cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lateralization of temporal lobe dysfunction and verbal encoding.

Abstract The contribution of encoding deficits to verbal-learning difficulties known to be associated with temporal lobe dysfunction was investigated. Auditory and visual false-recognition tasks, which assess verbal encoding strategies, were given to patients with left-temporal-lobe (LTL) and right-temporal-lobe (RTL) surgical excisions and to a group of normal controls (NC). On both auditory and visual tasks, LTL patients made significantly more false-recognition errors than the other subjects on related, but not unrelated, words in the test list. The findings indicate that LTL patients are able to initially encode verbal material and that a breakdown in information processing occurs at a later stage. On the auditory tasks, the performance of RTL patients did not differ from that of NC subjects. However, on the visual tasks, RTL patients, as compared to both LTL and NC subjects, made fewer false-recognition errors. The performance of RTL patients, in contrast to LTL patients, could be interpreted as a reduced encoding of the visual attribute of verbal material. Another possible explanation considered was difficulty in familiarity discrimination.
GaN as a neutron detection material

GaN is a promising material for neutron detection applications, with advantages over Si and GaAs. GaN films doped with Gd have been grown by MOCVD and investigated for their feasibility for neutron detection. The films were structurally and electrically characterized through HRXRD and Hall effect measurements. Alpha particle luminescence of both doped and undoped films was used to investigate gamma discrimination properties.
Acute kidney injury following bariatric surgery.

Postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) following bariatric surgery has not been well studied. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with risk of AKI. The medical records of adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery between March 1, 2005 and March 31, 2011 at the Mayo Clinic were reviewed to identify patients who experienced AKI, defined as postoperative increase in serum creatinine (sCr) by 0.3 mg/dL within 72 h. For each AKI case, two controls were matched for surgical approach (laparotomy vs. laparoscopic). A chart review was conducted and conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for AKI. There were 1,227 patients who underwent bariatric surgery, and of these, 71 developed AKI (5.8 %). The median sCr increase was 0.4 (interquartile range 0.3–0.6) mg/dL. Independent patient factors associated with increased risk included higher body mass index [odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95 % CI 1.06–1.46 per 5 unit increase, P = 0.01] and medically treated diabetes mellitus (OR 2.77, 1.36–5.65, P = 0.01). Patients experiencing AKI had higher rates of blood transfusions (P < 0.01), postsurgical complications (P < 0.01), and longer hospital stays (P < 0.01). Another 30 patients developed kidney injury after 72 postoperative hours, usually in the setting of dehydration. Kidney injury following bariatric surgery is not uncommon and is associated with higher body mass index and diabetes. Further, there should be a high risk of suspicion for kidney injury in postoperative patients developing volume depletion.
Shear Stress Measurements and Erosion Implications for Wave and Combined Wave-Current Generated Flows

AbstractSediment transport in wave-dominated environments is of great interest for dredged material placement, contaminated sediments, habitat protection, and other issues. The shear stress at the sediment-water interface during a wave event is an important parameter in determining erosion and transport for both experimental and model simulation applications. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a laboratory and field device called the sediment erosion actuated by wave oscillations and linear flow (SEAWOLF) flume in which high-resolution, particle-image velocimetry (PIV) has been applied to investigate turbulent flow shear stresses for a variety of flow conditions. The results of the PIV analysis for a wave cycle demonstrate a fully developed turbulent flow, relaminarization, and an explosive transition back to turbulence. In many cases, the results of the flume tests did not show good agreement with previously reported computational fluid dynamic results and existing theories, such as Blasius, for ...
Saturn's rings - Spectral reflectivity and compositional implications

Saturn rings spectral reflectivity measurement and compositional implications concerning water frosts and silicates
Epilogue: Making new histories of sport in South Africa

One of former South African President Nelson Mandela's most enduring quotes is that sport has the power to change the world. Of course the opposite is also true; the world has the power to change s...
Bug resolution catalysts: Identifying essential non-committers from bug repositories

Bugs are inevitable in software projects. Resolving bugs is the primary activity in software maintenance. Developers, who fix bugs through code changes, are naturally important participants in bug resolution. However, there are other participants in these projects who do not perform any code commits. They can be reporters reporting bugs; people having a deep technical know-how of the software and providing valuable insights on how to solve the bug; bug-tossers who re-assign the bugs to the right set of developers. Even though all of them act on the bugs by tossing and commenting, not all of them may be crucial for bug resolution. In this paper, we formally define essential non-committers and try to identify these bug resolution catalysts. We empirically study 98304 bug reports across 11 open source and 5 commercial software projects for validating the existence of such catalysts. We propose a network analysis based approach to construct a Minimal Essential Graph that identifies such people in a project. Finally, we suggest ways of leveraging this information for bug triaging and bug report summarization.
Spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation caused by a follicle-stimulating hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma.

