cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of a maleimido spin label to detect conformational changes in cytochrome c oxidase

Abstract Spin labeling with a maleimido spin label has been used to investigate conformational changes of bovine cytochrome c oxidase. These experiments show that the spin label is immobilized to a lesser degree when the enzyme is in the “oxygenated” form than it is in the oxidized state and support the view that the oxygenated form is a conformational variant. Experiments in which the maleimido spin-labeled cytochrome c oxidase was titrated with H2O2 reveal that the peroxide-treated enzyme, although possessing an absorption spectrum similar to that of the oxygenated form, has an electron paramagnetic resonance (epr) spectrum that is different from that of either the oxygenated form or the oxidized state. Extremes of pH cause a marked decrease in the degree of immobilization of maleimido spin labels bound to the oxidase. Alterations in the epr spectrum are reversible if the pH is held between 5.3 and 10.2 but are irreversible outside that range. Urea and guanidine hydrochloride also decrease the immobilization of the spin labels bound to the oxidase. The nature of the epr spectra indicates that under these conditions the enzyme assumes a more open conformation. Exposure to concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate as high as 10% does not result in as much loss of the immobilization as with urea or guanidine. Detergents such as cholate, Tween 80, and Triton X-100 have no significant effect on the epr spectrum of maleimido spin-labeled cytochrome c oxidase.
Architectural interaction diagrams: AIDs for system modeling

This paper develops a modeling paradigm called Architectural Interaction Diagrams, or AIDs, for the high-level design of systems containing concurrent, interacting components. The novelty of AIDs is that they introduce interaction mechanisms, or buses, as first-class entities into the modeling vocabulary. Users then have the capability, in their modeling, of using buses whose behavior captures interaction at a higher level of abstraction than that afforded by modeling notations such as Message Sequence Charts or process algebra, which typically provide only one fixed interaction mechanism. This paper defines AIDs formally by giving them an operational semantics that describes how buses combine subsystem transitions into system-level transitions. This semantics enables AIDs to be simulated; to incorporate subsystems given in different modeling notations into a single system model; and to use testing, debugging and model checking early in the system design cycle in order to catch design errors before they are implemented.
The beauty of frost: nano-sulfur assembly via low pressure vapour deposition

A low pressure vapour deposition (LPVD) technique is proposed as an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and versatile strategy for fabrication of sulfur nanomaterials. By controlling the characteristics of the deposit substrate for the LPVD, various sulfur-based nanomaterials have been obtained through a substrate-induced self-assembly process.
Proline Residues in Cd28 and the Src Homology (Sh)3 Domain of Lck Are Required for T Cell Costimulation

The Src family tyrosine kinases Lck and Fyn are critical for signaling via the T cell receptor. However, the exact mechanism of their activation is unknown. Recent crystal structures of Src kinases suggest that an important mechanism of kinase activation is via engagement of the Src homology (SH)3 domain by proline-containing sequences. To test this hypothesis, we identified several T cell membrane proteins that contain potential SH3 ligands. Here we demonstrate that Lck and Fyn can be activated by proline motifs in the CD28 and CD2 proteins, respectively. Supporting a role for Lck in CD28 signaling, we demonstrate that CD28 signaling in both transformed and primary T cells requires Lck as well as proline residues in CD28. These data suggest that Lck plays an essential role in CD28 costimulation.
Patterns of depletion in a Kenya rhino population and the conservation implications.

Abstract The Amboseli black rhino population has been monitored closely over 13 years and its decline to near extinction levels parallels its fate elsewhere. The patterns and causes of decline are attributed directly to human agencies, initially resulting from changing social and political circumstances amongst pastoralists, recently due to poaching for horns. The general conservation implications are discussed and the need to contain the international trade in horns is considered the overriding priority, due to the difficulty and expense of eliminating poaching.
High-performance high-TC superconducting wires.

We demonstrated short segments of a superconducting wire that meets or exceeds performance requirements for many large-scale applications of high-temperature superconducting materials, especially those requiring a high supercurrent and/or a high engineering critical current density in applied magnetic fields. The performance requirements for these varied applications were met in 3-micrometer-thick YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ films epitaxially grown via pulsed laser ablation on rolling assisted biaxially textured substrates. Enhancements of the critical current in self-field as well as excellent retention of this current in high applied magnetic fields were achieved in the thick films via incorporation of a periodic array of extended columnar defects, composed of self-aligned nanodots of nonsuperconducting material extending through the entire thickness of the film. These columnar defects are highly effective in pinning the superconducting vortices or flux lines, thereby resulting in the substantially enhanced performance of this wire.
Recovering coal bed methane from deep unmineable coal seams and carbon sequestration

