cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Does Solar Attenuation Depth Affect the Ocean Mixed Layer? Water Turbidity and Atmospheric Forcing Impacts on the Simulation of Seasonal Mixed Layer Variability in the Turbid Black Sea

A fine-resolution ( 3.2 km) Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) is used to investigate the impact of solar radiation attenuation with depth on the predictions of monthly mean sea surface height (SSH), mixed layer depth (MLD), buoyancy and heat fluxes, and near-sea surface circulation as well. The model uses spatially and temporally varying attenuation of photosynthetically available radiation ( kPAR) climatologies as processed from the remotely sensed Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) to take water turbidity into account in the Black Sea. An examination of the kPAR climatology reveals a strong seasonal cycle in the water turbidity, with a basin-averaged annual climatological mean value of 0.19 m21 over the Black Sea. Climatologically forced HYCOM simulations demonstrate that shortwave radiation below the mixed layer can be quite different based on the water turbidity, thereby affecting prediction of upper-ocean quantities in the Black Sea. The clear water constant solar attenuation depth assumption results in relatively deeper MLD (e.g., 115 m in winter) in comparison to standard simulations due to the unrealistically large amount of shortwave radiation below the mixed layer, up to 100 W m22 during April to October. Such unrealistic sub‐mixed layer heating causes weaker stratification at the base of the mixed layer. The buoyancy gain associated with high solar heating in summer effectively stabilizes the upper ocean producing shallow mixed layers and elevated SSH over the most of the Black Sea. In particular, the increased stability resulting from the water turbidity reduces vertical mixing in the upper ocean and causes changes in surface-layer currents, especially in the easternmost part of the Black Sea. Monthly mean SSH anomalies from the climatologically forced HYCOM simulations were evaluated against a monthly mean SSH anomaly climatology, which was constructed using satellite altimeter data from TOPEX/ Poseidon (T/P), Geosat Follow-On (GFO), and the Earth Remote Sensing Satellite-2(ERS-2) over 1993‐2002. Model‐data comparisons show that the basin-averaged root-mean-square (rms) difference is 4 cm between the satellite-based SSH climatology and that obtained from HYCOM simulations using spatial and temporal kPAR fields. In contrast, when all solar radiation is absorbed at the sea surface or clear water constant solar attenuation depth values of 16.7 m are used in the model simulations, the basin-averaged SSH rms difference with respect to the climatology is 6c m ( 50% more). This demonstrates positive impact from using monthly varying solar attenuation depths in simulating upper-ocean quantities in the Black Sea. The monthly mean kPAR and SSH anomaly climatologies presented in this paper can also be used for other Black Sea studies.
Revolutions in Twentieth-Century Physics

1. Classical foundations 2. Special relativity 3. Quantum mechanics 4. Elementary particles 5. Cosmology.
Soil DNA libraries for anticancer drug discovery

Soil has the largest population of microbes of any habitat, but only about 0.3% of soil microbes are cultivable with current techniques. Cultured soil microbes have been an incredibly productive source of drugs, for example the cancer chemotherapeutics doxorubicin hydrochloride, bleomycin, daunorubicin and mitomycin. Unfortunately, the current yield of new drugs from soil microbes is low due to repeated cultivation of the same small fraction of cultivable microbes. Uncultured soil species represent a tremendous untapped resource of new antineoplastic agents. Methods have recently been developed to access the diversity of secondary metabolites from uncultured soil microbes. Briefly, total DNA is extracted from soil samples, purified, partially digested, and fragments inserted into vectors for expression in readily fermented microbes such as Escherichia coli. Clones expressing enzymatic and antibiotic activities that are encoded by novel sequences have been reported.
Exploring a typology of technology-intensive firms: when is a rose a great rose?

Abstract Previous research has contributed to our understanding of technology-intensive firms by proposing alternative typologies or classifications of these firms. This study explores the Koberg typology that characterizes firms by growth stage and production technology into four types of organizations: Embryonic, Start-up, Growth, and Mature Multiline. We propose that, consistent with the typology, firms in each type will differ in strategy, structure, practices, and leadership and that performance is contingent on the fit between organizational factors and typology type. In a study of 377 technology-intensive firms, we find support for differences among organizations in organizational variables by typology type. The characteristics of the organizations as well as the typology are significant in explaining organizational performance. However, except for organizational structure, the firm characteristics that are related to performance do not significantly vary by type. The results are discussed in the context of theory development and managerial implications.
Current-voltage relations in the lobster giant axon membrane under voltage clamp conditions.

