cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A semi-continuous system for monitoring microbially influenced corrosion.

Abstract Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), also known as biocorrosion, has significant impacts on the environment and economy. Typical systems to study biocorrosion are either dynamic (once-through flow) or static (serum bottle incubations). Dynamic systems can be materials and personnel intensive, while static systems quickly become nutrient limiting and exhibit long incubations. A semi-continuous biocorrosion cell was developed to address these issues. Low carbon shim steel was used as a test surface. Initial results revealed that 50 ppm glutaraldehyde (GLT), a common oil field biocide , in an abiotic cell was 3.6 times more corrosive (24.5 × 10 −3 mm/y) than a biocorrosion cell inoculated with a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) enrichment (6.73 × 10 −3 mm/y). The SRB inoculated cell treated with GLT (50 ppm) reduced the corrosion rate from 6.73 × 10−3 mm/y to 3.68 × 10−3 mm/y. It was hypothesized that a biocide-surfactant combination would enhance biocide activity, thereby lowering corrosion in a semi-continuous biocorrosion cell. The biocide and surfactant were GLT (30 ppm) and Tween 80 (TW80; 100 ppm). MIC of SRB increased in the presence of a non-inhibitory concentration of GLT (23.4 × 10−3 mm/y), compared to the untreated +SRB condition (8.29 × 10−3 mm/y). The non-ionic surfactant alone reduced MIC (4.57 × 10 −3 mm/y) and even more so in combination with GLT (3.69 × 10−3 mm/y). Over 50% of 16S rDNA sequences in the biofilm on the test surface were identified as belonging to the genera Desulfovibrio and Desulfomicrobium . The utility of a semi-continuous system for MIC studies and biocide testing was demonstrated. The concept of regular partial medium replacement is applicable to different corrosion cell and corrosion coupon geometries. Biocide-surfactant combinations may have the potential to reduce the concentration of biocides used in the field. In addition, a semi-defined medium for enumerating Acid-Producing Bacteria (APB) was developed, resulting in higher recoveries compared to a standard phenol red medium (e.g., 1.1 × 10 4 APB/cm2 vs
Active query-driven visual search using probabilistic bisection and convolutional neural networks

We present a novel efficient object detection and localization framework based on the probabilistic bisection algorithm. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is trained and used as a noisy oracle that provides answers to input query images. The responses along with error probability estimates obtained from the CNN are used to update beliefs on the object location along each dimension. We show that querying along each dimension achieves the same lower bound on localization error as the joint query design. Finally, we compare our approach to the traditional sliding window technique on a real world face localization task and show speed improvements by at least an order of magnitude while maintaining accurate localization.
Protein: polyanion interactions. Studies on the trehalose-P synthetase as a model system.

The interaction of proteins with various types of polyelectrolytes occurs commonly in nature. in the case of enzymes, the interaction may be quite specific with regard to the nature of the polyelectrolyte. the addition of the polyelectrolyte to an enzyme may result in either an increase in enzyme activity or an inhibition of activity depending on the enzyme in question. Thus, polyanions such as polynucleotides, or sulfated glycoaminoglycans like heparin and chondroitin sulfate, may be activators of some enzymes but are inhibitors of others. A similar situation apparently applies to polycations such as polylysine or polyornithine. There are apparently two important requirements for these polyelectrolytes to be enzyme effectors: 1) the macromolecular nature of the polyelectrolyte and 2) the presence of strong positive or negative charges (1).
Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub and the Aswan Heart Centre.

![Figure][1] Between myectomies, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub spoke with Amelia Scholtz about the bustling present and promising future of the Aswan Heart Centre. Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, OM, FRS, is now a legend in cardiac surgery. He helped initiate a new era of heart transplantation
Heterodyne Diffracted Beam Photonic Doppler Velocimeter (DPDV) for Pressure-Shear Shock Experiments

We present details on the design and validation of a heterodyne diffracted beam photonic Doppler velocimeter (DPDV) for pressure-shear plate impact (PSPI) shock experiments. The fiber optic interferometer collects symmetrically diffracted 1st order beams produced by a thin, specular, metallic grating deposited on the rear surface of the impacted target plate and separately interferes each of these beams with a reference beam of a slightly increased wavelength. The resulting interference signals contain an upshifted carrier signal with a constant frequency at zero particle velocity. Signal frequency content in recorded waveforms from PSPI experiments is extracted using a moving-window DFT algorithm and then linearly combined in a post- processing step to decouple and extract the normal and transverse velocity history of the rear target surface. The 0th order (normally reflected) beam can also be interfered in a separate heterodyne PDV configuration to obtain an additional, independent measurement of the normal particle velocity. An overview of the DPDV configuration is presented along with a discussion of the interferometer sensitivities to transverse and normal particle velocities. Results from a normal impact experiment conducted on Y-cut quartz are presented as experimental validation of the technique.
A comparison of interferon gene expression induced by influenza A virus infection of human airway epithelial cells from two different donors.

