cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generation of close-to-functional broadside tests with equal primary input vectors

This paper describes a procedure for generating close-to-functional broadside tests for transition faults. Such tests avoid overtesting of transition faults and keep the power dissipation within its functional bounds. The procedure has the following features that are not addressed together by existing procedures. (1) The procedure takes into consideration functional constraints on primary input sequences of a circuit that is embedded in a larger design. (2) It generates close-to-functional broadside tests with a measurable proximity to functional operation conditions. (3) It generates tests with equal primary input vectors that are suitable for embedded circuits as well as low-cost testers. Several experimental observations help in addressing the challenge of generating close-to-functional broadside tests with equal primary input vectors under functional constraints on primary input sequences.
Innovative critical solutions in the dyeing of protein textile materials

Even though animal fibres contribute a comparatively low proportion of world fibre production, they are highly sought after and play a significant role in the luxury, high value-added end of the market. Natural protein fibres have two major classes, which may be categorized as keratin fibres (hair or fur), such as wool, cashmere, and other animal hairs, and secreted (insect) fibres with silk as the main fibre in this category. Colouration of protein fibres is characterized by many variables, each with a different effect on the final product. Indeed it is quite complicated to achieve the intended colour in the first dyeing attempt. Dyeing defects are not always due to the actual dyeing process, but may be introduced in earlier production and processing stages. This work attempts to provide a detailed review of the major issues in the dyeing of various protein textile materials in different forms such as loose fibre, yarn, fabric, and garment. An overview of different types of protein fibres is given and a ...
Population Changes after 14 Years of Harvest Closure on a Migratory Population of Bull Trout in Idaho

AbstractPrimary data (size and age structure, abundance) and derived data (growth, mortality, recruitment) were used to assess the status and trends of Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus in the North Fork of the Clearwater River, Idaho, under a 14-year harvest closure. From 2000 (6 years after harvest closure) to 2008, an increase in the number of larger and older migratory Bull Trout occurred, as evidenced by the rightward shift in the cumulative length-frequency distribution, increases in mean total length and weight, and increases in age. The stability in growth rates over an 8-year interval indicated that the increases in size structure were age related (e.g., recruitment and mortality changes) rather than growth related. The abundance of migratory spawning adults also steadily increased over the period 1994–2008, as indicated by the increases in redd counts. A logistic model fitted to population estimates (not including unsampled portions of the drainage where migratory Bull Trout are known to exist) ...
Accumulation of Pre-apocytochrome f in aSynechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Mutant Impaired in Cytochrome c Maturation

Cytochrome c maturation involves heme transport and covalent attachment of heme to the apoprotein. The 5′ end of the ccsB gene, which is involved in the maturation process and resembles the ccs1 gene fromChlamydomonas reinhardtii, was replaced by a chloramphenicol resistance cartridge in the cyanobacteriumSynechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The resulting Δ(M1-A24) mutant lacking the first 24 ccsB codons grew only under anaerobic conditions. The mutant retained about 20% of the wild-type amount of processed cytochrome f with heme attached, apparently assembled in a functional cytochromeb6 f complex. Moreover, the mutant accumulated unprocessed apocytochrome f in its membrane fraction. A pseudorevertant was isolated that regained the ability to grow under aerobic conditions. The locus of the second-site mutation was mapped to ccsB, and the mutation resulted in the formation of a new potential start codon in the intergenic region, between the chloramphenicol resistance marker and ccsB, in frame with the remaining part of ccsB. In this pseudorevertant the amount of holocyt f increased, whereas that of unprocessed apocytochrome f decreased. We suggest that the original deletion mutant Δ(M1-A24) expresses an N-terminally truncated version of the protein. The stable accumulation of unprocessed apocytochrome f in membranes of the Δ(M1-A24) mutant may be explained by its association with truncated and only partially functional CcsB protein resulting in protection from degradation. Our attempt to delete the first 244 codons ofccsB in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was not successful, suggesting that this would lead to a lack of functional cytochrome b6 f complex. The results suggest that the CcsB protein is an apocytochrome chaperone, which together with CcsA may constitute part of cytochrome clyase.
Effect of storing milk on cholesterol and phospholipid of skim milk.

As a measure of milk fat globule membrane stability we evaluated increases in cholesterol and phospholipid of the skim milk phase resulting from 24-h aging of milks at 2 to 4 C. Samples of bovine milks showed no net increase in cholesterol and a small increase (10%) in phospholipid of the skim milks. Four samples of caprine milks from two animals revealed substantial increases in cholesterol (89%) and phospholipid (29%) in skim milks from aging the milks. Losses of the two membrane lipids from the bovine (but not the caprine) milk fat globule are relatively small for 24 h following milking. Bovine skim milks of lowest lipid content are obtained by separating fresh rather than aged milks.
Boron B12 Cluster Embedded in Graphitic Fragments

Subsequent to work by Boustani on B12 clusters in free space, a study is made of B12 clusters embedded in graphitic fragments with use of Hartree−Fock methodology. To gain insight about defect embedding for an extended graphite layer, clusters of varying sizes up to 336 C atoms have been studied. Bonding density maps are presented, and bond lengths and valence angles are tabulated for the smallest and the largest clusters studied. Attention is also given in these large clusters to the way the displacements of C atoms from their “ideal” pure-graphitic positions fall off with distance from the B12 defect.
Effect of fractionated heating on the blood flow in normal tissues.