The sucrose-gap method introduced by Stampfli provides a means for the application of a voltage clamp to the lobster giant axon, which responds to a variety of different experimental procedures in ways quite similar to those reported for the squid axon and frog node. This is particularly true for the behavior of the peak initial current. However, the steady state current shows some differences. It has a variable slope conductance less than that of the peak initial current. The magnitude of the steady state slope conductance is related to the length of the repolarization phase of the action potential, which does not have an undershoot in the lobster. The steady state outward current is maintained for as long as 100 msec.; this is in contrast to a decline of about 50 per cent in the squid axon. Lowering the external calcium concentration produces shifts in the current-voltage relations qualitatively similar to those obtained from the squid axon. On the basis of the data available, there is no reason to doubt that the Hodgkin and Huxley analysis for the squid giant axon in sea water can be applied to the lobster giant axon.
Selective narrowing of social networks across adulthood is associated with improved emotional experience in daily life

Past research has documented age differences in the size and composition of social networks that suggest that networks grow smaller with age and include an increasingly greater proportion of well-known social partners. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, such changes in social network composition serve an antecedent emotion regulatory function that supports an age-related increase in the priority that people place on emotional well-being. The present study employed a longitudinal design with a sample that spanned the full adult age range to examine whether there is evidence of within-individual (developmental) change in social networks and whether the characteristics of relationships predict emotional experiences in daily life. Using growth curve analyses, social networks were found to increase in size in young adulthood and then decline steadily throughout later life. As postulated by socioemotional selectivity theory, reductions were observed primarily in the number of peripheral partners; the number of close partners was relatively stable over time. In addition, cross-sectional analyses revealed that older adults reported that social network members elicited less negative emotion and more positive emotion. The emotional tone of social networks, particularly when negative emotions were associated with network members, also predicted experienced emotion of participants. Overall, findings were robust after taking into account demographic variables and physical health. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of socioemotional selectivity theory and related theoretical models.
Multi-analyte profiling reveals matrix metalloproteinase-9 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 as plasma biomarkers of cardiac aging.

Background —We have previously shown that cardiac sarcopenia occurs with age in C57/BL6J mice. However, underlying mechanisms and plasma biomarkers of cardiac aging have not been identified. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify and evaluate plasma biomarkers that reflect cardiac aging phenotypes. Methods and Results —Plasma from adult (7.5±0.5 months old, n=27) and senescent (31.7±0.5 months old, n=25) C57/BL6J mice was collected and levels of 69 markers were measured by multi-analyte profiling. Of these, 26 analytes were significantly increased and 3 were significantly decreased in the senescent group compared to the adult group. The majority of analytes that increased in the senescent group were inflammatory markers associated with macrophage functions, including matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL-2). Immunoblotting (n=12/ group) showed higher MMP-9 and MCP-1 levels in the left ventricle (LV) of senescent mice (p<0.05), and their expression levels in the LV correlated with plasma levels (rho=0.50 for MMP-9 and rho=0.62 for MCP1, p<0.05). Further, increased plasma MCP-1 and MMP-9 levels correlated with the increase in end diastolic dimensions that occurs with senescence. Immunohistochemistry (n=3/ group) for Mac-3, a macrophage marker, showed increased macrophage densities in the senescent LV; and dual labeling immunohistochemistry of Mac-3 and MMP-9 revealed robust co-localization of MMP-9 to the macrophages in the senescent LV sections, indicating that the macrophage is a major contributor of MMP-9 in the senescent LV. Conclusions —Our results suggest that MCP-1 and MMP-9 are potential plasma markers for cardiac aging and that augmented MCP-1 and MMP-9 levels and macrophage content in the LV could provide an underlying inflammatory mechanism of cardiac aging.
On the representation and multiplication of hypersparse matrices

Multicore processors are marking the beginning of a new era of computing where massive parallelism is available and necessary. Slightly slower but easy to parallelize kernels are becoming more valuable than sequentially faster kernels that are unscalable when parallelized. In this paper, we focus on the multiplication of sparse matrices (SpGEMM). We first present the issues with existing sparse matrix representations and multiplication algorithms that make them unscalable to thousands of processors. Then, we develop and analyze two new algorithms that overcome these limitations. We consider our algorithms first as the sequential kernel of a scalable parallel sparse matrix multiplication algorithm and second as part of a polyalgorithm for SpGEMM that would execute different kernels depending on the sparsity of the input matrices. Such a sequential kernel requires a new data structure that exploits the hypersparsity of the individual submatrices owned by a single processor after the 2D partitioning. We experimentally evaluate the performance and characteristics of our algorithms and show that they scale significantly better than existing kernels.
Progestin-induced puberty and secretion of luteinizing hormone in heifers.