Abstract Influenza is an acute respiratory disease that can cause local annual epidemics and worldwide pandemics of different morbidity and mortality. Our understanding of host factors that modulate the frequency and severity of influenza virus infections is less than complete. In this study, we examined the inter-individual variations in the innate immune responses to H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses (IAV) using primary cultures of normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells derived from two different donors (D1 and D2). Although IAV replication kinetics were similar in cultures derived from these two donors, the levels of type III interferons (IFNs) were significantly higher in D1 cells compared to D2 cells (˜31-fold↑ in D1 cells versus D2 cells; P
Universal human papillomavirus typing by whole genome sequencing following target enrichment: evaluation of assay reproducibility and limit of detection.

We recently described a method for unbiased detection of all known human papillomaviruses (HPV) types with the potential for the determination of their variant and integration from the resulting whole genome sequence data. Considering the complex workflow for target-enriched next generation sequencing (NGS), we focused on the reproducibility and limit of detection (LOD) of this new universal HPV typing assay in this study. We evaluated the reproducibility and LOD for HPV genotyping based on our recently published method that used RNA-baits targeting whole genomes of 191 HPV types, Agilent SureSelect protocol for target enrichment and Illumina HiSeq 2500 for sequencing (eWGS, enriched whole genome sequencing). Two libraries, prepared from pooled plasmids representing 9 vaccine HPV types at varying input (1–625 copies/reaction), were sequenced twice giving four replicates for evaluating reproducibility and LOD. eWGS showed high correlation in the number of reads mapped to HPV reference genomes between the two flow-cell lanes within (R2 = 1) and between experiments (R2 = 0.99). The number of mapped reads was positively correlated to copy number (β = 13.9, p < 0.0001). The limit of blank (LOB) could be calculated based on mapped reads to HPV types not included in each sample. HPV genotyping was reproducible for all 9 types at 625 copies using multiple cut-off criteria but LOD was 25 copies based on number of reads above LOB even when multiple types were present. eWGS showed no bias for HPV genotyping under single or multiple infection (p = 0.16–0.99). The universal eWGS method for HPV genotyping has sensitivity, competitive with widely used consensus PCR methods with reduced type competition, and with the potential for determination of variant and integration status. The protocol used in this study, using defined samples varying in complexity and copy number, analyzed in replicate and duplicate assays, is applicable to most WGS methods.
Voltage effect on amplitude–frequency response of parametric resonance of electrostatically actuated double-walled carbon nanotube resonators

This work deals with the amplitude–frequency response of coaxial parametric resonance of electrostatically actuated double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). Nonlinear forces acting on the DWCNT are intertube van der Waals and electrostatic forces. Soft alternating current (AC) excitation and small viscous damping are assumed. In coaxial vibration, the outer and inner carbon nanotubes move synchronously (in-phase). Euler–Bernoulli beam model is used for DWCNTs of high length-to-diameter ratio. Modal coordinates are used for decoupling the linearized differential equations of motion without damping. The reduced-order model (ROM) method is used in this investigation. All ROMs using one through five modes of vibration (terms) are developed in terms of modal coordinates. ROM using one term is solved and frequency–amplitude response predicted by using the method of multiple scales (MMS). All other ROMs using two through five terms are numerically integrated using MATLAB in order to simulate time responses of the structure and also solved using AUTO-07P, a software package of continuation and bifurcation, in order to predict the frequency–amplitude response. All models and methods are in agreement at lower amplitudes, while in higher amplitudes only ROM with five terms provides reliable results. The effects of voltage and damping on the amplitude–frequency response of electrostatically actuated DWCNTs are reported. It is shown that increasing voltage and/or decreasing damping results in a larger range of frequencies for which pull-in occurs.
The Contextual Correlates of School Shootings

Research on school shootings remains limited, focusing primarily on individual-level risk factors, contagion, and prevention. The community effects literature on homicide and exposure to violence, ...
Weight Gain, Hypertension, and the Emergence of a Maladaptive Cardiovascular Phenotype Among US Football Players.