The changes in blood flow in the skin and muscle of rat by single, two or six heatings, were measured with the radioactive microsphere method. The blood flow rose continuously during the 2 h heatings at temperaturers up to 43.0°C and 44.0°C in the skin and muscle, respectively. When heated at higher temperatures, the blood flow increased and then decreased. When heated twice at 43.5°C for 1 h each, the magnitude of the increase in blood flow by the second heating varied depending on the time interval between the two heatings; e.g., the second heating on the 14th day after the first heating induced an increase in blood flow much greater than that by the first heating. When the heating at 43.5°C for 1 h was repeated at intervals of five days, the second and third heatings were as effective as the first heating in increasing the skin blood flow. In the muscle, the second and third heatings were 2–3-fold more effective than the first heating in raising the blood flow. The heat-induced increase in blood flow i...
Unilateral Gonadectomy and Sex Drive in Male Mice

Experimental evidence (1, 3) indicates that the relationship between sex drive and androgen level in male rodents is consistent with a "threshold" model, i.e., a certain concentration of androgen is required to maintain sex drive; androgen levels above this critical value do not increase sex drive. A series of experiments wcre conducted to determine whether a single testis secreted sufficient androgen to maintam normal sex drive in male mice. Morphological measures were also taken to determine whether compensatory growth occurred in the remaining testis. Exp. 1.-Twelve sexually-experienced, hybrid male mice of the strain B6D2Fl (C57BL/6 female x DBAj2 male) were divided into two groups on the basis of sex drive in a preliminary test. The experimental group had one testis removed, while the six control animals underwent a sham operarion. Three days after the operations, a sex test was given in astic cylinders using methods described elsewhere (2). Nine further tests followed at 41' day ~ntervals. Control males achieved a mean of 8.8 ejaculations on che 10 tests, while unilaterally gonadectomized males scored 7.8. The difference was not statistically significant. Erp. 2.-Since these means indicated the possibility of a slight superiority of the control group, a more demanding test of sex drive was given these Ss. They were tested once each day for 16 consecutive days. Control males again achieved a mean score slightly above that of the experimental males but, again, the difference was not statistically significant. Exp. 3.-Twenty-four, sexually naive BGD2F1 males were used: 12 were unilaterally gonadectomized and I2 were given sham operations at 10 wk. of age. Twenty days later, these males were caged individually and presented with three estrous females3 a night for seven consecutive nights. The females were removed each morning and examined for the presence of vaginal plugs (the semen of the male mouse forms a hard, rubbery plug in the vagina of the female). Control males plugged an average of 14.8 females, while unilaterally gonadectomized males plugged 13.9, a nonsignificant difference. Morphological measures.-In all experiments, testes were weighed when they were removed from the experimental animals at castration, and from experimental and control animals at sacrifice. No evidence was found for compensatory growth of the remaining testis in the experimental males. Microscopic examination of the interstitial cells of the males used in Exps. 1 and 2 revealed no hypertrophy in the remaining testis of unilaterally gonadectomized males. We conclude that a single testis in the male mouse secretes sufficient androgen to maintain normal sex drive. As with many paired organs, the second testis appears expendable.
Optimization, constraint, and history in the evolution of eyes.

Several features of the evolution of eyes and photoreceptors are examined in an effort to explore the relative roles of adaptation and historical and developmental constraints. Optical design shows clear evidence of adaptation, which is some respects approaches optima predictable from physics. The primate fovea, on the other hand, illustrates how adaptation can be channeled by developmental heritage. The primary structure of opsins reveal multiple evolutionary lineages within both Drosophila and humans. The pigments of vertebrate rods comprise a subset of opsins whose evolutionary relationships map onto the phylogeny of the parent species. The evolutionary reasons for why most rod pigments absord maximally at 500 ± 10 nm are obscure, as there is no convincing explanation based on adaptation alone. Rods are appropriately distinguished from cones on the basis of which opsin gene is expressed. This criterion is likely to be in conflict with other difinitions in phyletic lines (e.g., geckos, snakes) that have...
Optimization of buffer solutions for protein crystallization.