Published data from nearly 2,000 coal samples comprising 250 coal beds from 17 states, representing many of the coal producing horizons in the USA, shows moderate correlation (0.7) between depth and methane content for high volatile coal ranks. Low-volatile rank coals average the highest methane content, 12.74 m?/ton (450 ft?/ton), subbituminous rank coals the lowest, <0.71 m?/ton (<25 ft?/ton). Experimentation under replicated in situ conditions of triaxial stress, pore pressure and temperature on Pittsburgh No. 8 coal indicate permeability decreases with increasing CO2 pressure, with an increase in strain in the coal associated with its swelling.
Improved solid-state stability of salts by cocrystallization between conjugate acid–base pairs

The cocrystallization between a carboxylic acid and its conjugate base forms materials exhibiting improved physical and chemical stability over corresponding regular salts.
Color object indexing and retrieval in digital libraries

In our previous work, illumination invariant object recognition was achieved by normalizing the three color bands. We further employed the compressed histogram of the chromaticity to arrive at a valuable representation of an object which can facilitate high retrieval accuracy. The first shortcoming of this method lies in the usage of a uniform quantization scheme in obtaining the chromaticity, which is not in agreement with the perception of the human vision system. In this paper, we develop an approach using the CIE UCS transform to circumvent this problem. Second, instead of using uncompressed images to achieve the illumination invariant indexing and retrieval, we carry out our indexing process directly in the DCT domain by using several coefficients from each macro-block. Third, in light of the special properties of the normalized chromaticity histogram frames, the foundation of the ensuing low-pass filtering, an additional step is inserted to render this frame smoother thus resulting in a better data reduction. Fourth, in order to facilitate efficient retrieval during the data query phase, which is of utmost importance in digital libraries, the 36-dimensional model vectors as the indices of model images in digital libraries are clustered by use of vector quantization techniques. This clustering strategy reduces the searching space by an order of magnitude. Desirable results have been observed from our experiments using the proposed color-object-indexing/retrieval algorithm.
Distributed Stream Management using Utility-Driven Self-Adaptive Middleware

We consider pervasive computing applications that process and aggregate data-streams emanating from highly distributed data sources to produce a stream of updates that have an implicit business-value. Middleware that enables such aggregation of data-streams must support scalable and efficient self-management to deal with changes in the operating conditions and should have an embedded business-sense. In this paper, we present a novel self-adaptation algorithm that has been designed to scale efficiently for thousands of streams and aims to maximize the overall business utility attained from running middleware-based applications. The outcome is that the middleware not only deals with changing network conditions or resource requirements, but also responds appropriately to changes in business policies. An important feature of the algorithm is a hierarchical node-partitioning scheme that decentralizes reconfiguration and suitably localizes its impact. Extensive simulation experiments and benchmarks attained with actual enterprise operational data corroborate this paper's claims
The role of carrier transport on the current injection efficiency of InGaAsN quantum-well lasers

A theoretical and experimental study demonstrates that the current injection efficiency of InGaAsN quantum-well (QW) lasers can be significantly affected by carrier transport in the separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) region. An offset QW design is utilized to show the impact of hole transport on the temperature dependence of the external differential quantum efficiency and above threshold injection efficiency. A reduction of the current injection efficiency is found for structures which have significant hole transport times in the SCH.
Automated extraction of broadly applicable nonlinear analog macromodels from SPICE-level descriptions

Automated techniques for generating macromodels from SPICE-level circuit descriptions are rapidly gaining importance as a sustainable methodology for the design of large, complex mixed-signal SoCs and SiPs. We demonstrate the efficacy of a novel macromodel extraction technique, dubbed piecewise polynomial (PWP), for extracting broadly-applicable general-purpose macromodels from SPICE netlists. A key advantage of PWP over other methods is that it can generate a single macromodel that captures linear, weakly nonlinear and strongly non near system dynamics. We demonstrate the application of PWP using a current-mirror op-amp, comparing simulations of the macromodel against those of the original SPICE circuit using DC, AC, harmonic balance and transient analyses. We also illustrate how PWP-generated macromodels can be used for system-level simulation using a simple analog-digital converter example. We confirm excellent accuracies, relative to full SPICE circuit simulation, while achieving order-of-magnitude speedups.
An Experimental Study of the Vertical Distribution of Littoral Marine DIATOMS1