Two experiments were designed to investigate the endocrine mechanisms by which progestin administration induces puberty in heifers. In experiment 1, prepubertal heifers were randomly assigned by age to receive either a single norgestomet implant for 10 days (NORG ; n = 15) or to serve as unimplanted controls (CONT ; n = 14). Serial blood samples were obtained on Days -0.5, 8.5, and 10.5 (Day 1 = day of implant insertion) and were analyzed for concentrations of LH. On Days 9 and 11, 4 heifers in each treatment were slaughtered, and the reproductive tracts were obtained. Weekly progesterone analyses were performed to estimate the day of puberty in heifers not slaughtered. Puberty was induced in 6 of 7 heifers in the NORG treatment, resulting in an earlier (p 0.10) was observed between treatments in follicular development, uterine weight was greater (p < 0.05) in NORG than in CONT heifers on Day 11. In experiment 2, prepubertal heifers (n = 47) were administered either 1 (1NORG ; n = 16), 3 (3NORG ; n = 16), or 0 (CONT ; n = 15) norgestomet implants for 10 days, and serial blood samples were obtained as described for experiment 1. Transrectal ultrasonography was used to determine the diameter of the largest follicle on Day 9. Plasma samples were obtained after each serial sample collection period and were analyzed for estradiol concentrations. Puberty was induced in 75% (12 of 16) and 81% (13 of 16) of heifers in the 1 NORG and 3NORG treatments, respectively. Four heifers in the 1 NORG treatment, from which serial blood samples were collected, ovulated before removal of the progestin implant, and the LH data for this treatment were deleted. In the 3NORG treatment, LH pulse frequency was suppressed (p < 0.05) on Day 8.5, but was greater (p < 0.05) 12 h after removal of the progestin (Day 10.5) than in the CONT treatment. We conclude that progestin administration hastens puberty by increasing LH secretion after progestin withdrawal and propose that progestin administration induces puberty by accelerating the peripubertal decrease of estradiol negative feedback on LH secretion.
Timescale and structure of ejections and bursts in turbulent channel flows

Burst structures in the near wall region of turbulent flows are associated with a large portion of the turbulent momentum transport from the wall. However, quantitative measures of the timescales associated with the burst event are not well defined, largely due to ambiguities associated with the methods used to detect a burst.In the present study, Eulerian burst-detection schemes were developed through extensions of the uv quadrant 2, VITA, and u-level techniques. Each of the basic techniques detects ejections. One or more ejections are contained in each burst and hence the key idea is to identify and to group those ejections from a single burst into a single-burst detection. When the ejection detections were grouped appropriately into burst detections, all of the extended techniques yielded the same average time between bursts as deduced from flow visualization for fully-developed channel flow in the range 8700 [les ] Reh [les ] 17 800. The present results show that inner variables (wall shear stress and kinematic viscosity) are the best candidates for the proper scaling of the average time between bursts. Conditional velocity sampling during burst and ejection detections shows that these burst events are closely correlated with slower-than-average moving fluid, moving both away from the wall and toward the wall.
Wave propagation in beams with periodic arrays of airfoil-shaped resonating units

Abstract This paper presents an analytical and numerical study on the dispersion properties of an Euler–Bernoulli beam immersed in a steady fluid flow with periodic arrays of airfoil-shaped vibration absorbers attached to it. The resonance characteristics of the airfoils generate strong attenuation of flexural waves in the beam occurring at frequencies defined by the properties of the airfoils and the speed of the incident fluid. Analytical and numerical tools are developed to investigate the effects of the incident flow on the dispersion properties and the bandgaps of the system. Both steady and unsteady aerodynamic models are used to model the lift force and the pitching moment acting on the resonators and their effect on the dispersion relations of the system is evaluated. Finally, an effective medium description of the beam is developed to capture its behavior at long-wavelengths. In this regime, the system can be effectively considered as an acoustic metamaterial with adaptive dispersion properties.
Has NAFTA increased labor market integration between the United States and Mexico

This article analyzes three criteria for labor market integration between Mexico and the United States (U.S.) before and since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): the responsiveness of Mexican wages to US wage shocks, the speed at which relative wages return to a long-run differential, and changes in the rate of convergence of absolute wages. Tests for increased integration using these three criteria generate mixed results, which are then explored by directly incorporating trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and migration. The results suggest that trade and FDI did in fact positively contribute to integration but that the increase in border enforcement depressed Mexican wages, masking the positive benefits.
Equation-free multiscale computation of compressible flow in a planar diuser

We discuss the high fidelity simulation, the identification of dominant scales, the design of a computational superstructure for time integration of the dominant-scale dynamics, and associated results. The results include accurate short and medium-time tracking of the dominant-scale dynamics for a range of parameter values for the computational superstructure. These results suggest that coarse analysis methods are useful for solving fluid flow problems of a multiscale nature.
Atmospheric soundings from satellites—false expectation or the key to improved weather prediction?