Increasing the solubility of protein stock solutions to above that in a standard chromatography buffer (50 mM Tris–HCl pH 7.5, 100 mM NaCl) led to an increase in the number of crystallization conditions for ten globular proteins subjected to two crystal screens: the Index and Precipitant/Precipitant–Additive (P/PA) Screens. Solubility enhancement of protein stock solutions was achieved through screening and selection of buffer components to formulate an optimal buffer. Relative improvements in solubility were estimated through protection against the precipitation of protein by polyethylene glycol 8000. Proteins with limited solubility improvement in optimal buffer showed an enhancement in solubility on addition of glycerol. Maximum solubility was then determined by the concentration of optimized solutions until precipitate formed. The supernatant concentration then provided an estimate of the upper limit of protein solubility. This `solubility' estimate is used to specify the initial concentration of the protein used in the screening experiments and is an important step in successful crystallization. Buffer optimization and establishment of initial protein concentration for crystal screening based on solubility estimates provides a methodology for improved crystal screening results.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue binds to luteal cells and inhibits progesterone production

Although gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is believed to mediate the hypothalamic control of pituitary gonadotropin secretion, continuous or repeated administration of GnRH or its agonist analogues has been shown to cause paradoxical antifertility effects in several species, including primates. GnRH-induced interruption of reproductive cycles and pregnancy is associated with diminished progesterone production, implying defective function of the corpus luteum. These luteolytic effects have been attributed to the well recognized desensitising actions of elevated luteinising hormone (LH) levels on ovarian LH receptors and steroidogenesis, subsequent to GnRH-induced gonadotropin release from the anterior pituitary. However, treatment with high doses of exogenous LH did not cause suppression of serum progesterone levels during early pregnancy in rats, whereas a highly active GnRH analogue was effective in this regard. These observations suggested that GnRH and its agonist analogues, given in high or sustained doses, can exert a direct action on the ovary that is independent of the pituitary. This hypothesis was further supported by the ability of GnRH and its agonists to inhibit human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)-induced ovarian and uterine weight gain in hypophysectomised rats and to delay the onset of puberty in intact female rats. Also, GnRH and its agonist analogues have recently been shown to inhibit steroidogenesis induced by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in cultured granulosa cells, confirming the direct action of such peptides on the ovarian follicle. The marked inhibitory effects of GnRH and its agonists on corpus luteum function suggest that these compounds could exert direct actions by binding to specific receptors on luteal cells. The present experiments, which examine the effects of GnRH agonists on luteal steroidogenesis, demonstrate the existence of such actions and their mediation by specific high-affinity receptor sites present in luteal cell membranes.
Standardizing clinical laboratory data for secondary use

Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted Highlights? Current publicly available clinical databases are not coded using national vocabulary standards. ? We are mapping the MIMIC-II ICU database to standard terminologies such as LOINC. ? Our mappings are incorporated into successive releases of the database. ? We have developed mapping guidelines based on our experience. Clinical databases provide a rich source of data for answering clinical research questions. However, the variables recorded in clinical data systems are often identified by local, idiosyncratic, and sometimes redundant and/or ambiguous names (or codes) rather than unique, well-organized codes from standard code systems. This reality discourages research use of such databases, because researchers must invest considerable time in cleaning up the data before they can ask their first research question. Researchers at MIT developed MIMIC-II, a nearly complete collection of clinical data about intensive care patients. Because its data are drawn from existing clinical systems, it has many of the problems described above. In collaboration with the MIT researchers, we have begun a process of cleaning up the data and mapping the variable names and codes to LOINC codes. Our first step, which we describe here, was to map all of the laboratory test observations to LOINC codes. We were able to map 87% of the unique laboratory tests that cover 94% of the total number of laboratory tests results. Of the 13% of tests that we could not map, nearly 60% were due to test names whose real meaning could not be discerned and 29% represented tests that were not yet included in the LOINC table. These results suggest that LOINC codes cover most of laboratory tests used in critical care. We have delivered this work to the MIMIC-II researchers, who have included it in their standard MIMIC-II database release so that researchers who use this database in the future will not have to do this work.
Work-in-progress — Investigating best practices in the research mentoring of underrepresented minority students in engineering

Few empirical investigations are available on the effectiveness of best practices in mentoring underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students in engineering research. We are collecting and analyzing narratives from 200 underrepresented minority participants on their personal experiences with research mentoring in engineering. Participants describe a specific, powerful, and memorable interaction with a research mentor that they found to influence their academic choices or career decisions. Interactions may be positive or negative. Findings will be used to develop resources for research mentors to improve mentoring.
Some Slow-Wave Structures for Traveling-Wave Tubes

A comparison of four slow-wave propagating structures for traveling-wave tubes is made. Recent experimental performance of several types of tubes using two of these circuits is given. Amplifier performance of helix tubes at 10,000 Mc, and wide-tuned oscillator performance (1.5 to 1) with second-harmonic output around 20,000 Mc are described. The analysis, construction, and performance of a 10,000-Mc disk-loaded-rod tube are presented. Apertured-disk and spiraled-waveguide structures are discussed briefly and compared with the helix and disk-loaded rod.
Ingermina, de Juan José Nieto:Antagonismo y alegoría en los orígenes de la novela caribeña