Extensive covers of cpilithic diatoms seldom develop on intertidal substrates in southern Oregon in the prcscnce of grazing animals and macroscopic algae. If an area is cleared, however, a brown coating of diatoms often appears in 2 to 3 weeks, but the density depends on the season and the local conditions during tidal emergence. I have attempted to evaluate the effects of exposure on the vertical distribution of diatoms in the absence of grazers and macrophytes. The differences in exposure to insolation were emphasized. Vertical transects in the same block, facing north, east, west, and south (<all with the same wave exposure) were denuded and later sampled by analyzing the species composition and estimating the density of the coversometimes quantitatively as chlorophyll content. Daily tidal curves were calculated and records of the daylight hours of clear and overcast skies were made. The upper limit of the diatom cover, the vertical species pattern, and the species present depended principally on the time exposed to direct sunlight during emergence and, thcrefore, on the sky conditions and position of the sun during low water. The diatom cover on the shaded north transect invariably extended higher than on the other transects. This maximum was usually bctwecn mean lower high water and higher high water. Some species tolerated almost no indation-exposure, others up to about 2.5 hr in a single exposure, and a few up to 4.0 hr or longer. The tolerance was sometimes increased by a moisture-retaining carpet of barnacles or %a. The upper limit of the diatom cover was lowest on the east transect in spring and summer, since lower low water occurred in the morning, often during clear daylight hours. In the fall and winter, the limit was lowest on the west transect, since lower low water occurred after noon, often during clear daylight hours. The consequences of prolonged exposure to insolation, such as desiccation, high temperature, high light intensity, and ultraviolet radiation are discussed but were not isolated, The seasonal pcriodicity and tolerances of common diatom species are summarized.
Control for environmental risk factors in assessing genetic effects on disease familial aggregation.

A probabilistic model was developed to assess the impact of two independent dichotomous familial risk factors on familial aggregation of a disorder in pairs of relatives where one member was ascertained as a proband or index subject (i.e., a case or control). Under this model, one risk factor is of primary interest (i.e., a susceptibility gene), while the effect of the other is to be controlled (i.e., an environmental risk factor). Familial aggregation was examined within strata defined by the status of proband and relative with respect to the environmental factor. The findings suggest that for proband-relative pairs, under both the additive and multiplicative models, an environmental factor can be controlled in the analysis based solely on the status of the proband. If the relation between the genetic and environmental factors is neither additive nor multiplicative, however, the analysis must take account of environmental risk factors in both proband and relative.
GenJam in Perspective: A Tentative Taxonomy for GA Music and Art Systems

GenJam is an interactive genetic algorithm (GA) that models a human jazz improviser and performs regularly as the author’s sideman on jazz gigs. GenJam learns to improvise fullchorus solos under the guidance of a human mentor and “trades fours” in real time with a human performer in “chase” choruses. In this article, the author first briefly describes GenJam’s architecture, representations, genetic operators and performance characteristics. He then places GenJam in the context of a proposed taxonomy for GAbased music and art systems.
NATURAL LANGUAGE TEXTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY GRAMMATICAL AND UNAMBIGUOUS OR EVEN COMPLETE.

The EPISTLE system is being developed in a research project for exploring the feasibility of a variety of intelligent applications for the processing of business and office text (!'Z; the authors of are the project workers). Although ultimately intended functions include text generation (e.g., 4), present efforts focus on text analysis: developing the capability to take in essentially unconstrained business text and to output grammar and style critiques, on a sentence by sentence basis.
A note on the Gabor-QR decomposition

In this paper, we propose a novel Gabor transformation scheme that is based on the QR decomposition. This Gabor-QR scheme computes the exact Gabor coefficients by solving a system of linear equations Ax=b. The computation is more efficient than iterative schemes and less complicated than other matrix-based methods. In addition, the proposed Gabor-QR scheme allows the use of incomplete basis sets, which is uncommon in most matrix-based Gabor transformations. Experimental results from image encoding are presented to highlight the major contributions of the proposed method. Due to its computational efficiency, the Gabor-QR decomposition scheme has a strong potential as an efficient method for image sequence encoding. >
Drug Information Obscured on Over-the-Counter Medication Labels by External Tags

The objective of the study was to determine the quantity and quality of information obscured by anti-theft and price tags on over-the-counter (OTC) medication labels. A cross-sectional field study was conducted by examining OTC medication packages in two cities: Houston, Texas and East Lansing, Michigan. A total of 849 packages of 124 products containing acetaminophen or combinations which included acetaminophen were evaluated for the presence of external tags and the information obscured by them. The results illustrated that more price tags (60.7%) were present than antitheft tags (21.0%). Information concealed by tags was predominantly from the Drug Facts box (50.4%), namely, warnings (23.6%), active ingredients (9.3%), and product use (4.4%). The results revealed that inappropriate tagging practices obscure Food and Drug Administration-mandated information on OTC medication labels. These tags may make it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions regarding product selection and use, thus, strategies for improvement are suggested.
Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus: a 2012 update.

Treatment for lupus is evolving. This review summarizes some of the major recommendations for care from the time of the EULAR Task Force Guidelines for SLE Treatment in 2008 through the more recent ACR guidelines for lupus nephritis which was published within the last year. Some newer papers and some reports still in
Multirobot behavior synchronization through direct neural network communication

Many important real-world problems, such as patrol or search and rescue, could benefit from the ability to train teams of robots to coordinate. One major challenge to achieving such coordination is determining the best way for robots on such teams to communicate with each other. Typical approaches employ hand-designed communication schemes that often require significant effort to engineer. In contrast, this paper presents a new communication scheme called the hive brain, in which the neural network controller of each robot is directly connected to internal nodes of other robots and the weights of these connections are evolved. In this way, the robots can evolve their own internal "language" to speak directly brain-to-brain. This approach is tested in a multirobot patrol synchronization domain where it produces robot controllers that synchronize through communication alone in both simulation and real robots, and that are robust to perturbation and changes in team size.
Convergence of pontine and proprioceptive streams onto multimodal cerebellar granule cells.

