cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prior parity reduces post-coital diurnal and nocturnal prolactin surges in rats.

Abstract Mating stimuli received by female rats activate a neuroendocrine mnemonic system which produces daily diurnal and nocturnal prolactin (PRL) surges for the first half of gestation, surges which help maintain corpora lutea function and a viable pregnancy. Since these PRL surges may be regulated in part by endogenous opioids and opioid sensitivity declines as a function of multiple births, we decided to investigate the possibility that prior parity might affect the post-coital diurnal and nocturnal PRL surges, reducing their magnitude and/or occurrence. Age-matched, nulliparous and primiparous rats were mated to males from our colony. On days 5 or 10 of pregnancy females received jugular catheters. Blood samples were collected at regular intervals from 1000 h on day 7 to 1000 h on day 8, and from 1000 h on day 12 to 1000 h on day 13 of gestation in separate sets of multigravid and primigravid rats. Measurement of plasma PRL by radioimmunoassay revealed that prior reproductive experience altered the patterns and levels of plasma PRL. Plasma PRL levels were significantly reduced during both the diurnal and nocturnal surges on days 7–8 in multigravid rats when compared with levels in primigravid rats. No differences in PRL levels were found between primigravid and multigravid groups on days 12 to 13 of gestation. The changes in diurnal and nocturnal PRL surges during early pregnancy indicate that prior parity reduces the subsequent secretion of PRL, possibly by altering the neuroendocrine regulation of this hormone.
Analytical modeling of bone-cement interface and failure prediction

Abstract Artificial joint replacement is becoming increasingly important in orthopedics. Several hundreds of thousands of operations, especially of the hip joint, have already been performed. The design of such joints depends largely on how accurately they can be modeled analytically such that their load transmission characteristics can be determined. One of the most critical areas of investigation is the interface existing between bone and implant in the orthopedic prostheses applications. This investigation examines the effect of varying modulus between bone and cement (PMMA) on the failure of the joint. An energy criterion is used rather than the stress criteria normally applied in the open literature. The results of the present study show that the modulus variation within the interface can have a significant influence on the stress and energy fields in the region near a material interface. It is found that if the interface modulus has a gradual variation, the predicted stress fields resemble those with a single material interface model which has a higher (stiffer) average modulus. The interface modulus variation and average modulus are shown to have a significant effect on the predicted location and onset of failure which is of primary interest. The present modeling scheme is intended to demonstrate some of the effects which might locally be found near the bone and cement interface in a prosthetic joint.
Effect of Diabetic Control on Retinopathy

This paper presents an analysis of the literature regarding the effect of control of diabetes on retinopathy. In diabetics with age of onset before forty years of age and with a duration greater than fifteen years, there is a significantly higher incidence of retinopathy in those judged to have been under poor control than in those with better control. Those patients with poor control had a significantly higher incidence of the more severe forms of diabetic retinopathy. While this association does not necessarily imply a cause and effect relationship, it is not compatible with a point of view which accepts poor control as of little consequence in diabetes.
Power balance considerations for brushless doubly-fed machines

This paper discusses the power balances in a brushless doubly-fed machine (BDFM). Equations of power in the two stator windings and the rotor circuit, showing the distribution of electrical and mechanical powers in the air-gap, are obtained in two different speed ranges of BDFM synchronous mode operation. Comparisons vis-a-vis power distribution are made between the wound-rotor induction machine (WRIM) and the BDFM. A brief analysis of the power balances, along with experimental data points obtained using a laboratory prototype machine, are given.
Origin of calc-alkalic andesites, Nasu zone, northeastern Japan: Kuno revisited.

KUNO (1950, 1959) first identified the existence of two rock series in the Japanese volcanic arc and proposed the origin of one from the other by assimilation of granitic material. In the Nasu zone in northeastern Japan, both the tholeiitic suite with pigeonite in the groundmass and the calc-alkalic suite with hypersthene as the Ca-poor pyroxene in the groundmass have been shown to have erupted from one volcano and to have differences in major element chemistries (KAWANO and AOKI, 1960; KAWANO et al., 1961). MASUDA and AOKI (1979), using mainly trace elements, showed that the calc-alkalic suite has higher Mg, K, Co, Cr, Ni, Th, and U than the tholeiitic suite, and also that each suite had a separate fractional crystallization. A model is presented here which is intended to explain both the mineralogical and chemical differences. KUNO's idea of assimilation is considered from a different point of view; that is, calc-alkalic basaltic andesite is formed by the partial assimilation of mafic rather than granitic material by a silicic tholeiitic andesite. Changes in the chemistry, mainly in the Mg/Fe ratio in the contaminated magma, prevents the crystallization of pigeonite; a drop in temperature as KUNO suggested is not as important although lower temperatures will help. It is demonstrated how such elements as K, Th, and U, which tend to be concentrated in granitic material, can be increased in the calc-alkalic rocks by addition of mafic xenoliths. This process is offered as an alternative to magma mixing, since it is believed that the mineralogical features used to support magma mixing could be explained equally well by assimilation.
Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) myoglobin: characterization and comparative stability