Este trabajo analiza una novela pionera en la tradicion literaria del Caribe colombiano: Ingermina, publicada por Juan Jose Nieto durante su exilio en Jamaica, en 1844, y practicamente olvidada durante un siglo y medio, hasta su reedicion en 1998. Ingermina relata la conquista del reino de Calamar y su conversion en la colonial Cartagena de Nueva Granada. El texto se organiza a partir del tema del amor entre una mujer indigena y un colonizador espanol. Al contrario de otros relatos (como el de la Malinche mexicana, Iracema en Brasil, etc.), la novela de Nieto ofrece un retrato notablemente diversificado de la poblacion indigena, dividida entre anticolonialistas radicales y moderados. Mi articulo analiza la subsuncion que realiza Nieto, de un antagonismo politico bajo un antagonismo moral. Anclado en el contexto de la Colombia decimononica, remito esa subsuncion a los limites del liberalismo de Nieto, uno de los mas radicales de su epoca.
Identification of a calcium-controlled negative regulatory system affecting Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation

Vibrio cholerae's capacity to cause outbreaks of cholera is linked to its survival and adaptability to changes in aquatic environments. One of the environmental conditions that can vary in V. cholerae's natural aquatic habitats is calcium (Ca(+2)). In this study, we investigated the response of V. cholerae to changes in extracellular Ca(2+) levels. Whole-genome expression profiling revealed that Ca(2+) decreased the expression of genes required for biofilm matrix production. Luria-Bertani (LB) medium supplemented with Ca(2+) (LBCa(2+)) caused V. cholerae to form biofilms with decreased thickness and increased roughness, as compared with biofilms formed in LB. Furthermore, addition of Ca(2+) led to dissolution in biofilms. Transcription of two genes encoding a two-component regulatory system pair, now termed calcium-regulated sensor (carS) and regulator (carR), was decreased in cells grown in LBCa(2+). Analysis of null and overexpression alleles of carS and carR revealed that expression of vps (Vibriopolysaccharide) genes and biofilm formation are negatively regulated by the CarRS two-component regulatory system. Through epistasis analysis we determined that CarR acts in parallel with HapR, the negative regulator of vps gene expression.
Executive Stock Options: Moral Hazard or Just Compensation?

The author discusses the flaws in the current structure of executive stock options that creates a moral hazard, by forcing a fundamental conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders of a company. However, eliminating stock options and replacing them with restricted stock in employee compensation packages is a mistake with far-reaching and long-term consequences. The author argues that executive stock options are part of the basic building blocks of efficient markets in that they create risk-sharing between employees and shareholders, with incentives for out-performance and penalties for under-performance. As a solution to this dilemma, the article proposes a simple yet fundamental change in the structure of executive options. The main thrust of this change involves basing the payout of the option on the long-term average of the stock price over the life of the option. The implementation of this change would address the moral hazard issue, preserve the value of options to corporations and employees, and, at the same time, result in a true alignment of management and long-term shareholder interests. The proposed changes also facilitate stability in the pre-retirement capital accumulation and post-retirement capital depletion life cycles of individual investors. Issues related to the expensing of options are addressed. Furthermore, this solution is shown to be robust against backdating manipulations.
Renal parenchymal damage in intermediate and high grade infantile vesicoureteral reflux.

Purpose: The association of vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infection and renal scarring is well recognized. We evaluated the incidence of renal parenchymal scarring in a large series of infants with primary high grade vesicoureteral reflux.Materials and Methods: The medical records of 549 consecutive infants with primary high grade vesicoureteral reflux between 1985 and 2006 were reviewed. A total of 473 infants (86.1%) presented with febrile urinary tract infections, 63 (11.5%) were screened for sibling vesicoureteral reflux and 13 (2.4%) were investigated because of prenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis. Age at diagnosis was defined as patient age at the first voiding cystourethrogram. Renal parenchymal scarring was evaluated by dimercapto-succinic acid scan and classified into 3 groups, including mild—focal defects with between 40% and 45% relative uptake of renal radionuclide, moderate—relative uptake between 20% and 40%, and severe—a shrunken kidney with relative uptake less than 20%.Results: Of ...
The Development and Resulting Performance Impact of Positive Psychological Capital.