Objective To report a case of spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation resulting from an FSH-secreting pituitary adenoma. Design Case report. Setting University hospital. Patient(s) A 29-year-old previously healthy, nulligravid woman. Intervention(s) Transphenoidal resection of the adenoma. Main outcome measure(s) Clinical remission. Result(s) After transphenoidal resection of the adenoma, the patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery with complete resolution of ovarian hyperstimulation and associated symptoms. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated residual tumor within the cavernous sinus. Conclusion(s) Follicle-stimulating hormone–secreting pituitary adenoma may present as acute spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation.
Structure of human POT1 bound to telomeric single-stranded DNA provides a model for chromosome end-protection

The POT1 (protection of telomeres 1) protein binds the single-stranded overhang at the ends of chromosomes in diverse eukaryotes. It is essential for chromosome end-protection in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and it is involved in regulation of telomere length in human cells. Here, we report the crystal structure at a resolution of 1.73 A of the N-terminal half of human POT1 (hPOT1) protein bound to a telomeric single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) decamer, TTAGGGTTAG, the minimum tight-binding sequence indicated by in vitro binding assays. The structure reveals that hPOT1 contains two oligonucleotide/ oligosaccharide-binding (OB) folds; the N-terminal OB fold binds the first six nucleotides, resembling the structure of the S. pombe Pot1pN-ssDNA complex, whereas the second OB fold binds and protects the 3' end of the ssDNA. These results provide an atomic-resolution model for chromosome end-capping.
Macromolecular data collection with cryogenic helium

Abstract We have previously reported on the use of an open flow helium cryostat in macromolecular crystallographic data collection. This device, developed at the University of Toledo, was used at the APS IMCA beamline to test He as a cryogen and to compare data collected at He temperature to that collected at N 2 temperature. Data were collected on matched crystals of the nucleosome core particle (NCP), fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH), and the murine monoclonal antibody BV0401 (BV), and other crystals using an Oxford Cryosystems Cryostream and the Toledo Helium Cryostat. In these experiments, crystal lifetime was enhanced by using He as a cryogen. At the end of data collection with NCP, crystals cooled by N 2 were blackened; crystals cooled by He remained clear. A crystal of Mcg light chain dimer (Mcg) had undiminished diffraction in He after 90 min of exposure in the same position. Data improvement is best illustrated in the diffraction data from BV. These data showed an improvement in resolution (1.75–1.48 A) with a significant enhancement of the intensity for weak data. Data from the NCP showed a similar enhancement in intensity. However, some diffraction data exhibited split reflections at He temperature rendering processing of the data more problematic. One possible explanation for these results is a phase change occurring between 100 K and the 30 K of the helium cold stream. Planned work will characterize this phenomenon and extend the experiments to other crystal systems.
Iron carburization in a calcium carbide molten salt solution

The kinetics of iron carburization by both chemical and electrochemical treatments were determined at 920° C in a solution of CaC2 in molten CaCl2.
Ultrafast calcination and sintering of Ca(OH)2 powder : experimental and modeling

Abstract The kinetics of ultrafast calcination and sintering of Ca(OH) 2 powder is studied in the 900–1050°C temperature range in an entrained-flow reactor. Time-resolved kinetic data are obtained for 0–300 ms time scale with the residence time of the solids being measured on-line. The reaction exhibits very high initial calcination rates with sharp attenuation and subsequent virtual “die-off” at higher residence times. The interplay of calcination kinetics and sintering kinetics and the net effect on the overall surface area evolution is clearly elucidated. A modified grain model incorporating the sintering of the product CaO layer and the role of diffusion of evolved H 2 O is proposed to explain the overall phenomena. The model predictions are in good agreement with the observed experimental results.
Dimer formation enhances structural differences between amyloid β-protein (1-40) and (1-42): an explicit-solvent molecular dynamics study.