Abstract 1. 1. This paper presents information on the isolation, purification, and characterization of myoglobins from yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares . 2. 2. Data presented include amino acid composition, isoelectric point, reactivity of histidine and sulfhydryl residues, chromatographic behavior, optical rotatory dispersion, sedimentation coefficient, and mol. wt. 3. 3. The susceptibility of tuna myoglobin to denaturation by urea and heat has been compared to that of sperm whale myoglobin. 4. 4. Based on the structural features investigated, the more open configuration of the tuna myoglobin and its smaller α-helical content were felt to be the most obvious causes of the relative instability of this protein compared to whale myoglobin.
Effects of Age and Gender on Cardiovascular Responses to Phenylephrine

BACKGROUND The age-associated impairment in left ventricular (LV) systolic function appears to be mostly detectable during exercise or sympathetic stimulation. We hypothesized that the decline in cardiac function could be unmasked by an acute increase in afterload induced by phenylephrine. We further sought to examine whether the deterioration in cardiac function is influenced by gender. METHODS We studied 17 young (20-31 years old) and 21 older healthy subjects (60-75 years old) who were given infusions of incremental doses of phenylephrine following cardiac muscarinic receptor blockade with atropine. Left ventricular systolic function was assessed with 2-D echocardiography. RESULTS The young subjects exhibited a paradoxical increase in heart rate in response to alpha-adrenergic stimulation, but the older subjects did not (p < .01). The increase in systolic blood pressure in response to phenylephrine was influenced by age and gender (i.e., greater in the younger men and older women), whereas the increase in diastolic blood pressure was greater in the younger than the older subjects of both sexes. The changes in LV end-diastolic diameter with phenylephrine were unaffected by age or gender. The slope of the systolic shortening-end systolic wall stress relationship was significantly steeper in the older subjects, suggesting a decline in the contractile response to an acute increase in afterload with aging. CONCLUSIONS This study's findings suggest that age can significantly influence the cardiovascular responses to alpha-adrenergic stimulation and that phenylephrine, by acutely increasing afterload, is effective in unmasking the age-associated deterioration in left ventricular systolic function. Further, it appears that the increase in systolic blood pressure in response to an alpha-adrenergic challenge is significantly influenced not only by age but also by gender.
Using mass spectrometry for quantitative proteomics

Abstract Proteomics can be defined as the analysis of biological processes and systems by the systematic analysis of a large number of expressed proteins for specific properties such as their identity, quantity, activity and molecular interactions. Over the past few years, exceptional progress has been made towards developing a mature technology for the identification and cataloging of the proteins expressed in a cell or tissue (descriptive proteomics). More recently, efforts have focused on a quantitative proteomics technology that can also capture the dynamics of biological systems.
Properties of Frozen Dairy Desserts Processed by Microfluidization of their Mixes

Sensory properties and rate of meltdown of nonfat (0% fat) and low-fat (2% fat) vanilla ice creams processed either by conventional valve homogenization or microfluidization of their mixes were compared with each other and to ice cream (10% fat) processed by conventional valve homogenization. Mixes for frozen dairy desserts containing 0, 2, and 10% fat were manufactured. Some of the nonfat and low-fat ice cream mixes were processed by microfluidization at 50, 100, 150, and 200 MPa, and the remaining nonfat and low-fat ice cream mixes and all of the ice cream mix were processed by conventional valve homogenization at 13.8 MPa, first stage, and 3.4 MPa, second stage. The finished frozen and hardened products were evaluated at d 1 and 45 for meltdown rate and for flavor and body and texture by preference testing. Nonfat and low-fat ice creams that usually had a slower meltdown were produced when processing their mixes by microfluidization instead of by conventional valve homogenization. Sensory scores for the ice cream were significantly higher than sensory scores for the nonfat and low-fat ice creams, but the sensory scores for the conventional valve homogenized controls for the nonfat ice cream and low-fat ice cream were not significantly different from the sensory scores for the nonfat ice cream and low-fat ice cream processed by microfluidization of the mixes, respectively. Microfluidization produced nonfat and low-fat ice creams that usually had a slower meltdown without affecting sensory properties.
Portable emission measurements of Yellowstone Park snowcoaches and snowmobiles.