Recently, theory and research have supported psychological capital (PsyCap) as an emerging core construct linked to positive outcomes at the individual and organizational level. However, to date, little attention has been given to PsyCap development through training interventions; nor have there been attempts to determine empirically if such PsyCap development has a causal impact on participants' performance. To fill these gaps we first conducted a pilot test of the PsyCap intervention (PCI) model with a randomized control group design. Next, we conducted a follow-up study with a cross section of practicing managers to determine if following the training guidelines of the PCI caused the participants' performance to improve. Results provide beginning empirical evidence that short training interventions such as PCI not only may be used to develop participants' psychological capital, but can also lead to an improvement in their on-the-job performance. The implications these findings have for human resource development and performance management conclude the article.
P4F-4 Feasibility of Two-Dimensional Quantitative Sonoelastographic Imaging

In this paper, a two-dimensional (2D) quantitative sonoelastographic technique for estimating local shear wave speeds from slowly propagating shear wave interference patterns (termed crawling waves) is presented. Homogeneous tissue- mimicking phantom results demonstrate the ability of quantitative sonoelastographic imaging to accurately reconstruct the true underlying shear wave speed distribution as verified using mechanical measurements. From heterogeneous phantoms containing a 5 or 10 mm stiff inclusion, results indicate that increasing the estimator kernel size increases the transition zone length about boundaries. Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values from quantitative sonoelastograms obtained in heterogeneous phantoms reveal that the 2D quantitative sonoelastographic imaging technique outperforms the one-dimensional (ID) precursor in terms of image noise minimization and contrast enhancement. Experimental results from an embedded porcine liver specimen with an induced radiofrequency ablation (RFA) lesion validate 2D quantitative sonoelastographic imaging in tissue. Overall, 2D quantitative sonoelastography was shown to be a promising new imaging method to characterizing the shear wave speed distribution in elastic materials.
An Abscopal Response to Radiation and Ipilimumab in a Patient with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

A posteriori evidence suggests that radiotherapy to a targeted tumor can elicit an immune-mediated abscopal (ab-scopus, away from the target) effect in non-targeted tumors, when combined with an anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 monoclonal (CTLA-4) antibody. Concurrent radiotherapy and ipilimumab (a human monoclonal anti-CTLA-4 antibody) induced immune-mediated abscopal effects in poorly immunogenic pre-clinical tumor models and metastatic melanoma patients. However, no such reports exist for patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. We report the first abscopal response in a treatment-refractory lung cancer patient treated with radiotherapy and ipilimumab. A post-treatment increase in tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic lymphocytes, tumor regression, and normalization of tumor markers was observed. One year after treatment with concurrent radiotherapy and ipilimumab the patient is without evidence of disease.
Consensus building in open source user interface design discussions

We report results of a study which examines consensus building in user interface design discussions in open source software communities. Our methodology consisted of conducting interviews with designers and developers from the Drupal and Ubuntu communities (N=17) and analyzing a large corpus of interaction data collected from Drupal. The interviews captured user perspectives on the challenges of reaching consensus, techniques employed for building consensus, and the consequences of not reaching consensus. We analyzed the interaction data to determine how different elements of the content, process, and user relationships in the design discussions affect consensus. Our main result shows that design discussions engaging participants with more experience and prior interaction history are more likely to reach consensus. Based on all of our results, we formulated design implications for promoting consensus in distributed discussions of user interface design issues.
NaturalLI: Natural Logic Inference for Common Sense Reasoning

Common-sense reasoning is important for AI applications, both in NLP and many vision and robotics tasks. We propose NaturalLI: a Natural Logic inference system for inferring common sense facts ‐ for instance, that cats have tails or tomatoes are round ‐ from a very large database of known facts. In addition to being able to provide strictly valid derivations, the system is also able to produce derivations which are only likely valid, accompanied by an associated confidence. We both show that our system is able to capture strict Natural Logic inferences on the FraCaS test suite, and demonstrate its ability to predict common sense facts with 49% recall and 91% precision.
Revisiting a Comparison of Eligibility Policies for Infant/Toddler Programs and Preschool Special Education Programs

In this study, the authors repeated an earlier analysis and comparison of state eligibility policies under the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the preschool special education program, Part B, Section 619, of IDEA. The impact of federal and state policy changes in the intervening years on the prospects for continuity of eligibility as children move from Part C to Part B was investigated. The analysis revealed fewer states in which discontinuity was a concern (21, down from 27). States in which continuity was either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” increased from 24 to 30. The authors discuss policy options affecting continuity of eligibility across the early childhood programs of IDEA and the relevance of their findings for realizing the purposes of IDEA.
Ghost Diffraction: Causal Explanation via Correlated Trajectory Calculations

We use trajectory calculations to successfully explain two-photon "ghost" diffraction, a phenomenon previously explained via quantum mechanical entanglement. The diffraction patterns are accumulated one photon pair at a time. The calculations are based on initial correlation of the trajectories in the crystal source and a trajectory-wave ordering interaction with a variant generator inherent in its structure. Details are presented in comparison with ordinary diffraction calculated with the same trajectory model.
Effects of Academic Vocabulary Instruction for Linguistically Diverse Adolescents: Evidence From a Randomized Field Trial

