cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plasma methylglyoxal and glyoxal are elevated and related to early membrane alteration in young, complication-free patients with Type 1 diabetes

The reactive aldehydes methylglyoxal and glyoxal, arise from enzymatic and non-enzymatic degradation of glucose, lipid and protein catabolism, and lipid peroxidation. In Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) where hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation are common, these aldehydes may be elevated. These aldehydes form advanced glycation end products (AGEs) with proteins that are implicated in diabetic complications. We measured plasma methylglyoxal and glyoxal in young, complication-free T1DM patients and assessed activity of the ubiquitous membrane enzyme, Na+/K+ ATPase. A total of 56 patients with TIDM (DM group), 6–22 years, and 18 non-diabetics (ND group), 6–21 years, were enrolled. Mean plasma A1C (%) was higher in the DM group (8.5 ± 1.3) as compared to the ND group (5.0 ± 0.3). Using a novel liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry method, we found that mean plasma methylglyoxal (nmol/l) and glyoxal levels (nmol/l), respectively, were higher in the DM group (841.7 ± 237.7, 1051.8 ± 515.2) versus the ND group (439.2 ± 90.1, 328.2 ± 207.5). Erythrocyte membrane Na+/K+ ATPase activity (nmol NADH oxidized/min/mg protein) was elevated in the DM group (4.47 ± 0.98) compared to the ND group (2.16 ± 0.59). A1C correlated with plasma methylglyoxal and glyoxal, and both aldehydes correlated with each other. A high correlation of A1C with Na+/K+ ATPase activity, and a regression analysis showing A1C as a good predictor of activity of this enzyme, point to a role for glucose in membrane alteration. In complication-free patients, increased plasma methylglyoxal, plasma glyoxal, and erythrocyte Na+/K+ ATPase activity may foretell future diabetic complications, and emphasize a need for aggressive management.
The mesh disturbance effects in a low-temperature cascade arc torch for surface modification of low density polyethylene

A stainless steel mesh was placed in a low-temperature cascade arc torch (LTCAT) to study its disturbance effects on the plasmas and on the surface modification of low density polyethylene (LDPE). It was found that the photoemitting species were deflected by the screen and only faint glow was observed after the mesh. Optical emission spectroscopy examination indicated that the amount of electronically excited species in the plasma was greatly reduced after passing through the mesh. Grounding the mesh altered the nature of the discharge and a greater intensity of O emission was observed in Ar LTCAT + O2 discharge, which indicated greater energy transfer to the oxygen. Although a decrease in surface damage was observed on the treated LDPE samples by placement of the mesh in the Ar LTCAT discharges, the wettability achieved was also greatly reduced. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010
Management effects on growth, production and sustainability of managed forest ecosystems: Past trends and future directions

Only within the past 100 years have we, as recent immigrants to this continent, made a concerted effort to restore and manage the composition and productivity of North American forests. One of the earliest manifestations of management effects on growth, production, and sustainability was reforestation and land stabilization of wind- and water-eroded land wrought by abusive agriculture. In the past 50 years, basic and applied research has greatly increased forest productivity of desired species on many sites by integrating intensive forest management practices. Forest management was further enhanced by site-specific prescriptions made possible by finely honed soil and land classification systems interpreted specifically for forestry uses. Managers of our private and public forests are facing new challenges caused, in part, by public expectations that forests provide a myriad of services along with products; services that have been taken for granted and are poorly monetized. Managing forests simultaneously for wood, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, energy, water quality, flood control, habitat, and recreation is the 21st century challenge for foresters who need science to underpin their prescriptions. This paper is a review of forest management effects on growth, production, and sustainability of forest ecosystems.
MECHANISM OF ANODE BREAK EXCITATION IN THE HEART: THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF MEMBRANE AND ELECTROTONIC FACTORS

Two hypotheses for the mechanism of anode break excitation in cardiac tissue are electrotonic interaction between adjacent regions of depolarization and hyperpolarization, and a hyperpolarization-activated membrane current, if. We incorporate membrane kinetics proposed for if into the bidomain model with unequal anisotropy ratios. During unipolar stimulation, we find that: (1) The mechanisms of cathode make, cathode break, and anode make excitation are insensitive to if. (2) Both electrotonic interactions and if contribute to anode break excitation. In our simulations, if makes the dominant contribution. (3) Electrotonic interactions cause the "dip" in the anodal strength-interval curve. (4) Following anode break excitation, the wave front propagates in the direction perpendicular to the fibers. (5) if improves the agreement between the measured and calculated strength-interval curves. We suggest three experiments to determine the mechanism of anode break excitation: measure the site and timing of initial excitation, or use drugs to suppress if.
Clinical and Ultrastructural Ocular Histopathologic Studies of Adult-Onset Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

A twin brother and sister with adult-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy developed progressive central acuity loss and optic disk pallor. Both had normal electroretinograms and fluorescein angiography. Postmortem examination of the sister's eyes by histochemistry and electron microscopy revealed ganglion cell loss and optic atrophy. Cerebroside sulfate had accumulated in optic nerve glial cells. Optic atrophy was more advanced than in previously reported cases of infantile-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy. The pathologic process seemed to be retrograde optic nerve degeneration due to abnormal myelin metabolism.
Acrylamide gel electrophoresis of the S-sulfo derivatives of fibrinogen.