As part of the National Park Service’s Temporary Winter Use Plans Environmental Assessment, the University of Denver has been collecting in-use tailpipe emissions data from snowcoaches and snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. During the winter of 2006, using a portable emissions monitoring system, tailpipe data were collected from 10 snowcoaches and 2 four-stroke snowmobiles. These vehicles were operated over a standard route within the park, and the snowcoaches all carried identical passenger loads. These snowcoaches were newer in age with more advanced fuel management technology than those studied earlier, and average emissions were lower as a result (120, 1.7, and 11 g/mi for carbon monoxide [CO], hydrocarbons [HC], and oxides of nitrogen [NOx]). Large emissions variability was still observed despite using a standardized route and equal passenger loading. A comparison between five nearly identically equipped snowcoaches that had CO emissions ranging between 12 and 310 g/mi suggests that snow and road conditions are the most important factors behind the large emissions variability observed between modern snowcoaches. The first comprehensive emission measurements, using a portable emissions measurement system, on two snowmobiles showed that computer-controlled fuel management systems have increased fuel economy (25 mpg) and are a major reason that emissions from these winter vehicles have dropped so dramatically. Using all of the tailpipe emissions data collected to date shows that the two primary winter vehicles in Yellowstone National Park are now very similar in their per-passenger emissions.
Cellular Versus Functional Layouts Under a Variety of Shop Operating Conditions

This paper addresses the suitability of cellular manufacturing under a variety of operating conditions. Queueing theoretic and simulation models of cellular and functional layouts are developed for various shop operating environments to investigate several factors believed to influence the benefits associated with a cellular manufacturing layout. The queueing models show how operations overlapping, which is more practical with a cellular layout, becomes more beneficial as the lot size increases. The simulation models are developed to study the performance of cellular and functional layouts in a wide variety of operating environments by varying the levels of four factors: (1) the degree to which natural part families occur, (2) the number of operations required to process the parts, (3) the processing times of the parts at each machine, and (4) the lot size. Two response variables are used to measure shop performance: the average time spent by a batch in the system, and the average work-in-process level. Statistically significant reductions in the average time in the system and average work-in-process measures were detected for the cellular layouts in all the operating environments studied.
Autonomous transaction processing using data dependency in mobile environments

Transaction processing in mobile database systems faces new challenges to accommodate the limitations of mobile environments, such as frequent disconnections and low bandwidth. We propose a transaction processing protocol that increases the autonomy of clients, based on the dependency relation among updated data items. Lists of dependents, sent by the server to the mobile clients along with requested data items, are used by each client to build partial serialization graphs. Utilizing the graphs, mobile clients can autonomously verify serializability of locally executed read-only transactions. This information can also help mobile clients in early detection of the necessity to abort update transactions. Simulations for various data access patterns initiated by mobile clients provide insights on performance of the proposed protocol. Performance is heavily dependent on the depth of the dependency information for each data item.
Production of injection molding tooling with conformal cooling channels using the three dimensional printing process

A Solid Freeform Fabrication Process called Three Dimensional Printing is applied to the fabrication of injection molding tooling with cooling channels which are conformal to the molding cavity. The tool is created by spreading layers of stainless steel powder and selectviely joining the powder in the layers by ink-jet printing of a binder material. Unbound powder is removed from without and within the green part thus defined. The green part is sintered and infiltrated with a copper alloy to produce a fully dense tool. The infiltrant is kept out of the cooling channels by elevating the tool above the free surface of the pool of infiltrant in the crucible, thus creating a controlled negative pressure within the infiltrant. An upper limit to the separation of tooling cavity and cooling channel was derived based on transient heat transfer considerations. A tooling set was created to mold a split ring shape and conformal cooling channels were placed in both the cavity and core sides of the tool. The performance of this tool was compared against the performance of a tooling set with straight cooling channels. Thermocouples buried in the core and cavity showed that the conformal tool had no period of transient behavior at the start of molding, while the tool with straight channels took 10–15 cycles to come to an equilibrium temperature some 40°C above the temperature of the coolant. The conformal tool was also found to maintain a more uniform temperature within the tool during an individual molding cycle. The gap in the molded split rings did not change from cycle to cycle with the conformal tool, while it did with the conventional tool. A 2-D finite difference model accurately captured the observed temperature histories of the mold with conformal cooling channels.
Visual evoked Responses to Square Wave Reversing Patterns

The impetus for this study was in the clinic, to find a good technique for testing visual evoked responses of patients with visual acuity losses. One objective was to use pattern reversal stimulation to avoid contamination from luminance responses. Literature studies on pattern reversal stimulation of visual evoked responses have utilized two types of reversal. One type is sine wave reversal, such as employed by Spekreijse (1966), Behrman et al. (1972) Sokol & Bloom (1973) and others. Another type of stimulation is abrupt or’ square-wave’ reversal, utilized by Armington et al. (1971), Johnson et al. (1966), Regan & Richards (1971) and Halliday et al. (1972). We decided to compare these two types of pattern reversal on the same normal subjects, to let us know what we might expect from patients. The evoked responses obtained were analysed by means of narrow band electronic filters and comparisons drawn between the two types of stimulation.
Adaptive multi-robot team reconfiguration using a policy-reuse reinforcement learning approach