Importance Former US football athletes are at increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality compared with the general population and other professional athletes. However, responsible maladaptive CV phenotypes have not been fully characterized. Objective To address the emergence and progression of multiple independent factors associated with CV risk across serial years of collegiate US football participation. Design, Setting, and Participants Collegiate US football athletes from 2 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I programs were recruited as freshmen between June 2014 and June 2017 and analyzed at multiple points throughout 3 complete years of collegiate US football participation (until January 2019). Excluded athletes were those who did not complete any season of US football training because of injury, illness, or leaving the team. Factors associated with CV risk assessed clinically, by transthoracic echocardiography, and by vascular applanation tonometry were recorded. Exposures The exposure of interest was seasonal US football exposure, including training, competition, and the training environment. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcome measures were left ventricular mass index and geometry (cardiac structure), early diastolic myocardial relaxation velocity (E′; diastolic function), and pulse-wave velocity (arterial stiffness). Results Of 186 individuals recruited as freshmen, 126 athletes were included in analyzed data. Collegiate US football athletes (62 white individuals [49%]; 63 black individuals [50%]; 77 nonlinemen [61%]; 49 linemen [39%]; 126 male individuals [100%]) weighed a mean (SD) of 101.1 (21.0) kg, with a mean systolic blood pressure of 129.1 (11.6) mm Hg at baseline of the freshman season. Adjusting for race, height, and player position, there were significant increases in weight (mean [SE] Δ, 4.74 [0.6] kg;P Conclusions and Relevance Collegiate US football athletes who gain weight and develop increased systolic blood pressure levels are at risk for the development of a pathologic CV phenotype characterized by concentric left ventricular hypertrophy, arterial stiffening, and reduced left ventricular diastolic function. Future work aimed at optimizing CV health in this population, who are young but uniquely at risk, is warranted.
Recurrent JAK3 Mutations in Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are diverse in morphology, immunophenotype and clinical outcomes, occurring in immune compromised patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) or single organ transplantation (SOT). Predicting the outcome of PTLDs is complex. In most of cases PTLD is driven by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, though the etiology of EBV negative cases is unknown. There have been only few studies investigating the mutational landscape and gene expression of PTLD. In our study we performed targeted DNA deep sequencing and RNA expression profiling (RNA-Seq) on the hematopoietic lymphoid tissues of 15 post-transplant patients with PTLD and 16 post-transplant patients with follicular hyperplasia (FH) after HCT or SOT. Recurrent mutations in JAK3 were identified in five of 16 PTLD cases and one of 16 follicular hyperplasia cases. We additionally identified mutations in the PIK3CD gene in four PTLD cases and NOTCH1 mutations in 2 PTLD and four FH cases. 17 other genes were commonly mutated in both groups. Gene expression profiles differed between both groups. Genes involved in regulating the immune system were unregulated in PTLD. We also saw a stronger expression of T-cells and a weaker expression of B-cells within the PTLD group when compared with FH. Our findings suggest an important role for immune regulatory pathways in the pathogenesis of PTLD, with the JAK/STAT pathway being a central recurrent key metabolic pathway. Download : Download high-res image (93KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure . Disclosures Ohgami: Agilent technologies: Other: received support/funding.
All You Need Is Low (Rank): Defending Against Adversarial Attacks on Graphs

Recent studies have demonstrated that machine learning approaches like deep learning methods are easily fooled by adversarial attacks. Recently, a highly-influential study examined the impact of adversarial attacks on graph data and demonstrated that graph embedding techniques are also vulnerable to adversarial attacks. Fake users on social media and fake product reviews are examples of perturbations in graph data that are realistic counterparts of the adversarial models proposed. Graphs are widely used in a variety of domains and it is highly important to develop graph analysis techniques that are robust to adversarial attacks. One of the recent studies on generating adversarial attacks for graph data is Nettack. The Nettack model has shown to be very successful in deceiving the Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) model. Nettack is also transferable to other node classification approaches e.g. node embeddings. In this paper, we explore the properties of Nettack perturbations, in search for effective defenses against them. Our first finding is that Nettack demonstrates a very specific behavior in the spectrum of the graph: only high-rank (low-valued) singular components of the graph are affected. Following that insight, we show that a low-rank approximation of the graph, that uses only the top singular components for its reconstruction, can greatly reduce the effects of Nettack and boost the performance of GCN when facing adversarial attacks. Indicatively, on the CiteSeer dataset, our proposed defense mechanism is able to reduce the success rate of Nettack from 98% to 36%. Furthermore, we show that tensor-based node embeddings, which by default project the graph into a low-rank subspace, are robust against Nettack perturbations. Lastly, we propose LowBlow, a low-rank adversarial attack which is able to affect the classification performance of both GCN and tensor-based node embeddings and we show that the low-rank attack is noticeable and making it unnoticeable results in a high-rank attack.
Introduction to Evolutionary Developmental Pathology, or Evo-Devo-Path: on Neodarwinism, Natural Mutants, Hopeful Monsters, Syndromes, Genomics, Variations, Humans, Apes, Chameleons, and Dinosaurs