Amyloid -protein (A) is central to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. A 5% difference in the primary structure of the two predominant alloforms, A and A, results in distinct assembly pathways and toxicity properties. Discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) studies of A and A assembly resulted in alloform-specific oligomer size distributions consistent with experimental findings. Here, a large ensemble of DMD–derived A and A monomers and dimers was subjected to fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the OPLS-AA force field combined with two water models, SPCE and TIP3P. The resulting all-atom conformations were slightly larger, less compact, had similar turn and lower -strand propensities than those predicted by DMD. Fully atomistic A and A monomers populated qualitatively similar free energy landscapes. In contrast, the free energy landscape of A dimers indicated a larger conformational variability in comparison to that of A dimers. A dimers were characterized by an increased flexibility in the N-terminal region D1-R5 and a larger solvent exposure of charged amino acids relative to A dimers. Of the three positively charged amino acids, R5 was the most and K16 the least involved in salt bridge formation. This result was independent of the water model, alloform, and assembly state. Overall, salt bridge propensities increased upon dimer formation. An exception was the salt bridge propensity of K28, which decreased upon formation of A dimers and was significantly lower than in A dimers. The potential relevance of the three positively charged amino acids in mediating the A oligomer toxicity is discussed in the light of available experimental data.
EFFECTS OF PLASMA ON THE ABSORPTION OF ZINC BY MAMMALIAN ERYTHROCYTES.

The effect of plasma on uptake of Zn/sup 65/ by rat red cells was determined by in vitro investigation. It was found that the amount of Zn which the cells would absorb per unit time was inversely proportional to the amount of plasma present in the external medium, indicating inhibition of Zn/sup 65/ uptake by red cells in the presence of plasma. Conversely it was found that previously labeled red cells showed a greater loss of Zn/sup 65/ to a plasma medium than to a saline medium, indicating that the loss of Zn/sup 65/ from red cells is facilitated by the presence of plasma. (auth)
Direct Observation of β-Aryl Eliminations from Rh(I) Alkoxides

beta-Aryl eliminations from a series of rhodium(I) alkoxides to form rhodium aryl complexes and free ketones are reported. Tertiary phenylmethoxide complexes [Rh(PEt3)n(OCPhRR')] (n = 2, 3) were prepared via alcoholysis of {Rh(PEt3)2[N(SiMe3)2} by the corresponding alcohols HOCPhRR' in the presence and absence of added PEt3. Heating of these complexes in the presence of added PEt3 generated the rhodium phenyl complex, (PEt3)3RhPh, and the corresponding ketones in good to high yields. Kinetic results are most consistent with irreversible beta-phenyl elimination from a bisphosphine-ligated rhodium alkoxide complex. Such bisphosphine complexes result from ligand dissociation from the trisphosphine complexes and have been isolated in some cases. The bisphosphine complexes are stabilized by Rh-Cphenyl interactions, as evidenced by an X-ray structure, and this structure with a metal-aryl interaction likely illustrates the pathway for C-C bond cleavage.
DNA Demethylation Dynamics

The discovery of cytosine hydroxymethylation (5hmC) suggested a simple means of demethylating DNA and activating genes. Further experiments, however, unearthed an unexpectedly complex process, entailing both passive and active mechanisms of DNA demethylation by the ten-eleven translocation (TET) and AID/APOBEC families of enzymes. The consensus emerging from these studies is that removal of cytosine methylation in mammalian cells can occur by DNA repair. These reports highlight that in certain contexts, DNA methylation is not fixed but dynamic, requiring continuous regulation.
HEAT TRANSFER DURING GLASS FORMING

An important step in the optimization of a glass container production cycle is the determination of the glass temperature distribution during heat treatment. The ideal approach to this problem is to formulate a theoretical model for comparison against experimental data measured in a well-determined system. Discrepancies between theory and experiment may then give further direction for model improvement. This approach, however, is limited because of the difficulties in measuring glass temperature distribution during forming. Another approach is to use the model to predict glass surface heat fluxes during the forming cycle and test the computed results against published values of glass to metal heat fluxes measured during glass container production on an individual section (I.S.) Blow-and-Blow bottle machine. A computer model has been developed to calculate the temperature distribution in a glass plate. The model includes the three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation. The process is...
A model for usage policy-based resource allocation in grids