We consider the problem of dynamically adjusting the formation and size of robot teams performing distributed area coverage, when they encounter obstacles or occlusions along their path. Based on our earlier formulation of the robotic team formation problem as a coalitional game called a weighted voting game (WVG), we show that the robot team size can be dynamically adapted by adjusting the WVG's quota parameter. We use a Q-learning algorithm to learn the value of the quota parameter and a policy reuse mechanism to adapt the learning process to changes in the underlying environment. Experimental results using simulated e-puck robots within the Webots simulator show that our Q-learning algorithm converges within a finite number of steps in different types of environments. Using the learning algorithm also improves the performance of an area coverage application where multiple robot teams move in formation to explore an initially unknown environment by 5−10%.
Treatment of Younger Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Younger patients (defined as patients younger than 50-55 years of age) represent a small group of newly diagnosed patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, accounting only for 10% to 20% of newly diagnosed cases. However, once these patients become symptomatic and require treatment, their life expectancy is significantly reduced. Therapeutic approaches for younger patients should be directed at improving survival by achieving a complete remission and, where possible, eradicating minimal residual disease. Chemoimmunotherapy combinations carry the highest response rates and are commonly offered to younger patients. Additional strategies that should be considered for younger patients include early referral for stem-cell transplantation and clinical trials of consolidation therapy to eliminate minimal residual disease.
Magnesium deficiency produces insulin resistance and increased thromboxane synthesis.

Evidence suggests that magnesium deficiency may play an important role in cardiovascular disease. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a magnesium infusion and dietary-induced isolated magnes...
Adaptive crossed dipole antennas using a genetic algorithm

Antenna misalignment in a mobile wireless communications system results in a signal loss due to a decrease in antenna directivity and a polarization mismatch. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to adaptively alter the polarization and directivity of a crossed dipole receive antenna in order to increase the link budget. The three orthogonal dipole configuration works better than only two crossed dipoles, but both improved the link loss as the angular pointing errors increased. A GA with a high mutation rate works best for a noiseless open loop adaptation, while a GA with a low mutation rate works best for noisy fully adaptive system.
ADAMTS-1/METH-1 and TIMP-3 expression in the primate corpus luteum: divergent patterns and stage-dependent regulation during the natural menstrual cycle.

Studies were designed to determine if ADAMTS-1 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin repeats-1) is expressed in the rhesus monkey corpus luteum (CL), is regulated by endocrine (LH) or local (progesterone) factors, and is correlated with tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3), an inhibitor of ADAMTS-1. PCR analyses indicated that ADAMTS-1 mRNA is expressed in luteinized granulosa cells during controlled ovarian stimulation cycles, and peaks in CL during the early luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, before decreasing ( P< 0.05) by the mid –late stage. Immunostaining for ADAMTS-1 was detected in luteal cells, peaking in early CL. LH and/or steroid depletion at mid– late luteal stage decreased ( P< 0.05) ADAMTS-1 mRNA levels compared to controls; LH but not progestin (R5020) replacement prevented this decrease. In contrast, LH and/or steroid ablation– replacement in the early CL did not affect ADAMTS-1 levels. TIMP-3 mRNA levels were lowest during the early CL and rose progressively ( P< 0.05), peaking in late CL. The divergent expression patterns during the CL lifespan suggest that an imbalance between ADAMTS-1 and TIMP-3 is important during luteal formation (ADAMTS-1 predominates) and regression (TIMP-3 predominates). Also, LH, perhaps via steroids other than progesterone, promotes ADAMTS-1 expression as a function of the stage of the CL.
BIOGENESIS OF PLASMA MEMBRANES IN SALT GLANDS OF SALT-STRESSED DOMESTIC DUCKLINGS: LOCALIZATION OF ACYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY

In response to salt water stress there is a marked increase in the plasma membranes of the epithelial secretory cells of the salt glands of domestic ducklings. In the present study, the fine-structural localization of the acyltransferases involved in synthesis of phospholipids has been investigated in this tissue during this increased biogenesis of plasma membranes. The specific activity of the acyltransferases of the salt gland rose in response to salt stress, and this preceded the rapid increase in weight and cellular differentiation. After the weight increase of the gland became established, the specific activity of the acyltransferases declined, but the total activity remained constant. Salt gland tissue fixed in a mixture of glutaraldehyde and formaldehyde retained 35% of the acyltransferase activity of unfixed tissue. Cytochemical studies of the localization of acyltransferase activity in fixed and unfixed salt gland showed reaction product associated only with the lamellar membranes of the Golgi complex. This localization occurred in partially differentiated cells from salt-stressed glands to the greatest extent; and to only a small extent in cells of control tissue from unstressed salt glands. Omission of substrates resulted in absence of reaction product in association with the Golgi membranes. In addition, vesicles having limiting membranes morphologically similar to the plasma membrane occurred between the Golgi region and the plasma membrane in the partially differentiated cells. The phospholipid component of the plasma membrane appears therefore to be synthesized in association with the Golgi membranes and the membrane packaged at this site from which it moves in the form of vesicles to fuse with the pre-existing plasma membrane.
Achieving Electronic Health Record Access from the Cloud