During the second half of the twentieth century, few authors attempted to combine the increasing knowledge obtained from the study of model organisms and human medicine with data from comparative anatomy, evolutionary biology, “natural mutants,” and variations in order to investigate the links between development, pathology, and macroevolution. However, in the last decades, there has been a renewed interest on these subjects, with the rise of Evolutionary Developmental Pathology (Evo-Devo-Path), a field that is attracting more and more attention across the globe, not only from the scientific community but also from the media and broader public. This is because this field is mainly related to a deeper understanding of developmental anomalies and disease within an evolutionary framework, paying a special attention to “natural mutants,” such as cyclopic sheep, humans with severe congenital malformations, and to so-called “hopeful monsters,” such as chameleons and, to a certain extent, dinosaurs, as will be explained in this issue. These are hot topics within the broader community and for the media, that have been also of main interest to biologists for a long time, for instance to renowned authors such as Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Waddington, Goldschmidt, Gould and Per Alberch. However, these issues became somewhat neglected with the rise of genetics and the increased focus on the “Devo” within Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo), in particular on molecular biology studies and therefore on experimentally produced—and not so much on “natural”—mutations. Another main, and related, reason was the prevalence of Neodarwinism within biology—sometimes defended in a quasi-religious way and using extremist ideas, such as reducing evolution to “selfish genes,” that, we now know, do not correspond to the complex and multifaceted reality of biological evolution within this planet. These subjects will be discussed in this special, and very timely, issue precisely about Evo-Devo-Path, which attests the increasing interest in this field, and thus on natural mutants, “hopeful monsters,” and other ideas of the authors named just above, and shows how new knowledge and tools, for instance about the cardiopharyngeal muscles and syndromes and about genomics and transposable elements, are quickly being integrated in crucial discussions within this field.
Adaptive evolution of an essential telomere protein restricts telomeric retrotransposons

Essential, conserved cellular processes depend not only on essential, strictly conserved proteins but also on essential proteins that evolve rapidly. To probe this poorly understood paradox, we exploited the rapidly evolving Drosophila telomere-binding protein, cav/HOAP, which protects chromosomes from lethal end-to-end fusions. We replaced the D. melanogaster HOAP with a highly diverged version from its close relative, D. yakuba. The D. yakuba HOAP ('HOAP[yak]') localizes to D. melanogaster telomeres and protects D. melanogaster chromosomes from fusions. However, HOAP[yak] fails to rescue a previously uncharacterized HOAP function: silencing of the specialized telomeric retrotransposons that, instead of telomerase, maintain chromosome length in Drosophila. Whole genome sequencing and cytogenetics of experimentally evolved populations revealed that HOAP[yak] triggers telomeric retrotransposon proliferation, resulting in aberrantly long telomeres. This evolution-generated, separation-of-function allele resolves the paradoxical observation that a fast-evolving essential gene directs an essential, strictly conserved function: telomeric retrotransposon containment, not end-protection, requires evolutionary innovation at HOAP.
Trace xenon detection in helium environment via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

There is significant motivation to develop and deploy novel nuclear reactor designs to deliver improved performance, safety, and economics for nuclear energy. In gas-cooled fast reactors that use helium as the primary coolant, the presence of xenon could indicate the onset of the fuel failure. We performed a feasibility study using single-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to assess the sensitivity for trace xenon detection in a helium buffer of the pressure of 1.25 bar at room temperature. Under these experimental conditions, parametric optimization of recording parameters has ultimately led to the xenon detection limit of about 0.2 μmol mol−1 for 104 laser shots. The results show promise for the use of this technique for online monitoring of reactor fuel integrity, and motivate studies for the development of a compact measurement system that could be integrated with the reactor's primary helium-cooling loop.
Assessment of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) diet using DNA metabarcoding of feces

Abstract Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are invasive in the Laurentian Great Lakes, parasitize large-bodied fishes, and therefore are the focus of an international control program. However, damage caused by sea lamprey to modern day fish stocks remains uncertain because diet analysis of juvenile sea lamprey has been challenging; they feed on blood and are difficult to randomly sample in the lakes. Here, both challenges were addressed by showing that DNA metabarcoding of fecal material can be used to identify the diet of actively feeding juvenile sea lamprey, and can also be used to determine what non-feeding adult sea lamprey captured in streams fed on while parasitizing fish. Fecal samples from juvenile sea lamprey that were feeding on lake trout in northern Lake Huron overwhelmingly contained lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) DNA (90%), while smaller percentages contained lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis; 5%) and longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus; 5%) DNA. Fecal samples from adult sea lamprey captured from a tributary to northern Lake Huron overwhelmingly contained longnose and white sucker DNA (Catostomus spp.; 80%), while a smaller percentage contained lake trout DNA (10%). Diet composition of adult sea lamprey sampled in the tributary (Black Mallard Creek) was more diverse than juvenile diet composition. DNA metabarcoding suggests that Catostomus spp. may be an important host fish in northern Lake Huron for sea lamprey prior to spawning. Future research could investigate how diet varies across years and lakes and the prevalence and sources of DNA contamination. Application of DNA metabarcoding for diet assessment may be practical for identifying populations of invasive sea lamprey that feed on highly valued fishes and help guide restoration of lampreys worldwide.
Virtual Oscillator Controlled Grid Forming Inverters Modelling and Testing in Phasor Domain