Learning a new motor skill, from riding a bicycle to eating with chopsticks, involves the cerebellum—a structure located at the base of the brain underneath the cerebral hemispheres. Although its name translates as ‘little brain' in Latin, the cerebellum contains more neurons than all other regions of the mammalian brain combined. Most cerebellar neurons are granule cells which, although numerous, are simple neurons with an average of only four excitatory inputs, from axons called mossy fibers. These inputs are diverse in nature, originating from virtually every sensory system and from command centers at multiple levels of the motor hierarchy. However, it is unclear whether individual granule cells receive inputs from only a single sensory source or can instead mix modalities. This distinction has important implications for the functional capabilities of the cerebellum. Now, Huang et al. have addressed this question by mapping, at extremely high resolution, the projections of two pathways onto individual granule cells—one carrying sensory feedback from the upper body (the proprioceptive stream), and another carrying motor-related information (the pontine stream). Using a combination of genetic and viral techniques to label the pathways, Huang and co-workers identified regions where the two types of fiber terminated in close proximity. They then showed that around 40% of proprioceptive granule cells formed junctions, or synapses, with two (or more) fibers carrying different types of input. These cells were not uniformly distributed throughout the cerebellum but tended to occur in ‘hotspots’. Lastly, Huang et al. examined the type of information conveyed by the sensory and motor-related input streams whenever they contacted a single granule cell. They confirmed that when the sensory input consisted of feedback from the upper body, the motor input consisted of copies of motor commands related to the same body region. Because it is thought that the cerebellum converts sensory information into representations of the body's movements, directing motor commands to these same circuits may allow the cerebellum to predict the consequences of a planned movement prior to, or without, the actual movement occurring. The work of Huang et al. provides evidence to support the previously controversial idea that granule cells in the mammalian cerebellum receive both sensory and motor-related inputs. The labeling technique that they used could also be deployed to study the inputs to the cerebellum in greater detail, which should yield new insights into the functioning of this part of the brain.
Partitioned conduction modes in surface integral equation-based impedance extraction

In this paper, conduction mode basis functions, previously developed to improve the efficiency of volume integral equation-based electromagnetic analysis of interconnect, are adapted for use in a surface integral equation formulation. A partitioning scheme is introduced to eliminate low-frequency ill-conditioning. Results for a wire, ring and transmission line are used to show that combining partitioned conduction modes with a Galerkin discretization scheme improves the surface integral solver's wideband accuracy and efficiency.
New high-speed video observations of natural lightning at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville, Florida

An overview of recent results of high-speed video observations at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville (LOG), Florida, is given. The emphasis is placed on the lightning attachment process and interaction of lightning with tall grounded objects.
Putative cocaine receptor in striatum is a glycoprotein with active thiol function.

Dopamine transporters of bovine and rat striata were identified by their specific [3H]cocaine binding and cocaine-sensitive [3H]dopamine ([3H]DA) uptake. Both binding and uptake functions of bovine striatal transporters were potentiated by lectins. Concanavalin A (Con A) increased the velocity but did not change the affinity of the transporter for DA; however, it increased its affinity for cocaine without changing the number of binding sites. This suggests that the DA transporter is a glycoprotein and that Con A action on it produces conformational changesInorganic and organic mercury reagents inhibited both [3H]DA uptake and [3H]cocaine binding, though they were all more potent inhibitors of the former, n- Ethylmaleimide inhibited [3H]DA uptake totally but [3H]cocaine binding only partially. Also, n-pyrene maleimide had differential effects on uptake and binding, inhibiting uptake and potentiating binding. [3H]DA uptake was not affected by mercaptoethanol up to 100 mM, whereas [3H]cocaine binding was inh...
I Came, I Saw, I…Adapted -- An Empirical Study of Chinese Business Expansion in the U.S. and Its Legal and Policy Implications