We conducted a randomized field trial to test an academic vocabulary intervention designed to bolster the language and literacy skills of linguistically diverse sixth-grade students (N = 2,082; n = 1,469 from a home where English is not the primary language), many demonstrating low achievement, enrolled in 14 urban middle schools. The 20-week classroom-based intervention improved students’ vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness skills, and comprehension of expository texts that included academic words taught, as well as their performance on a standardized measure of written language skills. The effects were generally larger for students whose primary home language is not English and for those students who began the intervention with underdeveloped vocabulary knowledge.
Distributed Quad-Tree for Spatial Querying in Wireless Sensor Networks

In contrast to the traditional wireless sensor network (WSN) applications that perform only data collection and aggregation, new generation of information processing applications, such as pursuit-evasion games, tracking, evacuation, and disaster relief applications, require in-network information storage and querying. Due to the resource limitations of WSNs, it is challenging to implement in-network information storage and querying in a resilient, energy-efficient, and distributed manner. To address these challenges, we exploit location information and geometry of the network and present an in-network querying infrastructure, namely distributed quad-tree (DQT) structure. DQT satisfies efficient in-network information storage as well as distance-sensitive querying: the cost of answering a query for an event is at most a constant factor (in our case 2radic2 ) of the distance "d" to the nearest event in the network. DQT construction is local and does not require any communication. Moreover, due to its minimalist infrastructure and stateless nature, DQT shows graceful resilience to the face of failures.
Interactions Among Insect Herbivore Guilds: Influence of Thrips Bud Injury on Foliar Chemistry and Suitability to Gypsy Moths

This study investigated the consequences of early season bud herbivory on host-plant phytochemistry and subsequent effects on a later mid-season leaf-feeding herbivore, to test the hypothesis that temporally segregated interguild interactions could affect herbivore success through plant-mediated responses. Our system consisted of American bass wood, Tilia americana, a bud-feeding thrips species, Thrips calcaratus, and the folivorous gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. The impact of thrips bud-feeding on American basswood foliar chemistry and subsequent effects on gypsy moth larval preference and performance were measured. Foliar total nonstructural carbohydrates increased and phenolic levels decreased in response to bud injury, which affected larval feeding preference. In a two-choice test, gypsy moth larvae preferred leaf discs with high carbohydrate and low phenolic levels. The effects on larval performance depended on the extent of prior bud injury and were correlated with carbohydrate concentrations. In an early season assay, larval performance was lowest on moderately bud-damaged tissue, which also had the lowest total nonstructural carbohydrates. In a mid-season assay, larval performance and carbohydrate concentrations were highest in severely bud-damaged foliage. Foliar phenolics were highest in severely bud-damaged tissue in the early season assay, and in moderately damaged tissue in the mid-season assay. Gypsy moth performance was not correlated with foliar phenolic levels. Secondary (reflushed) foliage had higher carbohydrate levels than did primary (original) foliage, which correlated with increased larval performance. This study illustrates that bud-feeding herbivores can alter the phytochemistry and subsequent suitability of host-plant foliage for later folivores. The implications of these results to interactions between feeding guilds, community structure, and forest health are discussed.
Use of sinkhole and specific capacity distributions to assess vertical gradients in a karst aquifer

The carbonate-rock aquifer in the Great Valley, West Virginia, USA, was evaluated using a database of 687 sinkholes and 350 specific capacity tests to assess structural, lithologic, and topographic influences on the groundwater flow system. The enhanced permeability of the aquifer is characterized in part by the many sinkholes, springs, and solutionally enlarged fractures throughout the valley. Yet, vertical components of subsurface flow in this highly heterogeneous aquifer are currently not well understood. To address this problem, this study examines the apparent relation between geologic features of the aquifer and two spatial indices of enhanced permeability attributed to aquifer karstification: (1) the distribution of sinkholes and (2) the occurrence of wells with relatively high specific capacity. Statistical results indicate that sinkholes (funnel and collapse) occur primarily along cleavage and bedding planes parallel to subparallel to strike where lateral or downward vertical gradients are highest. Conversely, high specific capacity values are common along prominent joints perpendicular or oblique to strike. The similarity of the latter distribution to that of springs suggests these fractures are areas of upward-convergent flow. These differences between sinkhole and high specific capacity distributions suggest vertical flow components are primarily controlled by the orientation of geologic structure and associated subsurface fracturing.
Skin cholesterol content identifies increased carotid intima–media thickness in asymptomatic adults