Challenging usage policy issues can arise within virtual organizations (VOs) that integrate participants and resources spanning multiple physical institutions. Participants may wish to delegate to one or more VOs the right to use certain resources subject to local policy and service level agreements; each VO then wishes to use those resources subject to VO policy. How are such local and VO policies to be expressed, discovered, interpreted, and enforced? As a first step to addressing these questions, we develop and evaluate policy management solutions within a specialized context, namely scientific data grids within which the resources to be shared are computers and storage. We propose an architecture and recursive policy model, and define roles and functions, for scheduling resources in grid environments while satisfying resource owner and VO policies.
On the prediction of maximal intertidal wave forces

Understanding of the mechanics of “wave exposure” has been restricted by an inability to predict the maximal force encountered by particular wave-swept organisms on a time scale of months to years. In this study we attempt to remedy this situation by using the statistics of extremes to examine the hydrodynamic forces encountered by objects at a variety of intertidal sites. At each site a time series of wave-induced forces was divided into intervals, and the maximal force encountered in each interval was noted. Each maximum was normalized to the mean of the maxima for the series. The cumulative probability of encountering a given normalized force was found to be similar among objects and across a wide range of surf conditions and time scales. This observed cumulative probability distribution is consistent with that predicted from simple assumptions regarding the distribution of nearshore wave heights, the wave-height dependence of near-substratum water velocities, and the velocity dependence of hydrodynamic forces. The nature of this probability distribution allows one to predict on the basis of a relatively small number of measurements the maximal force a particular organism is likely to encounter in any given period. This information can in turn be used as a tool for exploring the ecological effects of disturbance and the evolution of body structure and life-history strategies.
Understanding the breast cancer experience of Asian American women.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and affects women across all ethnic groups. Although the psychosocial impact of breast cancer is being studied, there is little information on ethnic minorities. To better understand the breast cancer experience of Asian American women, we conducted key informant and focus group interviews. Six professionals participated in the key informant interviews. A total of 34 Asian American breast cancer survivors participated in focus group interviews, including Korean (n=10), Chinese (n=11), and a mixed Asian group (n=13). The common themes identified in this series of qualitative studies included: lack of knowledge about breast cancer; medical care issues such as cost and amount of time spent with physician; cultural factors related to beliefs about illness, gender role and family obligations (e.g. self-sacrifice) and language barriers; the importance of spirituality; and psychosocial concerns related to worry about children, burdening the family, body image and sexual health concerns. A primary source of support and coping for Asian American women with breast cancer was their spiritual beliefs. The results from this qualitative study have been used to prepare a survey instrument to examine these issues in a larger sample of Asian American women.
Correlating dough elastic recovery during sheeting with flour analyses and rheological properties

The dough rheological behaviors of three flours having different chemical and physical properties were measured, as were changes in thickness and snapback (thickness of the machined dough sheet relative to the roll gap), immediately following sheeting. Dough snapback was determined to be a function of processing parameters, reduction ratio, and dough rest time, as well as different flour properties. The predication equation for dough snapback is based on multiple flour properties and sheeting conditions. Higher protein flours normally have stronger dough properties and larger snapback, compared with low protein flours, but also depend on the protein quality. The snapback will increase either with increased protein content, reduction ratio, or reduced rest time. Dough snapback using flour made by blending two flours 50/50 had intermediate values between the two original flours. Among the variables, Mixograph work, reduction ratio, and dough rest time were the main factors affecting the elastic characteristics of the doughs. Minimum snapback occurred with the weakest flour experiencing the longest rest time and the smallest reduction ratio. A linear 7-factor equation was found to predict the snapback of several flours, by combining reduction ratio, dough rest time, Mixograph work, peak height, and mixing time, Alveograph P/L, and protein content. Only three factor combinations of Mixograph work, reduction ratio, and rest time were needed to develop a second order equation for predicting snapback. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Synthesis and Characterization of Conjugated Mono- and Dithiol Oligomers and Characterization of Their Self-Assembled Monolayers