China's economic expansion into the United States has generated intense debates and controversies. Some view it as posing a critical challenge to extant U.S. institutions; others see China as a stakeholder of the extant system and that the Chinese investors are by and large “playing our game.” However, theories and hypotheses on the subject abounding, little is yet known how exactly Chinese investors interact with U.S. institutions and its legal implications. Relying on the first large-scale survey of Chinese companies investing in the United States, this article fills the gap with an interdisciplinary study of the adaptation of Chinese investors and their interactions with the U.S. legal and regulatory systems. Applying a novel theory of investor adaptation, the study finds evidence that Chinese investors are largely commercially driven and adaptive to the host country environment. The article further evaluates this general finding with a case study, i.e., Chinese companies’ adaptation to U.S. institutions governing employment discrimination, and finds confirming evidence. It then moves on to the discussion of two often-debated threats from China's business expansion in the United States: the threat to U.S. national security and the threat to free market capitalism. The empirical findings suggest that Chinese investors will unlikely pose existential threats to extant U.S. institutions in the near future. In light of the findings, policymakers should resist the temptation to hastily erect protective measures in response to the sharp rise of Chinese investments. Regulated properly, Chinese investors may become major stakeholders of extant U.S. institutions and contribute to their long-term resilience.
Pneumococcal Vaccine: A Tool for the Evaluation of the B-Cell Function of the Immune System

The pneumococcal vaccine has been developed to prevent infections caused by the most common of the pneumococcal serotypes. This review will describe the pneumococcal vaccine, its composition, recommended use, and current knowledge of the protective levels of antibody. In addition to the protective effects of the vaccine, however, a new use is becoming important. This new use of the vaccine takes advantage of the fact that bacterial polysaccharide antigens, in general, produce antibody which maintain a stable concentration over a long period of time. Since the half-life of immunoglobulins at best is 3 weeks, a constant level of antibody must result in continued biosynthesis at a rate equivalent to the loss incurred by catabolism. Any decrease in B-cell function which upsets the steady state would result in a lower level of antibody and/or a poorer response to immunization. It is this use of the pneumococcal vaccine, the measurement of antibody levels after immunization, which I term a tool for the evaluati...
Regulating Artificial Gravity Forces in Space Exploration

Direction-controlled artificial gravity leads to a more compact, economical design of space modules for long-term space exploration. Such direction control can be obtained for every person, object or activity by the use of electromagnetic shoes (each using two ‘D’ cells) reacting against magnetic tracks that are anchored to the mass of the space station. Successful application, however, requires that, in order to combat osteoporosis in astronauts on long-term missions, these anchorage forces have to be redistributed over the musculoskeletal system of the body by a bodysuit, whose design is considered, in detail, in this paper. The bodysuit uses high-resistance elastic bands that distribute the forces precisely over body parts, from the head and arms to the torso and hips, down to the feet, all in proportion to the weights of these same body parts. Load/extension characteristics for the high-resistance elastic bands have been provided. The bodysuit has been designed for 0.5g for a 69 year-old, East Indian male subject, with a total bodyweight of 109 lbs (49.5 kg). The design of the magnetic tracks to provide anchorage for the electromagnetic shoes has also been considered. Tests show that a thickness of 0.25 in (6 mm) is all that is necessary for most space applications. The architectural design of the space module and the layout of the magnetic tracks, however, poses a real challenge. In the past, the aerospace engineer was required to think in terms of a unidirectional gravity axis. This used only one surface of the space module for reactive forces. If the direction of the gravity axis can now be controlled, by careful layout of the magnetic tracks, the design of the space module can use multiple surfaces for the reactive forces, thereby utilizing the entire volume of the space module for an efficient and economical design. The bodysuit, but designed for lower fractional-g values, can also be used on Earth to combat osteoporosis, merely by being worn for specified lengths of time. They would be most useful in bedridden or aging populations unable or unwilling to do the load-bearing exercises so necessary to prevent loss of bone mineral density in such populations.
Seasonal patterns of vegetative growth and competition with reproductive sinks in peach (Prunus persica)

SummaryGrowth of leaves, wood, and stems were studied over an entire growing season on four year old peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.) trees having no crop, commercial crop loads, or heavy crop loads. Leaf, wood, and stem growth were reduced on cropping trees relative to defruited trees. The presence of fruit reduced leaf biomass growth during Stage I and II of fruit growth but not thereafter. Wood biomass growth was reduced by the presence of fruit during all stages of fruit growth. Stem biomass growth was most strongly affected by fruit during Stage III of fruit growth. Carbon partitioning to stems appeared to be influenced by both fruit sink demands and set developmental capacity for secondary radial growth. Total above-ground biomass production was similar in all three treatments, despite significantly greater leaf area in defruited trees. The total carbohydrate cost of the above ground biomass (the sum of biomass costs, calculated growth and maintenance respiration costs) was estimated to be simila...
Acute application of TNF stimulates apical 70-pS K+ channels in the thick ascending limb of rat kidney.