The grid forming inverter (GFMI) is a promising solution for the challenges introduced to the electrical grid by the high penetration of the inverter-based resources (IBRs). In this paper, GFMI with a virtual oscillator based on Andronov-Hopf oscillator dynamics control is modeled and tested in the phasor domain using DIgSILENT environment. To further investigate the inverter performance and operation, it is implemented in the IEEE 13 node distribution feeder. The results show that the inverter has a superior performance and the ability to stabilize frequency and voltage during disturbances in both grid-connected and islanded modes.
Can Propofol be Used to Assess the Presence of the Rectoanal Inhibitory Reflex During Anorectal Manometry Studies

Objectives To study changes in intra-anal pressure (IAP) and characteristics of the rectoanal inhibitory reflex (RAIR) during anorectal manometry (ARM) in patients undergoing anesthesia induction with propofol. Methods Prospective study in which ARM was performed at baseline while patients were awake and repeated after propofol induced anesthesia. We studied IAP and the presence and characteristics of the RAIR before and after propofol. Results A total of 27 patients were included (63% male; 9.2 years). Three patients had obstructive symptoms after Hirschsprung's Disease repair (HSCR), and 24 had intractable constipation. At baseline the RAIR was present on 21/27 patients and absent in 6/27. Of the 6 patients with an absent RAIR, it remained absent in 4/6 (3 known HSCR, and 1 new diagnosis of IAS achalasia), and 2/6 had a normal RAIR during propofol. Therefore RAIR was present in all patients with constipation. The mean resting IAP was significantly lower after propofol. The percentage of IAS relaxation after lower balloon volume inflations was significantly higher during propofol (P < 0.05). No difference was observed over the latency time or the total relaxation time after propofol. Conclusions Propofol can be used to assess the presence of the RAIR during ARM in children who are uncooperative and undergoing other procedures under anesthesia. On the other hand propofol significantly reduces the resting IAP and increases the percentage of internal anal sphincter relaxation after balloon distention. These findings may impact the interpretation to decide if an intervention is needed, or if there is a possible spinal neuropathy.
Designing and Writing Operating Manuals

An operating manual is a key document for training personnel in the operation and maintenance of a new plant. If made available before the startup, it can help avoid costly operating errors. This chapter takes an introductory look at conceiving, organizing and producing a manual. It provides a systematic procedure with eight steps that are necessary for preparing the operating manual. These steps are designing the structure; gathering and organizing information; making an outline; writing a draft; checking for technical accuracy; reviewing for consistency, style, and format; cross referencing and making an index; and distributing and accumulating corrections and updating. The manual is divided into modules, each devoted to a specific group of equipment. A module typically contains the following: summary, introduction, description, routine operation, troubleshooting, maintenance, emergency operation, and appendix. The project engineer is usually responsible for the preparation of the manual.
From agronomic research to farm management guidelines: a primer on the economics of information and precision technology.

An ultimate purpose of much agronomic and agricultural economic research is to provide management guidelines (e.g., on application rates of fertilizer, seed, and herbicides) to farmers. Ideally, farm management guidelines or recommendations would be determined by applying sound economic theory to data from agronomic experiments. While information provided by agronomic data about the relationship between crop yields, managed inputs, soil characteristics, and weather variables has always been valuable, we argue in this paper that because such information and precision agriculture technology are economic complements, the advent of precision agriculture technology has made information provided by agronomic experiments now even more valuable than ever. The purpose of this paper is to point out and respond to two practical implications of the complementarity between precision technology and information from agronomic research. The first implication is that because precision technology has made information more valuable, it is also more costly now when agronomists make mistakes in using economic theory to derive incorrect farm management recommendations from the information. Therefore it is more important than ever that agronomists understand some basic economic theory about agricultural production and precision technology. Our response is to provide here an economic primer on precision agriculture and information. We also recommend increased collaboration between agronomists and agricultural economists in precision technology research. The second implication is that, because precision technology has made the information more valuable, there is more need than ever for long-term, multi-regional agronomic experiments. For before scholarly experts can provide separate management recommendations for many very small areas of farmers' fields, they will need to know much more than they currently do about the relationships between crop yields, input application rates, soil characteristics, and weather variables. Our response is to call for agronomists to begin designing and implementing such experiments, and to call for increased public funding of such experiments.
Self‐evaluations of police performance: An analysis of the relationship between police officers’ education level and job performance

This study examines whether police officers’ level of education is associated with their perceptions of performance of duties and delivery of services. Using self report survey methodology 110 officers with different levels of education (high school, some college education but not a degree, and college degree) evaluated themselves on 40 performance categories. The results indicate that officers with some college education and college degree report themselves performing better on several of the performance categories than officers with no college education. Even when years of experience with the law enforcement department are controlled for, officers with higher education reported performing significantly better than their counterparts with lower education.
Quantum electric field fluctuations and potential scattering