There is an impending requirement for healthcare providers to enable widespread access to their electronic health record systems for the patients they serve. Programs such as the Department of Health and Human Services’ Meaningful Use are providing monetary incentives to providers for offering this type of access but affording virtually no guidance as to how it could be accomplished. This research proposes a solution to this challenge by creating a flexible, proven framework that sets the stage for ubiquitous patient access to electronic health records, while preserving security and privacy. Using technologies such as OpenID and federated authentication, this research establishes a standardized approach for healthcare providers to follow to bridge their EHR systems to the Cloud and offer the type of pervasive electronic access the connected world demands.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and LUTS

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a histopathologic finding in prostates in aging men, and LUTS is a complex of voiding symptoms also seen in aging men but not exclusively. Also, BPH is not the sole cause of LUTS in men. Historically terms like prostatism were used when both of these conditions were present at the same time, but it is now well established that there is no cause and effect relationship and thus this term is no longer used. LUTS can be caused by bladder dysfunction, polyuria, sleep disorders, and a number of other systemic disorders. BPH represents a significant burden in aging men due to frequently associated LUTS, which have an impact on the quality of life. BPH is also a progressive disease in most men, mainly characterized by worsening of LUTS over time. Progression in some patients can result in serious outcomes such as acute urinary retention and need for BPH-related surgery. The evaluation of BPH and LUTS is well established, but the treatment options continue to evolve. The goals of therapy for BPH are not only to improve bothersome LUTS but to protect the bladder function and identify patients at risk of complications.
Parallel Implicit Solution of Diffusion-limited Radiation Transport

We present simulations of diffusion-limited transport in an initially cold medium of two different materials subjected to an impulsive radiative load, using a Newton-Krylov-Schwarz solver. The spatial discretization employs Galerkin finite elements with linear piecewise continuous basis functions over simplices in 2D and 3D. Temporal integration is via a solution-adaptive implicit Euler method. The code shows excellent domain-decomposed scalability on the Teragrid, BlueGene, and System X platforms. Comparing implementations for this application with flop-intensive residual evaluation, we observe that an analytical Jacobian gives better performance (in terms of the overall execution time to solution) than a Jacobian-free approach. 1 Diffusion-limited radiation transport Under the assumptions of isotropic radiation with no frequency dependence, transport through a material characterized by spatially varying atomic number Z and thermal conductivity of κ can be modeled by the following coupled nonlinear equations, known as flux-limited radiation diffusion [9]:
High-Speed 1D Raman/Rayleigh Scattering Imaging in Turbulent H2/N2 Flames

In this paper we describe the development of a high-speed (10-kHz acquisition rate) combined 1D Raman/Rayleigh scattering imaging system for quantitative measurements in turbulent non-premixed jet flames. We demonstrate the high-speed 1D Raman/Rayleigh technique in a DLR H3 (50% H2/50% N2, Re = 10,000) turbulent jet flame by utilizing the High-Energy Pulse Burst Laser System (HEPBLS) at The Ohio State University. Presented in this paper are simultaneous, temporallyand spatially-correlated measurements of temperature, major species mole fractions (O2, N2, H2, and H20), and mixture fraction. Also presented are visualizations that highlight the utility of the high-speed system. Detailed measurements in near-adiabatic, laminar calibration flames were used to assess the accuracy and precision of the kHz-rate measurements using the high-speed Raman/Rayleigh scattering imaging system. In general, good agreement was found as compared to adiabatic flame calculations over a broad range of temperature and equivalence ratios. Beyond visualization, the new time-resolved measurements allow the determination of temporal auto-correlation functions (and associated integral time scales) for multiple scalars.
Natural populations of entomopathogenic nematodes (Rhabditida : Heterorhabditidae, Steinernematidae) from the Hawaiian Islands

Soils from 351 sites representing ecologically diverse habitats from six Hawaiian Islands (sea level to 4,200 m) were assessed for entomopathogenic nematodes using the Galleria baiting technique. Twenty-four sites (6.8%)were positive for entomopathogenic nematodes. Twenty-two sites (6.3%) were positive for a Heterorhabditis sp. from the islands of Kauai (6), Oahu (5), Maui (4), Molokai (1), and Hawaii (6), and two sites were positive for a Steinernema sp. from Maui. No entomopathogenic nematodes were recovered from soils on the island of Lanai. Heterorhabditids were highly correlated with ocean beaches within 100 m of seashore (0 m elevation). These positive sites had soils containing sand grains from coral and shells with moderately alkaline pH (8.0) and low organic content (12%). The steinernematid isolates came from inland areas in silty clay and silt loam soils with higher organic content (15–35%).
Erect spiral growth in some living and fossil bryozoans