TNF has been shown to be synthesized by the medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) (21). In the present study, we used the patch-clamp technique to study the acute effect of TNF on the apical 70-pS ...
Work Injuries and Adversary Processes in Two New England Textile Mills

Whatever the shortcomings of “no-fault” employee compensation laws, such as the one passed in Massachusetts in 1911, Professor Gersuny shows that such laws were a great improvement over what had prevailed. Working with formerly confidential files, he shows that an “adversary relationship” had existed between the employer and his insurance company, on the one hand, and often pitifully maimed employees on the other. With few exceptions, all of the advantages were on the side of the employer, and the rights of employees to more than token compensation were routinely trampled upon.
A note on the annihilation number and 2-domination number of a tree

In 2014, Desormeaux et al. (Discrete Math 319:15---23, 2014) proved a relationship between the annihilation number and 2-domination number of a tree. In this note, we provide a family of bounds for the 2-domination number of a tree based on the amount of vertices of small degree. This family of bounds extends current bounds on the 2-domination number of a tree, and provides an alternative proof for the relationship between the annihilation number and the 2-domination number of a tree that was shown by Desormeaux et al.
Study of distributed scheduling cluster system based on content-switch

Traditional cluster server is usually based on central scheduling policy,there is single point mistake problem in central scheduling module,and because this module do all the scheduling job,it is often overloaded,then becomes bottleneck of the cluster system.This paper presents a new distributed scheduling method based on content-switch,this method overcomes single point mistake problem,and solves the problem of that the central scheduling module becomes the system bottleneck.At the same time,this distributed scheduling method is good at load balancing,so the concurrency ability of the cluster system is improved greatly.
Effects of Different Seedling Raising Methods on Seedling Quality and Yield Traits of Mechanical Transplanted Rice

[Objective] The aim was to provide a theoretical basis and technological support for choosing the suitable seedling raising method of mechanical transplanted rice and improving the yield of hybrid indica rice in mechanical transplanting.[Method]A comparative experiment on plastic disk seedling with nutritive soil,hard disk on seedling assembly line with nutritive soil,silt-raised seedling with plastic disk was conducted on to study the influences of different seedling methods on seedling quality and yield traits of mechanical transplanting rice Huiliangyou No.6.[Result] The results showed that the hard disk on seedling assembly line showed a great advantage with higher seedling rate,lower miss seedling rate,thicker stem base width,higher root power,lower recover period,and its theoretical yield and actual yield were higher than those of the other seedling raising methods.[Conclusion]Based on seedling quality and yield traits of mechanical transplanting rice,the hard disk on seedling assembly line is suitable for building reasonable starting point of rice population and higher yield in Jianghuai region,Anhui Province.
Early failure of symphysis pubis plating

Abstract Introduction Operative fixation of a disrupted symphysis pubis helps return alignment and stability to a traumatized pelvic ring. Implant loosening or failure has been demonstrated to commonly occur at some subacute point during the postoperative period. The purpose of this study is to report on a series of patients with traumatic pelvic ring disruptions to determine the incidence and common factors associated with early postoperative symphyseal plate failure before 7 weeks. Materials and methods 126 patients retrospectively identified with unstable pelvic injuries treated with open reduction and plate fixation of the symphysis pubis and iliosacral screw fixation. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs, computed tomography (CT) images, and medical chart were reviewed to determine symphyseal displacement preoperatively and postoperatively, time until plate failure, patient symptoms and symphyseal displacement at failure, subsequent symphyseal displacement, incidence of additional surgery, and patient weight bearing compliance. Results 14 patients (11.1%) sustained premature postoperative fixation failure. 13 patients had anteroposterior compression (APC)-II injuries and 1 patient had an APC-III injury. Preoperative symphyseal displacement was 35.6 millimeters (mm) (20.8-52.9). Postoperative symphyseal space measurement was 6.3 mm (4.7-9.3). Time until plate failure was 29 days (5–47). Nine patients (64.2%) noted a pop surrounding the time of failure. Symphyseal space measurement at failure was 12.4 mm (5.6-20.5). All patients demonstrated additional symphyseal displacement averaging 2.6 mm (0.2-9.4). Two patients (14.2%) underwent revision. Four patients (28.5%) were non-compliant. Conclusion Premature failure of symphysis pubis plating is not uncommon. In this series, further symphyseal displacement after plate failure was not substantial. The presence of acute symphyseal plate failure alone may not be an absolute indication for revision surgery. Making patient education a priority could lead to decreased postoperative non-compliance and potentially a decreased incidence of implant failure. Posterior pelvic ring fixation aides overall pelvic ring stability and may help minimize further displacement after early postoperative symphyseal plate failure. Further functional outcome and biomechanical studies surrounding early symphyseal plate failure are needed.
The role of vasopressin and atrial natriuretic factor in postoperative fluid retention after the Fontan procedure

The Fontan procedure results in right atrial distention and is complicated by fluid retention. Since systemic fluid balance may be hormonally mediated in part and related to right atrium size, we measured plasma atrial natriuretic factor and plasma arginine vasopressin levels in 19 patients undergoing the Fontan procedure and in 12 control patients undergoing other types of heart operations. Preoperative plasma atrial natriuretic factor levels were higher in patients undergoing the Fontan procedure than in control patients (95 ± 16 pg/ml preoperatively versus 50 ± 8 pg/ml; p
Iron limitation in the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous OAE 3 and its role in phosphorus recycling and enhanced organic matter preservation