Abstract A polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of sulfitolyzed fibrinogens is described, separating the S-sulfopolypeptides into three main groups, and the α(A) fraction is further resolved into a doublet.
Regimes of association of arsenic and selenium during pulverized coal combustion

Abstract A suite of six coals, of widely differing As, Se, Ca, Fe, and sulfur contents, was burned under self-sustaining conditions in a 17 kW downflow laboratory combustor. Size segregated ash-laden aerosol samples were isokinetically withdrawn and collected on a Berner low pressure impactor. Correlations between trace element concentration (As or Se) and that of major elements (as functions of particle size) were then used to infer chemical associations between trace metals and Ca and/or Fe, and how these depended on sulfur. These baseline data led to formation of the following hypotheses, namely: (1) dominant As and Se partitioning mechanisms depend on the availability of Ca and/or Fe active sites for surface reaction; (2) increasing combustion temperature increases the availability of active cation sites, and increases partitioning of As and Se to fly ash by surface reaction; (3) sulfur competes with these surface reactions, decreasing As and Se partitioning to fly ash surfaces. These hypotheses were tested by manipulating the As, Se, Ca, Fe, and S contents for various coals by doping. Temperature was adjusted in order to achieve comparisons of different coals and different coal constituents at similar thermal conditions, through O 2 and CO 2 addition, as required. These results confirmed the hypotheses above, and allowed an association regime map to be constructed. This map shows that both As and Se associate with Fe and Ca, provided active sites are available. Se reacts preferentially with Fe over Ca when both are available while As reactions with both Fe and Ca are comparable. Sulfur can prevent association of both As and Se, by preferentially reacting with active sites, especially those on Fe. When sufficient sites are not available, the release of vapor-phase As and Se species is promoted.
Speaker de-identification via voice transformation

It is a common feature of modern automated voice-driven applications and services to record and transmit a user's spoken request. At the same time, several domains and applications may require keeping the content of the user's request confidential and at the same time preserving the speaker's identity. This requires a technology that allows the speaker's voice to be de-identified in the sense that the voice sounds natural and intelligible but does not reveal the identity of the speaker. In this paper we investigate different voice transformation strategies on a large population of speakers to disguise the speakers' identities while preserving the intelligibility of the voices. We apply two automatic speaker identification approaches to verify the success of de-identification with voice transformation, a GMM-based and a Phonetic approach. The evaluation based on the automatic speaker identification systems verifies that the proposed voice transformation technique enables transmission of the content of the users' spoken requests while successfully preserving their identities. Also, the results indicate that different speakers still sound distinct after the transformation. Furthermore, we carried out a human listening test that proved the transformed speech to be both intelligible and securely de-identified, as it hid the identity of the speakers even to listeners who knew the speakers very well.
Managing Overcrowding: Corrections Aministrators And The Prison Crisis

Prison overcrowding has become an increasingly urgent problem confronting state governments in the 1980s. This paper provides a detailed description of the causes and effects of overcrowding as vie...
Management of ipsilateral supracondylar femur fractures following total knee arthroplasty

A complete review of the literature revealed 195 fractures in 12 published studies of ipsilateral supracondylar femur fractures occurring about a total knee arthroplasty. This review included general surveys, multicenter studies, and case reports. Based on these studies, the authors divided the fractures into nonoperative and operative treatment groups. The fracture types were also subclassified into nondisplaced (Neer type 1) and displaced (Neer types 2 and 3). Statistical analysis of each type of fracture in terms of the various treatments and clinical outcome was performed. This study revealed satisfactory results in 83% of the patients with nondisplaced fractures that were treated without surgery. In contrast, 64% of all patients with displaced fractures that were treated with or without surgery had satisfactory outcomes. This difference is statistically significant (P < .05). Of the patients with displaced fractures, nonoperative versus operative results were not statistically significant (P < .9) (67% satisfactory vs 61%). A treatment algorithm is proposed based on the above data.
Comparative Study of the Artifacts of Phum Snay Site and the Wat Bo Temple’s Pottery Collection Database