Erect spiralled growth forms have developed independently in several bryozoan lineages. Spiralled forms composed of narrow unilaminated branches have achieved their unique growth by basically similar methods. These include rapid apical growth and closely spaced branch bifurcations as the apex follows a helical path around the colony axis, thereby producing an axial colony margin along the helical path. Radially increasing branch systems diverge from the bifurcation points along the axial colony margin.
THE COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SEISMIC INVERSION SOFTWARE

Many seismic inversion methods have been developed to solve these problems, such as improving the resolution and maximum possibility to apply the useful information of seismic data. These methods developed very fast within using and become more and more perfect. These software solved many geological problems in a lot of oilfields. This article introduced the conditions of seismic inversion and develop trend. Compared the main technology, characteristic, appliance region, restrict of appliance etc of main inversion software from the angle of personal user.
In Search of the Roots of Stregheria

This chapter is a preliminary exploration of the links between three layers of ver- nacular religion and the experiences underlying them: Italian vernacular religion and healing, Italian American versions of these customs, and Stregheria-, or Italian American revival Witchcraft,1 a Neo-Pagan religion practiced by second-, third- and fourth-generation Italian Americans seeking new ways to connect with spirituality and construct ethnic identity. I argue that Italian vernacular religion was linked to a number of geographic, economic, religious, and social factors that were particular to the regions and towns in which it developed, but also partook of a broader cosmol- ogy that I am calling “the enchanted worldview.” In this chapter, I will outline some of the parameters of this worldview and sketch its particulars, especially in the areas of vernacular healing, magic, and witchcraft. I also propose that American scholars reconsider historical approaches to the study of tradition, especially when these can shed light on how traditions change over time to incorporate elements from elite and ecclesiastical cultures. This is the first step of a much broader study in which I hope to examine each of these aspects of Italian vernacular culture in greater detail. It grows out of my previous research on Italian religious festivals, Italian American ethnicity, and the reclamation of European folklore by contemporary Pagan religions.
Cervical cancer among young Vietnamese American women: incidence, risk factors, and early detection.

OBJECTIVES: This paper has three objectives: 1) to review the problem of cervical cancer in Vietnamese American women; 2) to identify the gaps in the published literature regarding this problem in young Vietnamese American women; and 3) to gain a better understanding of their health behavior in order to address an important health concern for this population in the future. METHODS: Published literature about the health status of Vietnamese American women was reviewed. RESULTS: Little has been published about the health of Young Vietnamese American women (are 18-30), the age group at highest risk for Hepatitis B infection. Also, it is unclear why they do not have regular Pap screenings. CONCLUSIONS: A greater understanding of this population's high-risk behaviors, such as sexual and smoking behaviors, must be reached. More research is needed on the impact of acculturation and their knowledge and understanding of screening. Educational approaches targeting risky behaviors and the need for screening must be developed. Implementation of effective health education and disease prevention strategies are needed.
Argus: A Multi-tenancy NoSQL store with workload-aware resource reservation

Abstract Multi-tenancy in cloud hosted NoSQL data stores is favored by cloud providers as it allows more effective resource sharing amongst different tenants thus lowering operating costs. A NoSQL provider will often present to each tenant a dedicated view of the store but then behind the scenes consolidate tenant access into a shared instance. This multi-tenancy approach with tenant data and workloads coexisting in the same infrastructure, under certain conditions can lead to performance degradation of one tenant caused by another as we show experimentally. This paper introduces Argus, a NoSQL store equipped with resource reservation to prevent performance interference across tenants in a multi-tenancy environment. Cache reservation is enforced through partitioning the cache space and disk reservation enforced through scheduling requests to a Distributed File System (DFS). We model the reservation on various workloads as a constrained optimization problem and use the stochastic hill climbing algorithm to find a near-optimum plan for different resource reservations. Empirical results show that Argus is able to prevent interference, adapt to dynamic workloads, and outperform A-Cache, another interference preventing NoSQL solution.
Information Asymmetry and Minimum Quality Standards in Supply Chain Oligopolies

This chapter begins Part II of this book with Part II focusing on information asymmetry in product quality. We present a supply chain network model with information asymmetry in product quality. The competing profit-maximizing firms with multiple manufacturing plants know the quality of the product that they produce but consumers, at the demand markets, are aware only of the average quality. The framework is relevant to products ranging from certain foods to pharmaceuticals to durables such as automobiles. We propose an equilibrium model and its dynamic counterpart and show how minimum quality standards can be incorporated. Qualitative results and an algorithm are presented, along with convergence results. The numerical examples, with sensitivity analysis, provide valuable insights for firms, consumers, as well as policy-makers, who impose the minimum quality standards.
Bias, rationality and asymmetric loss functions☆