The sedimentary record of the Coniacian–Santonian Oceanic Anoxic Event 3 (OAE 3) in the North American Western Interior Seaway is characterized by a prolonged period of enhanced organic carbon (OC) burial. This study investigates the role of Fe in enhancing organic matter preservation and maintaining elevated primary productivity to sustain black shale deposition within the Coniacian–Santonian-aged Niobrara Formation in the USGS #1 Portland core. Iron speciation results indicate the development of a reactive Fe limitation coeval with reduced bioturbation and increased organic matter preservation, suggesting that decreased sulfide buffering by reactive Fe may have promoted enhanced organic matter preservation at the onset of OAE 3. An Fe limitation would also provide a feedback mechanism to sustain elevated primary productivity through enhanced phosphorus recycling. Additionally our results demonstrate inconsistencies between Fe-based and trace metal redox reconstructions. Iron indices from the Portland core indicate a single stepwise change, whereas the trace metal redox proxies indicate fluctuating redox conditions during and after OAE 3. Using Fe speciation to reconstruct past redox conditions may be complicated by a number of factors, including Fe sequestration in diagenetic carbonate phases and efficient sedimentary pyrite formation in a system with limited Fe supply and high levels of export production.
Concordance of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Data Describing Delirium at a VA Hospital.

BACKGROUND Delirium is a common syndrome in elderly hospitalized patients that is correlated with poor outcomes and higher costs yet health care teams often overlook its diagnosis and treatment. Poor data quality in EHR systems can be contributing to this as a common tool teams use to communicate and record data about their patients. METHODS Data were gathered from 30 patients chosen randomly that spanned various data domains in the EHR. These were analyzed for concordance as an indicator of data quality. RESULTS Concordance was high between the physician and nursing narrative documentation. The other domains of data were drastically less concordant. DISCUSSION The low concordance between structured and narrative data domains suggests that clinicians are forgoing the features available in modern EHR systems and opting to work in narrative. For informatics, this can be troubling as narrative data are difficult to compute.
Psychology of Science: Implicit and Explicit Processes

Students come to science classes with preconceptions about the natural world and ways to explore that world to learn more about it. Students' prior beliefs may distort their understanding of how to design an experiment and also its purpose: to identify causal factors. These prior beliefs influence students' reasoning about experimentation, leading them to misconstrue instruction aimed at teaching them about the core component of experimental design: the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS). Many students erroneously interpret the instructional goal as to teach them some domain-specific knowledge or to produce a desired effect, rather than as how to execute a domain-general procedure for designing experiments. The behavior of late-elementary and middle school students is examined to categorize common misconceptions about the goal of the CVS instruction, describe how those misconceptions led to delays or failures in learning CVS, and suggest instructional procedures that can be used to remediate the misconceptions.
MECHANICAL AND THERMAL RESPONSE OF SHOCK-CONSOLIDATED MAR-M 200

Consolidation of rapidly solidified Mar-M 200 powder was carried out successfully for the axi-symmetric and plane-wave (using contact explosives with normal incidence) geometries. However, cracking produced by reflected waves remains a major problem and considerable development work will be required until this major problem can be eliminated. The ambient temperature ultimate compressive strength of the consolidated powder is approximately 2200 MPa. The changes in micro-indentation hardness and microstructure as a function of isochronal anneals of one hour between 600 and 1200 °C are presented. Aging the compact to optimum hardness (850 °C/1 hour) raised the ultimate compressive strength to 2550 MPa.
Physics adores a vacuum

In 1948 Hendrik Casimir made the astounding prediction that if two parallel metal plates, both uncharged, are separated by a vacuum, then they should attract one another. Related Casimir effects have been observed in a number of experiments probing the long-range interactions of atoms with metal walls and atoms with atoms. Direct measurements of the wall-wall force have proved impossible, but recently Steve Lamoreaux of the University of Washington in Seattle has now confirmed Casimir's prediction for a related case, the attractive force between a conducting wall and a sphere (Phys. Rev. Lett.78 5).
Visual memory uniquely predicts anhedonia in schizophrenia but not bipolar disorder.