Open image in new window Phum Snay is renowned for its numerous burial sites belonging to the later half of the Cambodian Iron Age, which are unfortunately also famous for the extensive and large-scaled looting. Recent excavations performed by a Japanese team revealed that the Phum Snay site could provide us with richer chronological data than ever thought before. The Phum Snay artifact collection includes Snay vases and type-C deep bowls (mostly black ware) which are the typical chronological indicators, in addition to black/brown wares which are pottery types produced with deliberate design. The author describes the condition of the site from looting, salvage archaeology, a recovery campaign, and the Wat Bo Temple’s pottery collection, and then discusses how the findings can enable us to create a time frame by analyzing the “set of burial pot-types.” This procedure sheds light on the condition of the Phum Snay burial site, the age of the artifacts and a proposal for future regional heritage management. The key idea in this study is the comparison of the vessel catalogues of Phum Snay and those of Professor Dougald O’Reilly’s collection with the Wat Bo Temple’s collection using the Wat Bo Earthen Ware Ceramics Database (Calthorpe, Wat Bo earthen ware ceramics, 2007). This scheme is a step forward in an attempt at cross-dating between similar burial sites, regardless of their distances from the Phum Snay site.
Distributed detection with multiple sensors Part I. Fundamentals

In this paper basic results on distributed detection are reviewed. In particular we consider the parallel and the serial architectures in some detail and discuss the decision rules obtained from their optimization based an the Neyman-Pearson (NP) criterion and the Bayes formulation. For conditionally independent sensor observations, the optimality of the likelihood ratio test (LRT) at the sensors is established. General comments on several important issues are made including the computational complexity of obtaining the optimal solutions the design of detection networks with more general topologies, and applications to different areas.
Vestibular projections to the nuclei of the extraocular muscles. Degeneration resulting from discrete partial lesions of the vestibular nuclei in the monkey.

In 35 monkeys attempts were made to produce localized unilateral lesions in individual vestibular nuclei in order to study vestibular projections to nuclei of the extraocular muscles. Portions of the medial, superior and inferior vestibular nuclei were destroyed selectively; lesions in Deiters' nucleus involved small portions of either the superior or inferior vestibular nuclei. Fiber degeneration was studied by the Nauta-Gygax technic. Exclusively ascending fibers from the superior vestibular nucleus project to ipsilateral extraocular nuclei. Ascending fibers from the inferior vestibular arise only from rostral portions of the nucleus, are not numerous and pass to all extraocular nuclei. The medial vestibular nucleus projects ascending fibers via the MLF bilaterally, asymmetrically and differentially to all extraocular nuclei. Prominent projections pass to: (a) the contralateral trochlear nucleus, and (b) the contralateral intermediate cell column and the ipsilateral ventral nucleus of the oculomotor complex. Ascending fibers from Deiters' nucleus, arising only from ventral portions of the nucleus, project primarily to: (a) the contralateral abducens and trochlear nuclei, and (b) specific asymmetrical portions of the oculomotor complex. Ascending vestibular fibers from the medial and lateral vestibular nuclei appear capable of mediating all patterned eye movements resulting from stimulation of ampullary nerves from individual semicircular canals. Vestibular projections to nuclei of the extraocular muscles are most abundant to those nuclei innervating muscles whose primary functions concern horizontal and rotatory eye movements.
Climatology of Heavy Rain Events in the United States from Hourly Precipitation Observations

Abstract Flash flooding is frequently associated with heavy precipitation (defined here as ≥1 in. h−1) occurring over a short period of time. To begin a study of flash flood–producing rain events, the Hourly Precipitation Dataset (HPD) is used to develop a climatology of heavy rains on timescales of 3 h or less across the contiguous United States. Analyses of this dataset show a distinct seasonal cycle in the distribution of heavy rain events that begins along the Gulf Coast and expands into the midwestern states during the summer. This general evolution is very similar to that observed for flash floods, suggesting that the HPD can help in defining the climatological threat for flash floods.
Measurement of Relative Quantum Yields of Strongly Absorbing Solutions

Formulas are derived which enable one to measure relative fluorescence quantum yields of strongly absorbing solutions. Relative fluorescence yield data are presented for quinine in N/10 H2SO4 at four different concentrations, demonstrating that the formulas are correct to within ±3% for sample absorbances ranging from 1.36 to 0.017. The heart of these formulas, an expression giving the fraction of incident light absorbed behind the entrance slit of the emission monochromator, is presented in graphical form.
Dual homotopy invariants of G-foliations