Some physical effects of time averaged quantum electric field fluctuations are discussed. The one loop radiative corrections to potential scattering are approximately derived from simple arguments which invoke vacuum electric field fluctuations. For both above barrier scattering and quantum tunneling, this effect increases the transmission probability. It is argued that the shape of the potential determines a sampling function for the time averaging of the quantum electric field operator. We also show that there is a nonperturbative enhancement of the transmission probability which can be inferred from the probability distribution for time averaged electric field fluctuations. The same method should be useful in understanding the effects of large quantum stress tensor fluctuations, which cannot be treated in perturbation theory.
Aircraft Noise Regulation, Airline Service Quality, and Social Welfare: the Monopoly Case

This paper presents a theoretical approach that attempts to illuminate questions about aircraft noise, models the effect of noise limits on an airline’s scheduling, traffic, and aircraft size, and finally explores the social welfare implications of addressing aircraft noise problem with noise limits. The author notes that aircraft are significantly quieter than they used to be due to improved aircraft technology, yet with ever more air travel forecast and the expected expansion of existing airports and addition or new ones, there is a growing trend for airport noise restrictions. The model also examines the social welfare implications of using noise limits to address aircraft noise problems. In concluding, the author notes that the models presented could be adapted to analyze aircraft exhaust emissions, as the industry attempts to reduce aviation’s contribution to global warming.
Pricing and Lead‐Time Decisions

This article presents an introductory review of centralized and decentralized models for the determination of price and lead-time decisions in monopolistic and competitive settings. Keywords: pricing; lead-time decision; decentralized decision making; coordination; competition; queueing models
Viral Interference with Antigen Presentation Does Not Alter Acute or Chronic CD8 T Cell Immunodominance in Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection

Both human CMV and murine CMV (MCMV) elicit large CD8 T cell responses, despite the potent effects of viral genes that interfere with the MHC class I (MHC I) pathway of Ag presentation. To investigate the impact of immune evasion on CD8 T cell priming, we infected mice with wild-type (wt) MCMV or a mutant lacking its MHC I immune evasion genes, Deltam4+m6+m152 MCMV. In acute infection, the two viruses elicited a CD8 T cell response to 26 peptide epitopes that was virtually identical in total size, kinetics, and immunodominance hierarchy. This occurred despite results demonstrating that primary DCs are susceptible to the effects of MCMV's MHC I immune evasion genes. Eight months later, responses to both wt and mutant MCMV displayed the same CD8 T cell "memory inflation" and altered immunodominance that characterize the transition to chronic MCMV infection in C57BL/6 mice. Taken together, these findings suggest either that cross-priming dominates over direct CD8 T cell priming in both acute and chronic MCMV infection, or else that the MHC I immune evasion genes of MCMV are unable to alter direct CD8 T cell priming in vivo. At 2 years postinfection, differences in CD8 T cell immunodominance emerged between individual mice, but on average there were only slight differences between wt and mutant virus infections. Overall, the data indicate that the presence or absence of MHC I immune evasion genes has remarkably little impact on the size or specificity of the MCMV-specific CD8 T cell response over an entire lifetime of infection.
Comparisons of Self-Concept Scores of Children in America and in Taiwan

The relationship between psychology and anthropology was the topic of the presidential address to the Royal Anthropological Institute in England in 1923 (Hallowell, 1953). Since that time, culture and personality studies have been marked by such distinguished names as Bateson, Benedict, Kardiner, Kluckhohn, Mead and many others. Klineberg (1980) provides a historical perspective on cross-cultural psychology prior to 1960 and Triandis (1980) reviews the trends in cross-cultural research over the last 10 years. According to Triandis, studies in the area of social, personality and developmental psychology account for 50% of the articles published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology over the past decade.
Enforced expression of the Mr 33,000 Pim-1 kinase enhances factor-independent survival and inhibits apoptosis in murine myeloid cells.

Expression of the M r 33,000 human Pim-1 protein is induced in hematopoietic cells by a variety of growth factors and cytokines. We have introduced the human pim -1 cDNA via retroviral transduction into interleukin (IL)-3-dependent FDC-P1 cells and examined the resulting phenotype. Compared with cells infected with a neo -encoding retrovirus (FD/neo), cells infected with a pim -1-transducing virus (FD/hpim) showed longer survival or autonomous growth in suspension culture in the absence of IL-3, as well as IL-3-independent clonogenic growth in semisolid medium. The unique murine M r 44,000 Pim-1 protein, as well as human proteins with short C- or N-terminal truncations, also was biologically active. This effect of Pim-1 expression was associated with a decrease in apoptotic cells and an increase in G/G1-phase cells, and the increase in G/G1-phase cells caused by enforced expression of Pim-1 was due to a decrease in apoptosis rather than to a decrease in transit of the G1-S-phase checkpoint. The Pim-1 kinase appears to function primarily as a survival factor in factor-dependent FDCP-1 cells subjected to either cytokine withdrawal or exposure to cytotoxic agents.
Development of a USV station-keeping controller