Objective Deficits in memory have been suggested as an influential mechanism of anhedonia, because while pleasant experiences may be enjoyed in-the-moment, the cognitive processes involved in reporting anticipated or remembered enjoyable experiences is thought to be impaired. This study will determine whether any aspects of memory, including visual memory, verbal memory or working memory, are significantly predictive of anhedonia in a sample of schizophrenia, psychotic bipolar disorder and healthy controls. Methods The study included 38 individuals with schizophrenia, 19 individuals with bipolar disorder with psychosis, and 43 age-matched healthy controls. All participants completed a self-report social and physical anhedonia questionnaire along with a cognitive screening battery, which assessed the domains of attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, and reasoning and problem-solving. Results Anhedonia scores were regressed onto domain scores to determine which areas of cognition uniquely predicted level of anhedonia in each group. For the schizophrenia group, physical anhedonia was significantly predicted by worse visual memory performance. The regression models did not find significant cognitive predictors of physical or social anhedonia in the bipolar disorder or control groups. Conclusions This study found a significant relationship between visual memory and physical anhedonia in schizophrenia patients that was not present in a sample of psychotic bipolar patients or healthy controls, adding to an accumulating body of evidence that visual memory is related to anhedonia in schizophrenia. This relationship may be explained by underlying abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex in schizophrenia.
Bioresorbable Fe-Mn and Fe-Mn-HA Materials for Orthopedic Implantation: Enhancing Degradation through Porosity Control.

Resorbable, porous iron–manganese–hydroxyapatite biocomposites with suitable degradation rates for orthopedic applications are prepared using salt-leaching for the first time. These transient biomaterials have the potential to replace inert, permanent implants that can suffer from long-term complications, or have to be surgically removed, leaving an unfavorable void. Fe30Mn-10HA materials are newly developed to address inadequate resorption rates of degradable materials proposed for orthopedic environments in the past. In this study, controllable porosities with 300 µm diameter pores are introduced into Fe30Mn alloys and Fe30Mn-10HA composites, which enhance tissue ingrowth. For the composites, a Ca2Mn7O14 phase generated within the Fe30Mn matrix during the sintering process greatly increases degradability. The combination of this second phase and added porosity is found to contribute to increased bone-like apatite layer formation, mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell attachment, and reduction of detrimental oxide layer flaking. Remarkably, after thirty days in vitro, there is a significant increase in degradation up to 0.82 ± 0.04 mm per year for 30 wt% porous Fe30Mn-10HA biocomposites, compared to 0.02 ± 0.00 mm per year for traditional nonporous Fe30Mn, thereby increasing the viability of these materials for future clinical studies.
The Parent–High School Counselor Relationship and Students’ Postsecondary Enrollment

ABSTRACTThis study examined the association between the high school counselor–parent relationship and students’ postsecondary enrollment (PSE) in a nationally representative sample of 4,406 parents selected from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Findings indicated that parents’ postsecondary expectations, their participation in schools, and STEM engagement were all positively related to students’ postsecondary enrollment. Parent contact with the school counselor was negatively associated with taking postsecondary classes.
Renal artery duplex examinations in neonates

IntroductionHypertension in neonates, although uncommon, may be the result of congenital renal artery stenosis, or, more frequently, coarctation of the aorta. Renal artery duplex examinations have ...
NHC Ligands Tailored for Simultaneous Regio- and Enantiocontrol in Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Couplings

An exceptionally hindered class of enantiopure NHC ligands has been developed. While racemic forms had previously been utilized, a scalable and practical route to the enantiopure form of this ligand class is described utilizing a Buchwald–Hartwig N,N-diarylation in a highly sterically demanding environment. Using this newly accessible ligand class, nickel-catalyzed enantioselective reductive coupling reactions of aldehydes and alkynes have been developed. These studies illustrate that the newly available NHC ligands are well suited for simultaneous control of regio- and enantioselectivity, even in cases with internal alkynes possessing only very subtle steric differences between two aliphatic substituents. The steric demand of the new ligand class enables a complementary regiochemical outcome compared with previously described enantioselective processes. Using this method, a number of allylic alcohol derivatives were efficiently obtained with high regioselectivity (up to >95:5) and high enantioselectivity...
Hematopathology and Coagulation: Self-Assessment and Board Review

A clear understanding of key areas in hematopathology, hematology and coagulation is essential for all trainees preparing to take their American Board of Pathology exams. This text offers a series of increasingly challenging multiple-choice questions and answers designed to help strengthen your knowledge. Question papers cover all areas of study, from red blood cell count and coagulation disorders to hematopoietic neoplasms. Each answer is accompanied by explanations and overviews of associated topics, enabling you to learn from mistakes and to revise effectively.
A FRAMEWORK FOR LOW-COST MULTI-PLATFORMVR AND AR SITE EXPERIENCES

Abstract. Low-cost consumer-level immersive solutions have the potential to revolutionize education and research in many fields by providing virtual experiences of sites that are either inaccessible, too dangerous, or too expensive to visit, or by augmenting in-situ experiences using augmented and mixed reality methods. We present our approach for creating low-cost multi-platform virtual and augmented reality site experiences of real world places for education and research purposes, making extensive use of Structure-from-Motion methods as well as 360° photography and videography. We discuss several example projects, for the Mayan City of Cahal Pech, Iceland’s Thrihnukar volcano, the Santa Marta informal settlement in Rio, and for the Penn State Campus, and we propose a framework for creating and maintaining such applications by combining declarative content specification methods with a central linked-data based spatio-temporal information system.