THIS PAPER develops a theory of dual homotopy invariants for G-foliations using the theory of minimal models. As an application of the theory which is constructed, we are able to extend the results of Heitsch on the independent variation of the secondary classes of foliations. A foliation with a non-zero rigid class is also shown to exist, based on an example of Schweitzer and Whitman. For Riemannian foliations, all of the indecomposable secondary classes are shown to be linearly independent in H*(FRI”). The work of Lazarov and Pasternack is used to show that all of the possibly variable indecomposable secondary classes are independently variable in H*(FR14). The third type of G-foliations considered are those with an integrable complex structure on their normal bundles. The results of Baum and Bott are used to establish that many of the secondary classes for these foliations are independently variable. For each of the three types of G-foliations considered, namely real, Riemannian and complex, it is shown that the homotopy groups of the corresponding classifying space BIG4 admit epimorphisms 7r~(BIo4)+RUn, where {u,} is a sequence depending on 4 and G, but which in general has a subsequence tending to infinity. If a manifold M is simply connected, then the invariants of a G-foliation 9 on M which we produce are functions on the homotopy groups of M. They can be viewed as generalizations of several other constructions of foliation invariants in the literature: There is a natural relation with the Chern-Simons invariants [9]. A means for producing such invariants was introduced by Haefliger in [18]. The various residue theorems for a G-foliation with singularities at a discrete set of points [2, 32 and 381 are special cases of this theory, where the residue is obtained by evaluating a dual homotopy class on the boundary of a disc about a singular point. For a Riemannian or complex foliation which is defined by a submersion[25], the secondary classes of the foliation are exactly cohomological representations of some of the dual homotopy invariants. The general theory of the invariants is developed in 02. We begin by showing that the algebra homotopy class of the truncated Chern-Weil homomorphism h(w) is a G-foliation invariant (Theorem 2.11); in fact, it is a universal invariant from which many other invariants of the foliation can be derived [23]. Applying the dual homotopy functor to h(o) yields a characteristic map h#: r*(I(G),)*r*(M) from the infinitedimensional vector space r*(l(G),) to the (pseudo) dual homotopy of the manifold (Theorem 2.12).
DMTracker: finding bugs in large-scale parallel programs by detecting anomaly in data movements

While software reliability in large-scale systems becomes increasingly important, debugging in large-scale parallel systems remains a daunting task. This paper proposes an innovative technique to find hard-to-detect software bugs that can cause severe problems such as data corruptions and deadlocks in parallel programs automatically via detecting their abnormal behaviors in data movements. Based on the observation that data movements in parallel programs typically follow certain patterns, our idea is to extract data movement (DM)-based invariants at program runtime and check the violations of these invariants. These violations indicate potential bugs such as data races and memory corruption bugs that manifest themselves in data movements. We have built a tool, called DMTracker, based on the above idea: automatically extract DM-based invariants and detect the violations of them. Our experiments with two real-world bug cases in MVAPICH/MVAPICH2, a popular MPI library, have shown that DMTracker can effectively detect them and report abnormal data movements to help programmers quickly diagnose the root causes of bugs. In addition, DMTracker incurs very low runtime overhead, from 0.9% to 6.0%, in our experiments with High Performance Linpack (HPL) and NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB), which indicates that DMTracker can be deployed in production runs.
A method for the reconstruction of four-dimensional synchronized CT scans acquired during free breathing.

Breathing motion is a significant source of error in radiotherapy treatment planning for the thorax and upper abdomen. Accounting for breathing motion has a profound effect on the size of conformal radiation portals employed in these sites. Breathing motion also causes artifacts and distortions in treatment planning computed tomography (CT) scans acquired during free breathing and also causes a breakdown of the assumption of the superposition of radiation portals in intensity-modulated radiation therapy, possibly leading to significant dose delivery errors. Proposed voluntary and involuntary breath-hold techniques have the potential for reducing or eliminating the effects of breathing motion, however, they are limited in practice, by the fact that many lung cancer patients cannot tolerate holding their breath. We present an alternative solution to accounting for breathing motion in radiotherapy treatment planning, where multislice CT scans are collected simultaneously with digital spirometry over many free breathing cycles to create a four-dimensional (4-D) image set, where tidal lung volume is the additional dimension. An analysis of this 4-D data leads to methods for digital-spirometry, based elimination or accounting of breathing motion artifacts in radiotherapy treatment planning for free breathing patients. The 4-D image set is generated by sorting free-breathing multislice CT scans according to user-defined tidal-volume bins. A multislice CT scanner is operated in the cine mode, acquiring 15 scans per couch position, while the patient undergoes simultaneous digital-spirometry measurements. The spirometry is used to retrospectively sort the CT scans by their correlated tidal lung volume within the patient's normal breathing cycle. This method has been prototyped using data from three lung cancer patients. The actual tidal lung volumes agreed with the specified bin volumes within standard deviations ranging between 22 and 33 cm3. An analysis of sagittal and coronal images demonstrated relatively small (<1 cm) motion artifacts along the diaphragm, even for tidal volumes where the rate of breathing motion is greatest. While still under development, this technology has the potential for revolutionizing the radiotherapy treatment planning for the thorax and upper abdomen.
Experimental identification of design parameters for novel reactor–separator

The separation of methanol from glycerin and biodiesel in biodiesel manufacturing significantly adds to the cost of the biodiesel. A novel reactor–separator, based on flowing effluents through a temperature gradient, keeps the methanol in the reactor and could decrease the cost of separating methanol from glycerin and biodiesel. The reactor–separator has a lateral extension at the bottom of the reactor, which is referred as the “auto-recycle discharge.” This discharge replaces a conventional flash separator and condenser. The ability of the auto-recycle discharge to remove methanol from glycerin and biodiesel was experimentally evaluated at discharge temperatures ranging from 60 to 180°C and pressures from 101 to 515 kPa. Exiting compositions approached methanol's bubble point compositions under the assumption of a nonvolatile second component (either glycerin or biodiesel), and this constraint largely defined the separation that was achieved. Glycerin with less than 2% methanol was obtained using this separator. When extended for the separation of methanol from biodiesel, less than 1% methanol remained in the biodiesel effluent. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005
How many concepts of consciousness