Temperature and water vapour soundings from satellites have been available for more than 20 years. Because of the global nature of these data, satellite soundings were expected to improve significantly global numerical weather prediction (NWP). Indeed, experiments with the satellite soundings provided during the Global Weather Experiment (GWE) in 1979 revealed the positive impact of these data on extended-range forecasts, particularly in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately, since the GWE, the value of satellite soundings has apparently diminished. I believe this to be due largely to improvements in the models which have surpassed the inherently poor vertical resolution of these data relative to that of the contemporary NWP models. The satellite data can even degrade the analysis/forecast operation through the aliasing of small-scale features which may be properly represented by the vertical scale resolved by the model. This lecture addresses, from a historical perspective, the dilemma of the decreasing value of satellite soundings in the weather-forecast application (i.e., the reasons for the unfulfilled expectations of these data). Attention is then turned to the improvements in the satellite technology and the application techniques needed to reverse this trend.
Severing and end-to-end annealing of neurofilaments in neurons

We have shown previously that neurofilaments and vimentin filaments expressed in nonneuronal cell lines can lengthen by joining ends in a process known as “end-to-end annealing.” To test if this also occurs for neurofilaments in neurons, we transfected cultured rat cortical neurons with fluorescent neurofilament fusion proteins and then used photoconversion or photoactivation strategies to create distinct populations of red and green fluorescent filaments. Within several hours we observed the appearance of chimeric filaments consisting of alternating red and green segments, which is indicative of end-to-end annealing of red and green filaments. However, the appearance of these chimeric filaments was accompanied by a gradual fragmentation of the red and green filament segments, which is indicative of severing. Over time we observed a progressive increase in the number of red–green junctions along the filaments accompanied by a progressive decrease in the average length of the alternating red and green fluorescent segments that comprised those filaments, suggesting a dynamic cycle of severing and end-to-end-annealing. Time-lapse imaging of the axonal transport of chimeric filaments demonstrated that the red and green segments moved together, confirming that they were indeed part of the same filament. Moreover, in several instances, we also were able to capture annealing and severing events live in time-lapse movies. We propose that the length of intermediate filaments in cells is regulated by the opposing actions of severing and end-to-end annealing, and we speculate that this regulatory mechanism may influence neurofilament transport within axons.
Analysis of factors affecting botulinum toxin results in spasmodic dysphonia

Summary This study was designed to investigate how variations in patterns of injection could improve the efficacy of botulinum toxin injections in relieving the symptoms of adductor spasmodic dysphonia. A total of 64 adductor spasmodic dysphonia patients who were injected using indirect laryngoscopic localization (for a total of 426 injections) were analyzed retrospectively using their own subjective data on duration of voice improvement, optimal voice improvement, breathiness side effects, and intervals between treatments. Injection to both the thyroarytenoid (TA) and the lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA) simultaneously gave the best voice results; the overall improvement from baseline was the longest lasting, and the period during which the voice was the best was the longest lasting. TA + LCA also gave the shortest duration of undesirable breathiness side effect. On the basis of these data, it seems reasonable to recommend that initial botulinum toxin therapy for adductor spasmodic dysphonia patients should be a single unilateral injection placed strategically at the posterior portion of the TA and directed toward the LCA so that both muscle groups are affected.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Type 2 Diabetes in Older Adults

Both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and type 2 diabetes mellitus are commonly seen in older adults. Over the last decade, there has been increasing recognition that OSA is highly prevalent in persons with type 2 diabetes and related metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Intermittent hypoxemia and recurrent arousals in OSA trigger a repertoire of pathophysiological events, which can in turn alter glucose homeostasis and possibly increase the risk for type 2 diabetes. Conversely, there is evidence that type 2 diabetes may alter the progression and expression of sleep-disordered breathing.
Increased AMPA-sensitive quisqualate receptor binding and reduced NMDA receptor binding in epileptic human hippocampus

Based on results from the kindling model of epilepsy, we hypothesized that enhanced binding of radioligands to the NMDA receptor and decreased binding to the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionate (AMPA)-sensitive quisqualate (ASQ) receptor would be found within epileptic hippocampi of humans with complex partial epilepsy (CPE). To test these hypotheses, we used tissue that was surgically removed from patients with intractable CPE, and control tissue that was obtained at autopsy. We used autoradiographic techniques to measure ASQ receptor binding (with 3H-AMPA as the radioligand) and binding to 2 sites on the NMDA receptor/channel complex: the agonist recognition site (with 3H-glutamate) and the phencyclidine (PCP) binding site that resides within the NMDA channel [with 3H-N-(1-[thienyl]cyclohexyl) piperidine (TCP) in the presence of saturating concentrations of NMDA and glycine]. Measurements of receptor binding were corrected for pathologic alterations in neuronal density. Contrary to our expectations, ASQ receptor binding was significantly increased (100%; p less than 0.02) in the dentate gyrus stratum moleculare in patients with CPE (n = 8), and it was unchanged in other hippocampal regions. In nearby sections from the same specimens, binding was significantly decreased to the agonist recognition site of the NMDA receptor in the stratum oriens of area CA3 (46%; p less than 0.05) and was also decreased to the PCP site in the stratum radiatum and stratum oriens of CA3 (44% and 74%, respectively; p less than 0.05). The increase in ASQ receptor binding may contribute to hyperexcitability in these epileptic patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Desire, Disease, and the Origins of the Dopaminergic System

The dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain region of the central nervous system project an extensive network of connections throughout the forebrain, including the neocortex. The midbrain-forebrain dopaminergic circuits are thought to regulate a diverse set of behaviors, from the control of movement to modulation of cognition and desire—because they relate to mood, attention, reward, and addiction. Defects in these pathways, including neurodegeneration, are implicated in a variety of psychiatric and neurological diseases, such as schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, drug addiction, and Parkinson disease. Based on the importance of the midbrain dopaminergic neurons to normal and pathological brain function, there is considerable interest in the molecular mechanisms that regulate their development. The goal of this short review is to outline new methods and recent advances in identifying the molecular networks that regulate midbrain dopaminergic neuron differentiation and fate. Midbrain dopaminergic neurons are descended from progenitor cells located near the ventral midline of the neural tube floor plate around the cephalic flexure. It is now clear that their initial formation is dependent on interactions between the signaling molecules Sonic hedgehog, WINGLESS 1, and FIBROBLAST growth factor 8, but there is still an extensive wider network of molecular interactions that must be resolved before the complete picture of dopaminergic neuron development can be described.
Sets of signals, information flow, and folktales

I apply Barwise and Seligman's theory of information flow to understand how sets of signals can carry information. More precisely I focus on the case where the information of interest is not present in any individual signal, but rather is carried by correlations between signals. This focus has the virtue of highlighting an oft-neglected process, viz., the different methods that apply categories to raw signals. Different methods result in different information, and the set of available methods provides a way of characterizing relative degrees of intensionality. I illustrate my points with the case of folktales and how they transmit cultural information. Certain sorts of cultural information, such as a grammar of hero stories, are not found in any individual tale but rather in a set of tales. Taken together, these considerations lead to some comments regarding the "information unit" of narratives and other complex signals.
Knowledge evaluation: Other evaluations: usefulness, novelty, and integration of interesting news measures

This article focuses on subjective methods of evaluation of discovered patterns in data that depend not only on the structure of the pattern and the data but also on the user who examines the pattern. The article considers such subjective measures of interestingness as unexpectedness, actionability, template-based measures, including data mining queries, pattern templates, and meta rules, and background knowledge measures. Finally, it describes how these different interestingness measures can be integrated into one common approach.
Harvesting solar energy to power ocular implants

A solar energy harvesting power supply has been developed for ocular implants. A photovoltaic array embedded under the eye's conjunctiva coverts incident solar energy to electrical energy to be stored in a battery. We have shown that a photovoltaic array embedded under the conjunctiva, with an area of 62mm2, when irradiated at 1mW/mm2 of sunlight, can generate 1.22mW at the battery charging circuit's output. This suggests the feasibility of powering ocular implants by scavenging solar energy from the environment.
Patterns of Acetaminophen Use Exceeding 4 Grams Daily in a Hospitalized Population at a Tertiary Care Center

Unintentional acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity has been increasingly recognized as a significant problem, prompting increased scrutiny and restrictions from the US Food and Drug Administration on products combining acetaminophen with narcotics. Patterns of acetaminophen use have not previously been reported in the hospitalized patient population, which may be especially vulnerable to liver injury. We aimed to quantify the frequency at which acetaminophen dosing exceeded the recommended maximum of 4 g/day in hospitalized patients. This was a retrospective, single-center, cohort study at a large tertiary care academic hospital. We queried our inpatient electronic medical record database to identify patients admitted between 2008 and 2010 who were receiving cumulative daily acetaminophen doses exceeding 4 g on at least 1 hospital day. Of 43,761 admissions involving acetaminophen administration, the recommended maximum cumulative daily dose of 4 g was exceeded in 1119 (2.6%) cases. Patients who were administered a larger number of acetaminophen-containing medications were more likely to receive doses in excess of the recommended maximum. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were checked within 14 days following acetaminophen exposure in excess of 4 g in 35 (3.1%) cases. Excessive acetaminophen dosing of hospitalized patients, who may be at increased risk for acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity, occurred in a minority of patients. The use of multiple acetaminophen-containing medication formulations contributed to excessive dosing. ALT level monitoring in this group was infrequent, precluding assessment of biochemical evidence of liver injury. This cohort of patients may represent an ideal population for further prospective study with more intensive and longer-term biochemical monitoring to assess for evidence of liver injury.
The influence of ion beam rastering on the swelling of self-ion irradiated pure iron at 450 °C