Abstract In the literature, it is a common empirical finding that survey based expectations are biased at the individual level. This has sparked a large debate if forecasters have asymmetric loss functions or the rationality assumption is violated. In this paper, I will show that the bias can in large part be explained by the pattern of missing observations in the survey. Thus the assumption of asymmetric loss functions is not required to satisfy the rationality assumption.
Trait variation along elevation gradients in a dominant woody shrub is population-specific and driven by plasticity

Elevation gradients are frequently used as space-for-time substitutions to infer species' trait responses to climate change. However, studies rarely investigate whether trait responses to elevation are widespread or population-specific within a species, and the relative genetic and plastic contributions to such trait responses may not be well understood. Here, we examine plant trait variation in the dominant woody shrub, Rhododendron maximum, along elevation gradients in three populations in the South Central Appalachian Mountains, USA, in both field and common garden environments. We ask the following: (i) do plant traits vary along elevation? (ii) do trait responses to elevation differ across populations, and if so, why? and (iii) does genetic differentiation or phenotypic plasticity drive trait variation within and among populations? We found that internode length, shoot length, leaf dry mass, and leaf area varied along elevation, but that these responses were generally unique to one population, suggesting that trait responses to environmental gradients are population-specific. A common garden experiment identified no genetic basis to variation along elevation or among populations in any trait, suggesting that plasticity drives local and regional trait variation and may play a key role in the persistence of plant species such as R. maximum with contemporary climate change. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of examining multiple locations in future elevation studies and indicate that, for a given plant species, the magnitude of trait responses to global climate change may vary by location.
Romantic Relationship Dissolution in Emerging Adulthood: Introduction to the Special Issue

Relationship dissolution is a common occurrence in emerging adulthood but has received relatively less empirical attention than relationship formation and maintenance. This special issue includes s...
Terms of Engagement: Understanding and Promoting Student Engagement in Today’s College Classroom

Concern over student engagement is now central to conversations regarding quality in higher education, but what does ‘student engagement’ really mean? And once we know, how can we achieve it? This chapter describes a classroom-based model for understanding student engagement as a process and a product that results from the synergistic interaction between motivation and active learning. It then summarizes key components of the theory and research on motivation and active learning and offers three conditions that integrate elements of both: designing tasks that are appropriately challenging, helping each student feel like a valued member of a learning community, and teaching for holistic learning by integrating multiple domains (cognitive, affective, and kinetic/psychomotor).
Government Policies That Encourage Pesticide Use in the United States

While primarily associated in most people’s minds with agriculture, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, fumigants, and other synthetic chemicals designed to kill undersirable insects, plants, and animals are used widely in society.1 Among the many nonagricultural uses are those in mosquito abatement programs, forestry, road and railroad rights-of-way management, urban pest management, lawn care, and household pest control.
Abstract P286: Acetylation Affords Enhanced Proteolytic Function in Normal and Diseased Myocardium

Proteasome complexes have essential implications on protein homeostasis and myocardial viability under stress. In the heart, the dynamics of proteasome complexes is regulated by post-translational modifications. In particular, acetylation contributes to the adjustment of cardiac functional proteome. However, the regulation of proteasome complexes by acetylation remains largely unknown. We characterized the acetylome (N-terminal and lysine acetylation) of cardiac 20S proteasomes using proteomic technology. With targeted enrichment, eight sites of lysine acetylation and nine sites of N-terminal acetylation were captured, which constituted the first comprehensive acetylome map of cardiac 20S proteasomes. Among them, six sites of lysine acetylation were inducible with pharmacological inhibitors of histone de-acetylases (HDACs). Both in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that HDACs inhibition led to elevated proteasome function. With purified 20S proteasomes, this impact directly related to acetylation modifications. Significantly, this endogenous regulatory mechanism manifests in both clinical and murine model of diseased myocardia. Proteasome biology is modulated by acetylation modifications in the heart. The potency of this regulatory mechanism was demonstrated in both mouse and human species. Moreover, this inherent rheostat effects in both acutely pathological murine model of ischemia-reperfusion and chronically pathological model of end-stage heart failure. With the novel observation made in this investigation, restoration of proteasomal function via pharmacological application after stress turns feasible.
A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Shelby County School District’s Voluntary Preschool Program: The Challenges of Equity, Choice, Efficiency, and Social Cohesion:

In this article, the Tennessee’s Voluntary Prekindergarten (TN-VPK) program in general and the Shelby County Schools’ VPK program in particular are analyzed using the policy instruments of regulati...
A chomped chimp: New evidence of tooth marks on an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus)