With some help from the commentators, a few adjustments to the characterizations of A-consciousness and P-consciousness can avoid some trivial cases of one without the other. But it still seems that the case for the existence of P without A is stronger than that for A without P. If indeed there can be P without A, but not A without P, this would be a remarkable result that would need explanation.
Management problems of Internet systems development

The article is based on an online DELPHI Questionnaire study of the management problems of Internet/Web systems development. Three questionnaires are used. The 26 most important problems are presented. No individual problem is overwhelmingly rated as most important. However, two clusters of related Internet problems, which together include 13 of the top 16 problems stand out as the two most important problem categories. These are (1) strategic planning and other strategy-related problems; and (2) data integrity and privacy problems. The article first discusses the overall results of the study, then the "strategy" category of problems is explored. The similarities of the findings of six prior DELPHI studies to those of the present study suggest that problems associated with strategic activities are exceedingly important as a cross-discipline problem area. The problems of data integrity and security are thereafter examined.
Legislative Procedures in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis

The article analyses the role of the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council in the two main legislative procedures in the European Union: co-operation and co-decision (I). We use the legislative history of some 5,000 parliamentary amendments. These procedures have been the subject of a great deal of theoretical debate. According to conventional wisdom the co-decision procedure increases the powers of the European Parliament. Revisionist approaches, however, suggest that the conditional agenda-setting powers accorded to the Parliament by the co-operation procedure are more important than the veto powers ascribed by co-decision.
The Influence of Spike Rate and Stimulus Duration on Noradrenergic Neurons

We model spiking neurons in locus coeruleus (LC), a brain nucleus involved in modulating cognitive performance, and compare with recent experimental data. Extracellular recordings from LC of monkeys performing target detection and selective attention tasks show varying responses dependent on stimuli and performance accuracy. From membrane voltage and ion channel equations, we derive a phase oscillator model for LC neurons. Average spiking probabilities of a pool of cells over many trials are then computed via a probability density formulation. These show that: (1) Post-stimulus response is elevated in populations with lower spike rates; (2) Responses decay exponentially due to noise and variable pre-stimulus spike rates; and (3) Shorter stimuli preferentially cause depressed post-activation spiking. These results allow us to propose mechanisms for the different LC responses observed across behavioral and task conditions, and to make explicit the role of baseline firing rates and the duration of task-related inputs in determining LC response.
The E46K Mutation in α-Synuclein Increases Amyloid Fibril Formation

The identification of a novel mutation (E46K) in one of the KTKEGV-type repeats in the amino-terminal region of alpha-synuclein suggests that this region and, more specifically, Glu residues in the repeats may be important in regulating the ability of alpha-synuclein to polymerize into amyloid fibrils. It was demonstrated that the E46K mutation increased the propensity of alpha-synuclein to fibrillize, but this effect was less than that of the A53T mutation. The substitution of Glu(46) for an Ala also increased the assembly of alpha-synuclein, but the polymers formed can have different ultrastructures, further indicating that this amino acid position has a significant effect on the assembly process. The effect of residue Glu(83) in the sixth repeat of alpha-synuclein, which lies closest to the amino acid stretch critical for filament assembly, was also studied. Mutation of Glu(83) to a Lys or Ala increased polymerization but perturbed some of the properties of mature amyloid. These results demonstrated that some of the Glu residues within the repeats can have significant effects on modulating the assembly of alpha-synuclein to form amyloid fibrils. The greater effect of the A53T mutation, even when compared with what may be predicted to be a more dramatic mutation such as E46K, underscores the importance of protein microenvironment in affecting protein structure. Moreover, the relative effects of the A53T and E46K mutations are consistent with the age of onset of disease. These findings support the notion that aberrant alpha-synuclein polymerization resulting in the formation of pathological inclusions can lead to disease.
Radiotherapy in the adjuvant management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: is it helpful?