The ability of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to maintain a fixed orientation and position for an extended period of time is essential for a variety of applications such as acoustic and optical localization and automated launch and recovery of other systems. The need for station-keeping capabilities on USVs requires collaboration between the controller and the propulsion system, both designed to allow the vehicle to perform this challenging maneuver. Small external perturbations, such as wind, waves and current, can have tremendous effects on low weight USVs. These can negatively affect the USV ability to hold its state, resulting in large errors or oscillations. A robust controller capable to account for unmodeled dynamics, which lead to significant deviations between simulated and experimental results, is therefore essential. After an appropriate propulsion system had been designed and installed on a USV, several station-keeping controllers were implemented and tested. Experimental testing of these controllers in environments of uncertain wind, current and wave disturbances show that the vehicle is best controlled by a nonlinear, backstepping, Multi-Input Multioutput (MIMO) PD controller. A Lagrangian multiplier method was used for control allocation. It is shown that a USV equipped with azimuthing electric propellers is capable to reach and maintain a specific configuration of heading and position for a period of ten or more minutes.
187 Os + n Resonance Parameters in the Interval 27–500 eV Neutron Energies

The neutron total cross section for 187Os, in the energy range, 27 eV to 500 eV, has been measured at the ORELA facility by the neutron time-of-flight technique, utilizing a 2.0 gm Osmium sample (n = 0.008401 \(\frac{{Os - nuclei}}{{barn}}\)) enriched to 70.38% 187Os. Measurements were performed at a 80 m flight station with an energy resolution, ΔE/E, of 0.1% using a 6Li glass scintillator. Resolved resonances have been analyzed by a Reich-Moore multilevel code (SAMMY) to obtain parameters for 85 resonances up to 500 eV. Preliminary determinations of the level spacing (5 eV) and s-wave strength function (3.9x10−4) for 187Os are in agreement with recent analyses of the Osmium isotopes, made in connection with the use of the Re/Os chronometer for estimating the duration of stellar nucleosynthesis.
Use of a Fiber Optic Probe for Spectral Measurements and the Continuous Recording of the Turbidity of Growing Microbial Cultures

Abstract This paper describes the properties and use of a fiber optic probe as an attachment to a spectrophotometer and its use for measurements in solutions and turbid suspensions. Measurements of a standard were identical when a spectrophotometer equipped with the probe was used or when a spectrophotometer was used in a conventional manner. The probe was calibrated for turbidimetric measurements with microorganisms by relating the apparent absorbancy measured on the spectrophotometer to the dry weight of each species of organism. Continuous measurements were made of the turbidity of growing cultures of Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mutans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Transient changes in cell mass were observed in some cultures during continuous monitoring of growth. The data were recovered in a manner which allowed direct computer processing.
Low profile lens antennas: Collimating leaky-wave radiation with metasurfaces

Two lens-antennas with a subwavelength overall thickness are reported. The lens-antennas consist of a metasurface lens placed a subwavelength distance above a planar, leaky radial waveguide that generates a TM-polarized Bessel beam (Bessel beam launcher). Two different metasurface lenses are designed to collimate the radiation from the Bessel beam launcher and convert the polarization from radial to linear and circular, respectively. The two lens-antennas are fabricated using standard printed circuit board processes, and their performance is experimentally characterized. The same design procedure could be used to realize metasurfaces that control the radiation of an arbitrary source.
Distal biceps brachii tendon avulsion: A simplified method of operative repair

Rupture of the distal insertion of the biceps brachii may lead to severe functional impairment of the upper extremity on the basis of resultant weakness of elbow flexion and supination. When the diagnosis of a posttraumatic distal biceps tendon avulsion is made, a simple method of reattachment is possible and functionally warranted.
Microbatch macromolecular crystallization in micropipettes

A microbatch crystallization method suitable for macromolecular crystal growth is described. Solutions in the 1 μl range are set up in micropipettes with very small inner diameter. The packaging is robust, compact and neat. Surface area of solution exposed to the atmosphere is much smaller than in a hanging drop vapor diffusion experiment. Small sample volumes make the packaging ideal for screening experiments, but crystals large enough for diffraction studies can be grown in, and recovered from, the micropipettes.
Confidence-Rated Multiple Instance Boosting for Object Detection

Over the past years, Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) has proven to be an effective framework for learning with weakly labeled data. Applications of MIL to object detection, however, were limited to handling the uncertainties of manual annotations. In this paper, we propose a new MIL method for object detection that is capable of handling the noisier automatically obtained annotations. Our approach consists in first obtaining confidence estimates over the label space and, second, incorporating these estimates within a new Boosting procedure. We demonstrate the efficiency of our procedure on two detection tasks, namely, horse detection and pedestrian detection, where the training data is primarily annotated by a coarse area of interest detector. We show dramatic improvements over existing MIL methods. In both cases, we demonstrate that an efficient appearance model can be learned using our approach.
Engagement of CD44 by hyaluronan suppresses TLR4 signaling and the septic response to LPS