Abstract Ion beam scanning or “rastering” is a technique that is frequently used to uniformly cover a larger specimen area during ion irradiation. In this study, we addressed the effects of rastered and defocused beams, using 3.5 MeV iron ions to irradiate pure iron at 450 °C to peak doses of 50 and 150 dpa. We focused on a frequency range relevant to pulsed fusion devices and show its importance to ion irradiation experiments used for simulating neutron damage. The beam was scanned at 15.6, 1.94, and 0.244 Hz and the resulting microstructure was compared with that produced by a non-rastered, defocused beam. At 150 dpa, the defocused beam case resulted in the highest observed void swelling of ∼12% at a depth of ∼700 nm, a depth short of the peak dose position at 1000 nm. The swelling at the peak dose position was significantly reduced by the defect imbalance phenomenon. A maximum swelling rate of ∼0.12%/dpa was measured in this specimen at a depth of 600 nm below the ion-incident surface. Rastering led to much lower swelling levels achieved at significantly lower swelling rates, with the greatest rate of decrease occurring below ∼1 Hz. Furthermore, the impact of the defect imbalance arising from interstitial injection and spatial distribution difference of initial interstitial and vacancy defects was strongly pronounced in the non-rastered case with a lesser effect observed with decreasing raster frequency.
Effect of Polyuria on Bladder Function in Diabetics versus Non-Diabetics: An Article Review.

Objectives: To review studies that investigated the role of polyuria on bladder function. Methods: We performed a search of the English literature through PubMed. We only included animal studies that assessed parameters of bladder function and had compared diabetic and non-diabetic polyuric animals. Results: Fluid intake and urine output were increased in diabetic and polyuric animals; failure to appropriately gain weight was seen in diabetics only. All but 1 study reported increase in bladder weight in both groups. In cystometrograms, control mice showed reductions in basal bladder pressure over time, whereas diabetic and diuretic groups stabilized or increased. Both groups showed larger bladder capacity. Overall, many characteristic changes in cystometrographic studies in diabetic animals could be attributed to polyuria. In histological studies, bladder hypertrophy, increase in smooth muscle and urothelium, and increase in protein and DNA content per bladder were observed in diuretic and diabetic rats. Actual collagen cross-sectional area did not change during the progression of diabetes or diuresis but decreased over time in both groups as a percentage of total tissue area. Both groups expressed less type I collagen mRNA and TGF-beta-1 mRNA. Conclusions: Although lower urinary tract changes in anatomy and function in diabetic patients might arise from a number of causes, polyuria seems to play an important causative role.
Using STELLA simulation models to teach natural resource economics

AbstractIn this article, the author discusses how graphical simulation models created using STELLA software can be used to present natural resource systems in an intuitive way in undergraduate natural resource economics classes based on his experiences at a leading research university, a state university, and a leading liberal arts college in the United States. The models allow students to develop an intuitive understanding of the economic aspects of natural resource systems. The author provides a short introduction to STELLA and then presents an economic model of the fishery in detail as an example of how models can be used in a classroom. He then discusses how he incorporates STELLA into his natural resource economics course, and closes the article by comparing STELLA with alternate methods.
IPAS: intelligent protection against silent output corruption in scientific applications

This paper presents IPAS, an instruction duplication technique that protects scientific applications from silent data corruption (SDC) in their output. The motivation for IPAS is that, due to natural error masking, only a subset of SDC errors actually affects the output of scientific codes — we call these errors silent output corruption (SOC) errors. Thus applications require duplication only on code that, when affected by a fault, yields SOC. We use machine learning to learn code instructions that must be protected to avoid SOC, and, using a compiler, we protect only those vulnerable instructions by duplication, thus significantly reducing the overhead that is introduced by instruction duplication. In our experiments with five workloads, IPAS reduces the percentage of SOC by up to 90% with a slowdown that ranges between 1.04x and 1.35x, which corresponds to as much as 47% less slowdown than state-of-the-art instruction duplication techniques.
Thiol-ene chemistry: A greener approach to making chemically and thermally stable fibers

Fibers of micrometer and submicrometer diameters have been of significant interest in recent years owing to their advanced applications in diverse fields such as optoelectronics, regenerative medicine, piezoelectrics, ceramic materials, etc. There are a number of processes to make thin fibers including electrospinning, melt blowing, and recently developed Forcespinning. However, use of solvents or heat to lower viscosity for processing is common to all existing polymer fiber manufacturing methods, and a greener approach to making fibers remains a challenge. Interestingly, nature has engineered spiders and silkworms with a benign way of making mechanically strong and tough fibers through an intricate self-assembly of protein constituents during the fiber formation process. Comprehending the biosynthetic process and precisely replicating it has been a challenging task. However, we find that extruding small functional segments into solid fibrillar structures, through mediation of chemical interactions betwee...
Accountable care organizations antitrust guidelines will not save rural providers