Curative-intent management for pancreatic adenocarcinoma requires gross total resection. Only 15–20% of patients are eligible for resection and of these only approximately 20% are long-term survivors. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant approaches have been, and are being, sought to improve upon surgical results. Radiotherapy has a role in the adjuvant management of many gastrointestinal malignancies and historically has also had a role in the adjuvant management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the role of radiotherapy in the management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma has been called into question. This review examines this controversy and the underlying issues and considers current efforts towards resolving them, as well as some likely future developments.
Two‐step thermochromism in poly(3‐docosoxy‐4‐methylthiophene): Mechanistic similarity to poly(3‐docosylthiophene)

INTRODUCTION The unique electronic and spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers have resulted in significant academic and industrial interest. Polythiophenes are one of the most widely investigated conjugated polymers because of the ease of synthesis and modification of solubilizing substituents. One of the interesting properties of substituted polythiophenes is thermochromism. Although there have been many investigations of the mechanism of the thermochromic transition, there are still questions relating to how the structure of the polythiophene (regioregularity, substitution pattern, molecular weight, impurities, precipitation method, etc.) affects the mechanism. Although most polythiophenes have a simple two-phase thermochromic transition, mesophase formation is observed in some poly (3-alkylthiophene)s with long side chains.
Sampling for Toxic Contaminants in Ground Water

In this paper, we relate recent developments in ground water sampling techniques to the practical application of sampling for toxic contaminants in ground water. We address the choices that must be made in choosing equipment for a particular project by going through a step-by-step procedure for collecting a ground water sample from a typical monitoring well. Ground water sampling topics that are discussed include: choice of equipment for purging and sampling a well, monitoring for purged ground water indicators and quality assurance/quality control.
THE Mls LOCUS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

This issue of the Journal of Immunogenetics is devoted to the Mls locus. It comprises papers presented at a recent Howard Hughes Medical Institute workshop devoted to this subject. The papers cover many aspects of Mls locus genetics, biology and function. Bringing these papers together should make it easy for investigators interested in this area to catch up on the most recent developments, as well as to learn the history of the development of this field. There is a growing interest in the Mls locus, and much of the background information needed to understand current research efforts can be found in the papers published here.
SPATIAL RESPONSES OF BOBOLINKS (DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS) NEAR DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDGES IN NORTHERN IOWA

Abstract Habitat edges are well-studied components of fragmented landscapes, yet factors mediating edge effects remain unclear. We report how different types of edges surrounding patches may affect spatial distributions of Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), a declining, area-sensitive songbird that breeds in grasslands. We expected Bobolinks to be less abundant near edges, and we investigated a set of alternative hypotheses for explaining that spatial pattern: (1) passive displacement, in which individuals do not avoid edges but use edges as boundaries for territories; (2) habitat gradients, in which individuals respond to habitat structure gradients near edges; (3) territory size, in which size of territories increases near edges; and (4) active avoidance, in which individuals actively avoid edges by positioning territory boundaries away from edges. To examine those hypotheses, we surveyed Bobolinks in grassland habitats near 34 edges of three different edge types (agriculture, road, and woodland) in nort...
Behavior-based problem localization for parallel file systems

We present a behavior-based problem-diagnosis approach for PVFS that analyzes a novel source of instrumentation--CPU instruction-pointer samples and function-call traces--to localize the faulty server and to enable root-cause analysis of the resource at fault. We validate our approach by injecting realistic storage and network problems into three different workloads (dd, IO-zone, and PostMark) on a PVFS cluster.
Reconstituting Confucianism for the Contemporary World

In 1921, at the high tide of the New Culture Movement’s iconoclastic attack on Confucius, Liang Shuming 梁漱溟 resonantly predicted that in fact the future world culture would be Confucian. In the following nine decades, Liang’s reputation and the fortunes of Confucianism in China have risen and fallen together. Is it possible that a reconstituted “Confucianism” might become China’s spiritual mainstream and a major constituent of world culture?
Outsiders as institutional entrepreneurs

This study examines institutional entrepreneurs’ activities and processes for initiating and implementing divergent change in foreign organizational fields. To do so, we conducted an in-depth, long...
ETO-2, a new member of the ETO-family of nuclear proteins.

The t(8;21) is associated with 12 – 15% of acute myelogenous leukemias of the M2 subtype. The translocation results in the fusion of two genes, AML1 (CBFA2) on chromosome 21 and ETO (MTG8) on chromosome 8. AML1 encodes a DNA binding factor; the ETO protein product is less well characterized, but is thought to be a transcription factor. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of ETO-2, a murine cDNA that encodes a new member of the ETO family of proteins. ETO-2 is 75% identical to murine ETO and shares very high sequence identities over four regions of the protein with ETO (domain I – III and zinc-finger). Northern analysis identifies ETO-2 transcripts in many of the murine tissues analysed and in the developing mouse embryo. ETO-2 is also expressed in myeloid and erythroid cell lines. We confirmed the nuclear localization of ETO-2 and demonstrated that domain III and the zinc-finger region are not required for nuclear localization. We further showed that a region within ETO, containing domain II, mediates dimerization among family members. This region is conserved in the oncoprotein AML-1/ETO. The recent identification of another ETO-like protein, myeloid translocation gene-related protein 1, together with the data presented here, demonstrates that at least three ETO proteins exist with the potential to form dimers in the cell nucleus.
On further development of AutoCAD-taking the roughness of the surface as an example