OBJECTIVES To describe and interpret previously unreported marks on the dry cranium of an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) from Cote d'Ivoire at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (USNM 450071). MATERIALS AND METHODS All marks on the cranium were documented and assessed through physical examination of the specimen, photography, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and 3D laser scanning. Pits and punctures were measured with digital calipers for comparison with published carnivore tooth mark measurements. RESULTS The cranium shows perimortem or postmortem damage to the temporal, occipital, and maxillary regions that is not recent. Size and color variation in the marks suggest two damage events, possibly involving chewing by different animals, at least one of which was a large-bodied mammal. The 22 tooth pits and punctures (0.89-8.75 mm in maximum length and 0.88-6.63 mm in breadth) overlap in size with those inflicted by wild leopards, the most significant predators of common chimpanzees due to their largely overlapping ecological distributions. CONCLUSIONS Based on qualitative and quantitative evidence, we conclude that leopards are the most likely cause of the most prominent marks on the cranium. However, we cannot rule out the additional possibility of other chimpanzees, although there are no published studies of chimpanzee tooth marks for direct comparison. This study is the most extensive documentation to date of a modern adult chimpanzee skull exhibiting tooth marks by a large mammal, thus providing new evidence to help identify and interpret other events of predation and scavenging of large-bodied apes in the modern and fossil records.
Learning socio-organizational network structure in buildings with ambient sensing data

We develop a model that successfully learns social and organizational human network structure using ambient sensing data from distributed plug load energy sensors in commercial buildings. A key goal for the design and operation of commercial buildings is to support the success of organizations within them. In modern workspaces, a particularly important goal is collaboration, which relies on physical interactions among individuals. Learning the true socio-organizational relational ties among workers can therefore help managers of buildings and organizations make decisions that improve collaboration. In this paper, we introduce the Interaction Model, a method for inferring human network structure that leverages data from distributed plug load energy sensors. In a case study, we benchmark our method against network data obtained through a survey and compare its performance to other data-driven tools. We find that unlike previous methods, our method infers a network that is correlated with the survey network to a statistically significant degree (graph correlation of 0.46, significant at the 0.01 confidence level). We additionally find that our method requires only 10 weeks of sensing data, enabling dynamic network measurement. Learning human network structure through data-driven means can enable the design and operation of spaces that encourage, rather than inhibit, the success of organizations.
Visible-Light Optical Coherence Tomography Fibergraphy for Quantitative Imaging of Retinal Ganglion Cell Axon Bundles.

Purpose To develop a practical technique for visualizing and quantifying retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon bundles in vivo. Methods We applied visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT) to image the RGC axon bundles, referred to as vis-OCT fibergraphy, of healthy wild-type C57BL/6 mice. After vis-OCT imaging, retinas were flat-mounted, immunostained with anti-beta-III tubulin (Tuj1) antibody for RGC axons, and imaged with confocal microscopy. We quantitatively compared the RGC axon bundle networks imaged by in vivo vis-OCT and ex vivo confocal microscopy using semi-log Sholl analysis. Results Side-by-side comparison of ex vivo confocal microscopy and in vivo vis-OCT confirmed that vis-OCT fibergraphy captures true RGC axon bundle networks. The semi-log Sholl regression coefficients extracted from vis-OCT fibergrams (3.7 ± 0.8 mm-1) and confocal microscopy (3.6 ± 0.3 mm-1) images also showed good agreement with each other (n = 6). Conclusions We demonstrated the feasibility of using vis-OCT fibergraphy to visualize RGC axon bundles. Further applying Sholl analysis has the potential to identify biomarkers for non-invasively assessing RGC health. Translational relevance Our novel technique for visualizing and quantifying RGC axon bundles in vivo provides a potential measurement tool for diagnosing and tracking the progression of optic neuropathies.
Normative Implications of Neuroscience and Sociobiology – Intended and Perceived

This chapter discusses the potential social consequences of scientific claims about human behavior. This has been an important concern in major academic “nature-nurture” debates, including the sociobiology controversy around Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson. Neuroscience is the field that Wilson hoped would continue his work in Sociobiology (Wilson, Sociobiology: The new synthesis, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1975) in regard to finding an evolutionary basis for morality, and today’s neuroscience is well positioned to try to fulfill his vision. Its results seem consistent e.g., with Daniel Kahneman’s (Thinking fast and slow. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, New York, 2011) famous “fast and slow” thinking, and social psychology. However, neuroscience is vulnerable to the same criticism as sociobiology: the danger of normative interpretations of factually intended statements. Humans do tend to reason from facts to values, and tentative results often come to serve policy purposes (Segerstrale, Defenders of the truth: the battle for science in the sociobiology debate and beyond. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000). In the present social situation, I am particularly worried about the use of the term “tribal” and the consequences of scientists presenting ingroup-outgroup conflict as normal and necessary (Greene, Joshua, Moral tribes: emotion, reason, and the gap between us and them. Penguin Press, New York, 2013; Wilson, The social conquest of earth. Liveright Publishing Company (W. W. Norton), New York, 2012a; Wilson, Evolution and our inner conflict. The opinion pages, The New York Times, June 24, 2012b).