Carol is a poverty-stricken woman in her late fifties who lives at home with her sick husband, Harold, in rural southern Illinois. Harold and Carol do not have a car to get to doctors’ appointments...
Abstract 4746: Mapping genes for invasive urinary bladder cancer in the dog

Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC) is the most common cancer of the urinary bladder in pet dogs. In approximately 50% of dogs diagnosed with TCC the disease will spread to other organs in the body such as the lungs or liver. Drugs used to treat TCC are only partially effective and as a result most affected dogs ultimately die from the cancer. While it can be found in most breeds, there are a small number for which the risk is greatly increased five to twenty-fold, indicating an inherited component to the disease. In order to identify genetic mutations that increase susceptibility to TCC of the bladder, we have conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using more than 100 Scottish terriers (ST), West Highland White terriers (WHWT), and Shetland Sheepdogs (SSD) with biopsy confirmed TCC. Controls included over 100 dogs of the same three breeds that were nine years or older, and that had not been diagnosed with any form of cancer. All germline DNA samples were run on the Affymetrix v2 canine SNP chip. Data were analyzed to test for an association between markers and disease. Following correction for population structure and relatedness among individuals of the same breed we identified one primary susceptibility locus (locus1) within the Scottish terrier population (p = 5 × 10-13) and a second locus (locus2) in West Highland White terriers and Shetland Sheepdogs (p = 3 × 10-7). The association at locus1 is increased with the addition of WHWT but not SSD. Fine mapping of locus1 with a dense set of 250 SNPs spanning a 4.5 Mb region revealed a strong association across a group of genes involved in multiple cancer pathways, including some commonly deleted in human bladder cancer tumors. Haplotype analysis across this region identified two primary haplotype blocks with significant associations. Locus2 was associated with the TCC in the WHWT and SSD, when ST were excluded. Preliminary data suggests evidence of a reduced heterozygosity in both cases and controls at locus2 in the ST and we hypothesize that STs are nearing fixation at locus2, thus explaining the twenty-fold increased risk associated with this breed. We are currently further fine mapping both regions by resequencing and genotyping additional 750 SNPs and probes to assess copy number variation using a custom Goldengate assay. The identification of causal mutations will lead to a better understanding of the genetic causes of bladder cancer. In addition, since TCC of the bladder in dogs shares a similar histopathologic appearance and biological behavior with human invasive TCC of the bladder, identification of genetic risk factors for TCC will allow selection of molecular targets for early detection and treatment in both humans and dogs. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4746.
Effect of presence of an imprinted object on response of ducklings in an open field and when exposed to a fear stimulus

This study was designed to determine whether ducklings would show evidence of attachment to a previously “imprinted” object when they were placed in an open field at 14 days of age. It was found that they did show attachment, spending considerably more time in the center of the field when the object was there than when it was absent. It was also found that when a fear object was placed in the field, half the ducklings stayed close to the imprinted object despite the fact that it meant being closer to the fear object than any duckling would tolerate in the absence of the imprinted object.
The catastrophe of neo-liberalism: Finance, emancipation and disintegration

My article provides a systematic interpretation of the transformation of capitalist society in the neo-liberal era as a form of what Karl Polanyi called ‘cultural catastrophe’. I substantiate this ...
Complementry and Alternative Medicine

No topic in the health care arena has been the subject of more heated debate in the last few years, short of access to care and health care costs, than complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM has been the focus of extensive media attention numerous medical articles, books, periodical reviews, as well as the topic of talk shows and dinner conversations. Many patients are seeking increasingly more information from their physicians and other resources about alternatives to conventional, allopathic medicine.
The parameters of male fertility.

Factors in determining a mans ability to initiate pregnancy are discussed. Given a reasonable sperm count the factors of motility and morphology are most decisive. Previously it was assessed that a man with a sperm count of less than 60 million/ml was infertile but the latest data suggest that a sperm count as low as 10 million/ml can be associated with fertility if other parameters are favorable. These parameters can be evaluated by seminal cytology which simultaneously often provides clues to underlying problems that may impair fertility in the seemingly normal male. Studies indicate that while attention should be paid to the matter of ejaculate volume it is significant only at the lower and possibly at the upper limits of abnormality. The 2 components of sperm motility are the speed of forward progression and the percentage of cells showing such movement. The author has established an arbitrary "motility index" which is the product of values assigned to these 2 components. 120 is the passable motility index. 0 is no movement up to 4 which is vigorous movement times the percentage of active sperm. A further qualification is that at least 40% of spermatozoa in any given specimen should show forward progression. There is a strong relationship between morphology and motility. At least 60% of sperm in any given specimen must have normal oviform shape for the diagnostician to consider that a reasonable chance of impregnation exists and for him to evaluate the critical question of motility. A more important application of the study of morphology is the evaluation of testicular function which sperm morphology distinctively reflects. Stress plays a role in infertility. Aberrations caused by stress can often be corrected once the cause is eliminated. This may be physical or emotional stress. Prisoners in state institutions have an astonishing potential fertility. These men are sequestered from many infectious agents as well as from the pressure to accomplish and make daily decisions.
The racial transition process: Is Wynnefield a typical changing community?