AutoCAD is a common software kit used in Computer Assistant Design, it can conduct the picture efficiently and is widely used in the fields of machinery, architecture, electron, mapping. Due to the AutoCAD' s common use, it loses the special utilization under the special condition. The paper, taking an example of the roughness of the surface, introduces the process of going further development for AutoCAD by using ADS in order to help the technician to enlarge the function of AutoCAD and work efficiently.
Analysis of combining ability and heritability of the major agronomic characters in some parents of three-line Indica hybrid rice

Eleven sterile lines and 6 restoring lines were chosen for the analysis of combining abilities of 8 yield characters and related characters by incomplete diallele cross(NCⅡ) design.The results were as follows:(1) both general combining ability(GCA) and specific combining ability(SCA) of the 8 characters were highly significant or significant,the additive variation was principal for the characters of plant height(PH),spikelets per panicle(SP),filled spikelets per panicle(FSP),1000-grain weight(TGW),while the non-additive variation was principal for the characters of effective panicles per plant(EPP),panicle length(PL),grain weight per plant(GWP);(2) most characters were more greatly influenced by restorer line than by sterile line;(3) the GCA and SCA of yield characters of EBC502,Yixiang A,Tianfeng A,Longtefu A,Neixiang 2A in sterile line and R527,N175,TR239 in restoring line were better;(4) the GCA of parents was not significantly related to the SCA of groups.The order of narrow heritability in various characters was: TGWPHseed-setting rate(SSR)GWPFSPEPPPLSP.
Influence of Different Positive End Expiratory Pressure Level on Ventilative Efficiency for Premature Infant with Respiratory Distress

Objective To explore influence of different positive end expiratory pressure(PEEP)level on ventilative efficincy of premature infant with respiratory distress syndrome(RDS).Methods Forty preterm infants who were diagnosed RDS and needed ventilation were randomly assigned to lower PEEP(0.49~0.59 kPa)and high PEEP(0.59~0.78 kPa)group.They were treated by ventilation and pulmonary surfactant(PS).When they were medically stable,blood gas was done at 15 min,2,6,12,24 h after ventilation.Then the ratio of pa(O2)/FiO2,oxygen index(OI),ventilation index were calculated.Result The ratio of pa(O2)/FiO2,OI,ventilation index were better in lower PEEP group than those in high PEEP group(Pa0.05).Conclusion Lower PEEP is better in neonatal RDS with ventilation and PS.
Crohn's Disease of the Esophagus: Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes in the Biologic Era.

Background Esophageal Crohn's disease (CD) is challenging and often a disabling phenotype of disease. We aimed to report the clinical, endoscopic, histologic features, and treatment outcomes of esophageal patients with CD. Methods Esophageal patients with CD evaluated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, between January, 1998, and December, 2012, were identified. Results Twenty-four cases of esophageal CD were identified. The median age of diagnosis was 23 years (range, 12-60). Twenty-one patients (88%) had extraesophageal CD and 8 patients (33%) had oral ulcers at the time of esophageal CD symptom onset. The majority of patients had esophageal-specific symptoms. Mid (29%) or distal (29%) esophagus was the most common site of involvement. Inflammatory esophageal CD (75%) was marked by superficial ulcerations (58%), erythema and/or erosions (50%), deep ulcerations (13%), and pseudopolyps (4%) on endoscopy. Four patients (17%) were found to have esophageal strictures and 2 patients (8%) had fistulizing disease. Chronic inflammation (83%) was seen on biopsy in the majority of cases with 5 patients having associated granulomas. In our series, inflammatory esophageal CD responded to prednisone, topical budesonide, or biologics. Stricturing esophageal CD was successfully treated with a combination of biologic therapy, immunomodulators, and serial dilations with/without steroid injections. Aggressive medical therapy with biologics and endoscopic therapy was used for fistulizing esophageal CD, however, was not universally effective. Conclusions Esophageal CD should be considered in all patients with CD with upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Early recognition, diagnosis, and aggressive medical and/or endoscopic treatment are needed for successful outcomes.
Linking the Microbiota, Chronic Disease, and the Immune System

Chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) are the most important causes of mortality in the world today and are on the rise. We now know that immune-driven inflammation is critical in the etiology of these diseases, though the environmental triggers and cellular mechanisms that lead to their development are still mysterious. Many CIDs are associated with significant shifts in the microbiota toward inflammatory configurations, which can affect the host both by inducing local and systemic inflammation and by alterations in microbiota-derived metabolites. This review discusses recent findings suggesting that shifts in the microbiota may contribute to chronic disease via effects on the immune system.
The cost of enforcing building energy codes: an examination of traditional and alternative enforcement processes