Fragments of hyaluronan released after injury bind and activate TLR4 in a complex with CD44. Here we investigated if the recognition of hyaluronan by CD44 and TLR4 alters lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responsiveness and thus could alter the septic response. In contrast to mice injected with LPS, mice exposed to hyaluronan prior to LPS had greatly decreased serum IL-6 and TNFalpha and were protected from symptoms of sepsis. The protective effect of HA was not seen in Cd44(-/-) mice. Consistent with our findings in vivo, addition of hyaluronan to macrophages before LPS exposure significantly decreased the release of IL-6 and TNFalpha and this effect was not seen in macrophages from Cd44(-/-) mice. Investigation of the mechanism responsible for inhibition of LPS activation showed hyaluronan treatment resulted in an increase in peritoneal macrophage A20 mRNA expression, and that this was significantly reduced in macrophages from Cd44(-/-) mice and Tlr4(-/-) mice. Suppression of the A20 response with siRNA inhibited the ability of hyaluronan to protect against the cytokine response to LPS. Therefore, our results show that hyaluronan acts through TLR4, CD44 and A20 to stimulate a unique cellular response that can protect against the septic response to LPS.
Toward a broader view of the evolution of pain concepts

Summary In the neuromatrix perspective, Melzack has advanced conceptualization about the nervous system. He specifies a more holistic structure for pain concepts than was specified previously. For the fleshing out of this structure and the development of these concepts, we await their further explication of and related measurement tools. Moreover, we expect that ideas and data from operant-behavioral and cognitive-behavioral perspectives will continue to be influential, although their influences may take on a cast or involve interrelations not yet envisaged. Only the future history of science will determine the extent to which we are now on the threshold of a revolution in the evolution of pain concepts.
Cis-regulatory mechanisms of gene expression in an olfactory neuron type in Caenorhabditis elegans

The generation of cellular diversity is dependent on the precise spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression by both cis- and trans-acting mechanisms. The developmental principles regulating expression of specific gene subsets in individual cell types are not fully understood. Here we define the cis-regulatory mechanisms driving expression of cell-selective and broadly expressed genes in vivo in the AWB olfactory neuron subtype in C. elegans. We identify an element that is necessary to drive expression of neuron-selective chemoreceptor genes in the AWB neurons, and show that this element functions in a context-dependent manner. We find that the expression of broadly expressed sensory neuronal genes in the AWB neurons is regulated by diverse cis- and trans-regulatory mechanisms that act partly in parallel to the pathways governing expression of AWB-selective genes. We further demonstrate that cis-acting mechanisms driving gene expression in the AWB neurons appear to have diverged in related nematode species. Our results provide insights into the cis-regulatory logic driving cell-specific gene expression, and suggest that variations in this logic contribute to the generation of functional diversity. Developmental Dynamics 238:3080–3092, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
NUMERICAL MODELING OF OIL SPILLS IN THE INLAND WATERWAYS OF THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA

ABSTRACT The demand for fossil fuels is driving the rapid expansion of the petroleum industry'S infrastructure. Louisiana'S wetlands are the most industrialized in the world. The oil industry has infiltrated every part of the Lower Mississippi River Delta (LMRD) from the fixed facilities and transport vessels traveling along inland waterways, the pipelines and canals running through the wetlands, and the offshore platforms along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. An oil spill could seriously damage the coastal wetlands that are already rapidly degrading, pollute the water supply, destroy wildlife habitat, and impact other natural economic and social resources. Additionally, proposed coastal restoration initiatives such as freshwater diversions could provide a conduit for spills to travel from the river to open wetland areas. Current inland oil fate and transport models cannot automatically be applied in the deltaic environment because they do not represent the high degree of minerals and fines in suspension, t...
Structure and function of the human skin microbiome

An abundant and diverse collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses inhabits the human skin. These microorganisms vary between individuals and between different sites on the skin. The factors responsible for the unique variability of the skin microbiome are only partly understood, but results suggest that host genetic and environmental influences play a major role. Today, the steady accumulation of data describing the skin microbiome, combined with experiments designed to test the biological functions of surface microbes, has provided new insights into links between human physiology and skin microbiota. This review describes some of the current information regarding the skin microbiome and its impact on human health. Specifically, we summarize the present understanding of the function of microbe–host interactions on the skin and highlight some unique features that distinguish skin commensal organisms from pathogenic microbes.
TEATIME IN THE NORTH COUNTRY: CONSUMPTION OF CHINESE IMPORTS IN NORTH-EAST ENGLAND*

When we rise (suppose abt. 8 o’clock) we shall be abt. ½ hour in getting our clothes on, then to walk an hour and ½ in the garden, then to study one hour which will bring it to eleven o’clock then ...