Background A noninvasive assay to measure skin Tc recently has become available for use in the outpatient setting as a cardiovascular (CV) risk prediction tool. The purpose of this study was to determine whether skin tissue cholesterol content (skin Tc) levels are associated with increased carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) after adjusting for known CV risk factors and Framingham CV risk. Methods Consecutive patients without known vascular disease who were referred for determination of CIMT underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the carotid arteries and measurement of skin Tc using a noninvasive assay. Use of medications, cardiac risk factors, and Framingham 10-year CV risk were determined prospectively. Multivariable regression was used to determine predictors of increased CIMT. Results Among 81 subjects, the mean (SD) age was 55.6 (7.7) years and the mean skin Tc was 95.9 (18.3) U. Carotid intima–media thickness was significantly higher among individuals in the highest quartile of skin Tc (0.87 vs 0.76 mm, P = .011). In multivariable analyses, skin Tc was associated with increased CIMT even after adjusting for age, sex, glucose, systolic blood pressure, total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and use of lipid-lowering therapy (odds ratio [OR] per 10-unit increase=1.590, 95% CI 1.525-1.658, P = .031). Skin Tc also was associated with increased CIMT after adjustment for Framingham risk (OR = 1.341, 95% CI 1.302-1.380, P = .048). Conclusions Skin Tc is an easy-to-measure, noninvasive marker that can help identify subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic middle-aged adults, even after controlling for risk factors and CV risk predicted by the Framingham model.
Intracellular H+ regulates the α-subunit of ENaC, the epithelial Na+ channel

Protons regulate electrogenic sodium absorption in a variety of epithelia, including the cortical collecting duct, frog skin, and urinary bladder. Recently, three subunits (α, β, γ) coding for the ...
Identification of promonocytes and monocytoid precursors in acute leukaemia of adults: ultrastructural and cytochemical observations.

Summary. Examination of 25 cases of adult non-lymphoid acute leukaemia by electron microscopy and esterase cytochemistry revealed that most cases contained a majority of classifiable cells, however undifferentiated they may have appeared by routine light microscopy. The major proliferating cell in most cases (72%) was found to be a promonocyte or monocytoid precursor cell, characterized by extreme nuclear convolution, large cytoplasmic bundles of microfilaments, and numerous small electron-dense lysosomal granules, which strongly stained for alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase. Pure granulocytic cases, representing a minority (24%), were composed of blasts and typical promyelocytes and myelocytes, staining for Naphthol-AS-D chloroacetate esterase. Only one case was totally composed of undifferentiated, unclassifiable blasts. These results show that electron microscopy and cytochemistry increase the accuracy of classification of leukaemia and that the true incidence of monocytic leukaemia may be much higher than generally recognized.
An efficient polynomial chaos method for uncertainty quantification in electromagnetic simulations

Realistic EM simulations involve input parameters that have variability associated with them can have substantial impact on the simulation outputs; thus the capability of quantifying these impacts becomes of great importance. In the stochastic modeling of most EM problem, computational efficiency is a concern in the selection of the method because of the intensive nature of electromagnetic simulations. In addition to the efficiency, a certain level of accuracy is also desired. This paper will address these requirements by introducing an inexpensive stochastic method; it is used to statistically characterize the effective permittivity of composite structures.
Structure of catalase determined by MicroED

MicroED is a recently developed method that uses electron diffraction for structure determination from very small three-dimensional crystals of biological material. Previously we used a series of still diffraction patterns to determine the structure of lysozyme at 2.9 A resolution with MicroED (Shi et al., 2013). Here we present the structure of bovine liver catalase determined from a single crystal at 3.2 A resolution by MicroED. The data were collected by continuous rotation of the sample under constant exposure and were processed and refined using standard programs for X-ray crystallography. The ability of MicroED to determine the structure of bovine liver catalase, a protein that has long resisted atomic analysis by traditional electron crystallography, demonstrates the potential of this method for structure determination.
Endothelium-dependent vasodilation during acute rejection in dogs.

Abstract Background Acute rejection, which is a major cause of death after cardiac transplantation, is associated with increased coronary artery resistance and decreased coronary blood flow, leading to congestive heart failure. Materials and methods To examine the contribution of endothelium-derived vasoactive factors on coronary artery tone during acute rejection, dogs underwent orthotopic heart transplantation without immunosuppression. Plasma levels of endothelin, a potent endogenous vasoconstrictor peptide, and atrial natriuretic peptide, an endogenous coronary vasodilator of cardiac origin, were measured daily by radioimmunoassay until sacrifice. Results Over 7 days, all animals developed acute rejection accompanied by progressive increases in plasma endothelin (10 ± 3 to 25 ± 4 pg/ml, n = 6, P n = 6, P Conclusions In early, untreated acute rejection after orthotopic heart transplantation, graft dysfunction is not associated with impaired endothelium-dependent coronary artery vasodilation but may result from enhanced production of endothelin, a potent vasoconstrictor.
Graphene/Si multilayer structure anodes for advanced half and full lithium-ion cells