Building codes, if complied with, have the ability to save a substantial amount of energy. However, energy code compliance rates have been notably lower than 100 %. Although there are many reasons for lack of compliance, funding and cost may play an important role. The incremental cost of the construction measures needed to comply with building energy codes has been well documented, but the cost of enforcing the energy code has received little attention. In order to estimate the costs of enforcement at the local level, and to inform a national dialog in the USA about the investment needed to improve compliance with building energy codes, researchers initiated a two-phase study. Phase 1 was a literature review, conducted in early 2013, covering more than 150 documents. Phase 2 comprised surveys of 17 general and 23 local experts, from May to July 2013. Phase 2 found the incremental cost of enforcing residential and commercial energy codes using a traditional plan review, and inspection process ranged from typically $50 or less per home to nearly $200, and from typically less than $150 per commercial building to over $1000, exclusive of overhead and travel. Other activities associated with enforcement and improving compliance (such as performance testing, use of voluntary programs, training, and outreach) involve additional costs that are also reviewed in this paper.
Scalable Vision System for Mouse Homecage Ethology

In recent years, researchers and laboratory support companies have recognized the utility of automated profiling of laboratory mouse activity and behavior in the home-cage. Video-based systems have emerged as a viable solution for non-invasive mouse monitoring. Wider use of vision systems for ethology studies requires the development of scalable hardware seamlessly integrated with vivarium ventilated racks. Compact hardware combined with automated video analysis would greatly impact animal science and animal-based research. Automated vision systems, free of bias and intensive labor, can accurately assess rodent activity (e.g., well-being) and behavior 24-7 during research studies within primary home-cages. Scalable compact hardware designs impose constraints, such as use of fisheye lenses, placing greater burden (e.g., distorted image) on downstream video analysis algorithms. We present novel methods for analysis of video acquired through such specialized hardware. Our algorithms estimate the 3D pose of mouse from monocular images. We present a thorough examination of the algorithm training parameters’ influence on system accuracy. Overall, the methods presented offer novel approaches for accurate activity and behavior estimation practical for large-scale use of vision systems in animal facilities.
Combining Tier 2 and Tier 3 Supports for Students with Disabilities in General Education Settings

Secondary level or Tier 2 interventions such as the Check-in Check-out (CICO) intervention effectively reduce problem behaviors of students who are non-responsive to school-wide interventions. However, some students will not be successful with Tier 2 interventions. This study investigated the effects of adding individualized function-based support for four students with disabilities who were not successful in general education settings while receiving only a secondary level intervention. Results indicated that the combination of secondary and individualized function-based interventions effectively decreased problem behavior for all participants. Teachers and students rated the interventions as acceptable and effective. Research and practice implications are discussed.
Construction and 13C hyperpolarization efficiency of a 180 GHz dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization system

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) via the dissolution method has become one of the rapidly emerging techniques to alleviate the low signal sensitivity in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging. In this paper, we report on the development and 13 C hyperpolarization efficiency of a homebuilt DNP system operating at 6.423 T and 1.4 K. The DNP hyperpolarizer system was assembled on a wide-bore superconducting magnet, equipped with a standard continuous-flow cryostat, and a 180 GHz microwave source with 120 mW power output and wide 4 GHz frequency tuning range. At 6.423 T and 1.4 K, solid-state 13 C polarization P levels of 64% and 31% were achieved for 3 M [1-13 C] sodium acetate samples in 1 : 1 v/v glycerol:water glassing matrix doped with 15 mM trityl OX063 and 40 mM 4-oxo-TEMPO, respectively. Upon dissolution, which takes about 15 s to complete, liquid-state 13 C NMR signal enhancements as high as 240 000-fold (P=21%) were recorded in a nearby high resolution 13 C NMR spectrometer at 1 T and 297 K. Considering the relatively lower cost of our homebuilt DNP system and the relative simplicity of its design, the dissolution DNP setup reported here could be feasibly adapted for in vitro or in vivo hyperpolarized 13 C NMR or magnetic resonance imaging at least in the pre-clinical setting. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Healthcare ratings among older cancer survivors.

10094Background: Cancer survivors may experience unique challenges in receiving needed healthcare services. However, there is little information on individual-level factors influencing the experien...
Optimizing fin design for a PCM-based thermal storage device using dynamic Kriging

Abstract A key challenge in the development of a practical thermal storage device (TSD) is the low thermal conductivity of common phase change materials (PCM). This low conductivity impedes both heat input and extraction. The most common solution is to use conductive metal fins to spread heat through the device. However, optimizing the effectiveness of the container and the fin arrangement is difficult due to the large number of potential design parameters. This paper develops a strategy to make simulation-based optimization process affordable and accurate. First, numerical techniques are designed to accurately and efficiently compute heat and mass transport in a variety of geometries without generating grids to conform to each geometry. This facilitates rapid prototyping and mitigates the expense of individual simulations. Second, a pre-screening process identifies the independent variables with the largest and most nonlinear effect on the objective function in the optimization process, thus narrowing the parameter space. Finally, a dynamic Kriging-based optimization approach constructs a multidimensional response surface using sparse input datasets; the response surface is then used to identify an optimal design. The combination of the above three strategies is shown to result in an approach that can aid in the design of optimal thermal storage devices that rely on a mixture of PCM and metal fins.