Wynnefield has undergone ethnic succession twice during this century. During the 1920’s, the community shifted from predominantly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant to Eastern European Jewish. During the 1960’s, the community underwent racial turnover and by 1970 the community was roughly one-half black. This chapter focuses on the latter shift. It seeks to determine the extent of resemblance between the racial transition process in Wynnefield and the process in other middle-class communities that have been studied. It also attempts to identify those aspects of the process that are distinctive to Jewish communities.
Pathogenicity and Transmission of H5 and H7 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses in Mallards

Wild aquatic birds have been associated with the intercontinental spread of H5 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/96 (Gs/GD) lineage during 2005, 2010, and 2014, but dispersion by wild waterfowl has not been implicated with spread of other HPAI viruses. To better understand why Gs/GD H5 HPAI viruses infect and transmit more efficiently in waterfowl than other HPAI viruses, groups of mallard ducks were challenged with one of 14 different H5 and H7 HPAI viruses, including a Gs/GD lineage H5N1 (clade 2.2) virus from Mongolia, part of the 2005 dispersion, and the H5N8 and H5N2 index HPAI viruses (clade 2.3.4.4) from the United States, part of the 2014 dispersion. All virus-inoculated ducks and contact exposed ducks became infected and shed moderate to high titers of the viruses, with the exception that mallards were resistant to Ck/Pennsylvania/83 and Ck/Queretaro/95 H5N2 HPAI virus infection. Clinical signs were only observed in ducks challenged with the H5N1 2005 virus, which all died, and with the H5N8 and H5N2 2014 viruses, which had decreased weight gain and fever. These three viruses were also shed in higher titers by the ducks, which could facilitate virus transmission and spread. This study highlights the possible role of wild waterfowl in the spread of HPAI viruses.
Alcohol and lung injury and immunity

Annually, excessive alcohol use accounts for more than $220 billion in economic costs and 80,000 deaths, making excessive alcohol use the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the US. Patients with an alcohol-use disorder (AUD) also have an increased susceptibility to respiratory pathogens and lung injury, including a 2-4-fold increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This review investigates some of the potential mechanisms by which alcohol causes lung injury and impairs lung immunity. In intoxicated individuals with burn injuries, activation of the gut-liver axis drives pulmonary inflammation, thereby negatively impacting morbidity and mortality. In the lung, the upper airway is the first checkpoint to fail in microbe clearance during alcohol-induced lung immune dysfunction. Brief and prolonged alcohol exposure drive different post-translational modifications of novel proteins that control cilia function. Proteomic approaches are needed to identify novel alcohol targets and post-translational modifications in airway cilia that are involved in alcohol-dependent signal transduction pathways. When the upper airway fails to clear inhaled pathogens, they enter the alveolar space where they are primarily cleared by alveolar macrophages (AM). With chronic alcohol ingestion, oxidative stress pathways in the AMs are stimulated, thereby impairing AM immune capacity and pathogen clearance. The epidemiology of pneumococcal pneumonia and AUDs is well established, as both increased predisposition and illness severity have been reported. AUD subjects have increased susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia infections, which may be due to the pro-inflammatory response of AMs, leading to increased oxidative stress.
Error characterization and mitigation for 16nm MLC NAND flash memory under total ionizing dose effect

This paper studies the system-level reliability of 16nm MLC NAND flash memories under total ionizing dose (TID) effect. Errors that occur in the parts under TID effect are characterized at multiple levels. Results show that faithful data recovery only lasts until 9k rad. Data errors observed in irradiated flash samples are strongly asymmetric. To improve the reliability of the parts, we study error mitigation methods that consider the specific properties of TID errors. First, we implement a novel data representation scheme that stores data using the relative order of cell voltages. The representation is more robust against uniform asymmetric threshold voltage shift of floating gates. Experimental results show that the scheme reduces errors at least by 50% for blocks with less than 3k program/erase cycles and 10k rad. Second, we conduct empirical evaluations of memory scrubbing schemes. Based on the results, we identify a scheme that refreshes cells without doing block erasure. Evaluation results show that parts under this scrubbing scheme survive up to 8k PECs and 57k rad total doses.