /2- x /v)e127tdX dx, (1) -00 SPIE Vol 936 Advances in Optical Information Processing III (1988) / 221
ON THE POWER OF A PERTURBATION FOR TESTING NON-ISOMORPHISM OF GRAPHS*

In this paper we prove an inverted version of A. J. Schwenk's result, which in turn is related to Ulam's reconstruction conjecture. Instead of deleting vertices from an undirected graphG, we add a new vertexv and join it to all other vertices ofG to get a perturbed graphG+v. We derive an expression for the characteristic polynomial of the perturbed graphG+v in terms of the characteristic polynomial of the original graphG. We then show the extent to which the characteristic polynomials of the perturbed graphs can be used in determining whether two graphs are non-isomorphic.
Language maintenance, the “ethnic revival” and diglossia in the USA 1

(1982). Language maintenance, the “ethnic revival” and diglossia in the USA. Journal of Intercultural Studies: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 5-24.
Modified technique for balloon valvuloplasty of critical pulmonary stenosis in the newborn

AbstractObjectives. We report our experience in eight consecutive neonates who underwent attempted balloon dilation as an initial therapy far critical valvular pulmonary stenosis, and we review in ...
Semantic-based delivery of OLAP summary tables in wireless environments

With the rapid growth in mobile and wireless technologies and the availability, pervasiveness and cost effectiveness of wireless networks, mobile computers are quickly becoming the normal front-end devices for accessing enterprise data. In this paper, we are addressing the issue of efficient delivery of business decision support data in the form of summary tables to mobile clients equipped with OLAP front-end tools. Towards this, we propose a new on-demand scheduling algorithm, called SBS, that exploits both the derivation semantics among OLAP summary tables and the mobile clients' capabilities of executing simple SQL queries. It maximizes the aggregated data sharing between clients and reduces the broadcast length compared to the already existing techniques. The degree of aggregation can be tuned to control the tradeoff between access time and energy consumption. Further, the proposed scheme adapts well to different request rates, access patterns and data distributions. The algorithm effectiveness with respect to access time and power consumption is evaluated using simulation.
Effect of hyper-osmotic stress on alanine content of Leishmania major promastigotes

Earlier studies showed that Leishmania major promastigotes are sensitive to osmotic conditions. A reduction in osmolality caused the cells to shorten and to rapidly release most of their large internal pool of alanine. In this study some effects of hyper-osmotic stress were examined. An increase in osmolality of the culture medium from 308 to 625 mOsm/kg caused only a small decrease in growth rate. When cells grown in the usual culture medium (308 mOsm/kg) were washed, resuspended in iso-osmotic buffer, and subjected to acute hyper-osmotic stress by addition of mannitol, the alanine content increased even in the absence of exogenous substrate. Promastigotes, depleted of alanine by a 5-min exposure to hypo-osmotic conditions, also synthesized alanine when resuspended in iso-osmotic buffer. Washed cells resuspended in iso-osmotic buffer consume their internal pool of alanine under aerobic conditions. Rates of consumption decreased on addition of mannitol, becoming zero at about 440 mOsm/kg. At higher osmolalities, alanine synthesis occurred. To estimate whether proteolysis could account for alanine synthesis in the absence of exogenous substrate, cells that had been grown with [1-14C]leucine were washed and resuspended under hypo-, iso-, and hyper-osmotic conditions and the amounts of 14CO2 and 14C-labelled peptides released in 1 h were measured. Little proteolysis occurred under these conditions, but the possibility that proteolysis was the source of the alanine increase, observed in response to hyper-osmotic stress, cannot be ruled out.
An experimental investigation of the performance of a thermionic converter with planar molybdenum electrodes for low temperature applications

Abstract Experiments are performed, which investigated the performance of a planar thermionic converter with molybdenum electrodes and 0.5 mm inter-electrode gap for low temperature, energy conversion applications. Results confirmed that for TE (3.0 W e /cm2) is 70% higher than that of the converter with a W emitter, at more than double the output voltage (0.43 V vs. 0.21 V) and at lower cesium pressure (∼105 Pa vs. 245 Pa). At TE=1700 K, TC=1000 K and TE=1600 K, TC=800 K, respectively, the maximum electric power density of the present converter is 25% and 50% higher and occurred consistently at lower cesium pressure and higher output voltage. At TE=1673 K and TC=973 K, an electric power density of ∼3.22 We/cm2 is measured at 0.49 V, PCs=241 Pa, and an estimated conversion efficiency of 12.4%. For the same electrode temperatures, however, the estimated peak efficiency of 15.1% occurred at a significantly lower PCs (140 Pa), at which the measured electric power density=2.27 W/cm2.
The effect of temperature on the shell-length growth of juvenile Mytilus edulis L.

Abstract Shell-length growth is measured several times in 5–7 wk of temperature exposure during spring (12–20 °C) and autumn (8–20 °C). The acute response to temperature exposure is an increase in shell-length growth with temperature. During the acclimation period, shell-length growth changes, and for acclimated mussels Mytilus edulis L., length-growth rate decreases with increasing temperature. For acclimated mussels, the maximum shell-length growth is recorded at the lowest experimental temperatures, i.e., 8 °C in autumn and 12 °C in spring.