Graphene/Si multilayer structures were constructed through a repeated process of filtering liquid-phase exfoliated graphene film and the subsequent coating of amorphous Si film via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The multilayer heterogeneous structure films, directly fabricated on copper current collectors, were used as anodes for rechargeable lithium half-cells and full-cells without adding any polymer binder or conductive additives. The half cells based on the new anodes could easily achieve a capacity almost four times higher than the theoretical value of graphite even after 30 cycles' charging/ discharging. It also demonstrated improved capacity retention compared to those of pure Si film-based anodes. Furthermore, full cells composed of the graphene/Si multilayer structure anodes and commercially available LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 cathodes were also assembled. Initial results showed good electrochemical performance comparable to that of commercially available rechargeable LIBs. Our prepared multilayer structures, taking advantage of the long cycle life of carbon and the high lithium-storage capacity of Si, provided a promising research platform that may eventually lead to an optimized anode structure for advanced rechargeable LIBs. & 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Extended Baum transformations for general functions

The discrimination technique for estimating the parameters of Gaussian mixtures that is based on the extended Baum transformations (EB) has had significant impact on the speech recognition community. There appear to be no published proofs that definitively show that these transformations increase the value of an objective function with iteration (i.e., so-called "growth transformations"). The proof presented in the current paper is based on the linearization process and the explicit growth estimate for linear forms of Gaussian mixtures. We also derive new transformation formulae for estimating the parameters of Gaussian mixtures generalizing the EB algorithm, and run simulation experiments comparing different growth transformations.
Instability of capillary jets with thermocapillarity

Long axisymmetric liquid zones are subject to axial temperature gradients which induce steady viscous flows driven by thermocapillarity. The approximately parallel flow in a cylindrical zone is examined for linearized instabilities. Capillary, surface-wave and thermal modes are found. Capillary breakup can be retarded or even suppressed for small Prandtl number and large Biot number B, which measures heat transfer from the liquid to the surrounding atmosphere. In the limiting case B approaches infinity the zone becomes an isothermal jet subject to axial 'wind stress' on its interface. It is then possible to suppress capillary breakup entirely so that one can maintain long coherent jets.
Micro-environment causes reversible changes in DNA methylation and mRNA expression profiles in patient-derived glioma stem cells

In vitro and in vivo models are widely used in cancer research. Characterizing the similarities and differences between a patient's tumor and corresponding in vitro and in vivo models is important for understanding the potential clinical relevance of experimental data generated with these models. Towards this aim, we analyzed the genomic aberrations, DNA methylation and transcriptome profiles of five parental tumors and their matched in vitro isolated glioma stem cell (GSC) lines and xenografts generated from these same GSCs using high-resolution platforms. We observed that the methylation and transcriptome profiles of in vitro GSCs were significantly different from their corresponding xenografts, which were actually more similar to their original parental tumors. This points to the potentially critical role of the brain microenvironment in influencing methylation and transcriptional patterns of GSCs. Consistent with this possibility, ex vivo cultured GSCs isolated from xenografts showed a tendency to return to their initial in vitro states even after a short time in culture, supporting a rapid dynamic adaptation to the in vitro microenvironment. These results show that methylation and transcriptome profiles are highly dependent on the microenvironment and growth in orthotopic sites partially reverse the changes caused by in vitro culturing.
Positive indirect effects in a coral reef fish community

Indirect effects occur when two species interact through one or more intermediate species. Theoretical studies indicate that indirect interactions between two prey types that share common predators can be positive, neutral or negative. We document a positive indirect interaction between different types of prey fish on coral reefs in Australia. A high abundance of one type of prey fish (cardinalfishes: Apogonidae) resulted in higher recruitment, abundance and species richness of other prey fish. Our evidence indicates that these effects were not due to differential settlement but were instead due to differential post-settlement predation. We hypothesize that resident piscivores altered their foraging behaviour by concentrating on highly abundant cardinal-fish when they were present, leaving recruits of other species relatively unmolested. Indirect effects were evident within 48 h of settlement and persisted throughout the 42-day experiment, highlighting the importance of early post-settlement processes in these communities.
Pathos and Pastoralism: Aristotle's Rhetoric in Medieval England

In 1927 Heidegger claimed that there was hardly a better analysis of the emotions than Aristotle's account in book 2 of his Rhetoric. Here I will consider how this pronouncement might have rung true for a fifteenth-century English preacher. My study concerns an unexpected junction of two textual worlds, one ancient and one medieval, all the more surprising because the connection occurs in the mind of a fifteenth-century annotator of a manuscript of Aristotle. The significance of this intersection lies in that vast field that we now call the “history of the emotions.” My argument here will take its departure from a poignant and powerful piece of manuscript evidence that links Aristotle's Rhetoric with the poetic effects of Piers Plowman. This evidence opens a window onto what the Rhetoric meant to readers in medieval England and how it was appreciated for its systematic, rhetorical approach to the passions. The Rhetoric could serve as a catalyst acting upon two already familiar discourses, poetry and preac...