The characterization of self-assembled monolayer molecular arrays, which serve as active layers in electronic devices, is an important step toward understanding molecular-scale electronics. To correlate the properties of self-assembled monolayers with their molecular structures, a series of π-conjugated mono- and dithiols and aromatic dithiols with an oxygen or sulfur atom between two aromatic units have been designed and synthesized. Their optical properties were determined by UV−vis spectroscopy. Their self-assembled monolayer films on gold surfaces were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, grazing incidence Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GI-FTIR), and contact angle and ellipsometry measurements. Increasing the chain length from two to four phenyl rings showed a more than linear increase of the intensity of the aromatic CC ring stretch modes in GI-FTIR, indicating that the longer p-phenylene system is oriented toward the surface normal. Similar to oligophenylenes, when the number of repeat uni...
Chemotherapy within 30 days prior to liver resection does not increase postoperative morbidity or mortality

Abstract Background Liver resections (LRs) are performed with increasing frequency for metastatic disease. To minimize the risk of postoperative complications, a period of 6 weeks between the last dose of chemotherapy and LR is typically recommended. The current study examines postoperative morbidity and mortality following LR in patients who received chemotherapy within 30 days prior to LR. Methods The merged 2005–2007 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Participant Use File was queried for perioperative risk factors, laboratory values and postoperative occurrences or complications in patients who underwent LR. Patients were grouped according to their receipt or non-receipt of chemotherapy within 30 days prior to LR and major postoperative complications. Results A total of 2331 patients underwent LR; 2147 did not receive chemotherapy within 30 days of resection (No Chemo group) and 184 received chemotherapy within 30 days prior to resection (Chemo group). The groups were similar with regard to preoperative co-morbidities and operative factors. The median NSQIP statistically computed morbidity probability was similar between the groups (No Chemo 0.32, Chemo 0.34; P = 0.07), whereas the median mortality probability was higher in the Chemo group (0.02) than the No Chemo group (0.014; P = 0.001). Thirty-day survival was similar between the two groups (No Chemo 97%, Chemo 98%; P = 0.44). Major complication rates did not differ between the groups (No Chemo 20%, Chemo 18%; P = 0.51). Factors associated with major complications in the Chemo group included: extent of resection; intraoperative transfusion; preoperative ascites, and preoperative haematocrit. Discussion Major morbidity was not increased in Chemo patients. The strongest predictors of major postoperative complications in the Chemo group were extent of resection and intraoperative red cell transfusion. Although the NSQIP dataset does not include data about tumour type or chemotherapy regimen, these data suggest that LR may be safely performed within 30 days of chemotherapy, thereby minimizing the length of time during which patients do not receive systemic treatment.
Optimal pH strategy for selective cerebral perfusion.

Objective: Selective cerebral perfusion (SCP) affords brain protection superior to hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) for prolonged aortic arch procedures. Optimal pH strategy for HCA is controversial; for SCP it is unknown. We compared pH strategies during SCP in a survival pig model. Methods: Twenty juvenile pigs (26G2.4 kg), randomized to alpha-stat (nZ10) or pH-stat (nZ10) management, underwent cooling to 20 8C on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) followed by 90 min of SCP at 20 8C. SCP was conducted with a mean pressure of 50 mmHg and hematocrit of 22.5%. Using fluorescent microspheres and sagittal sinus blood sampling, cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen metabolism (CMRO2) were assessed at the following time points: baseline, after 30 min cooling (20 8C), 30 min of SCP, 90 min of SCP, 15 min post-CPB and 2 h post-CPB. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) were assessed at baseline and monitored for 2 h during recovery. Neurobehavioral recovery (10Znormal) was assessed in a blinded fashion for 7 postoperative days. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups at baseline. CBF was significantly higher at the end of cooling, and after 30 and 90 min of SCP in the pH-stat group (PZ0.02, 0.007, 0.03). CMRO2 was also higher with pH-stat (PZ0.06, 0.04, 0.10). Both groups showed prompt return to values close to baseline after rewarming (PZns). VEP suggested a trend towards improved recovery in the alpha-stat group at 2 h post-CPB, PZ0.15. However, there were no significant differences in neurobehavioral score: (alpha-stat versus pH-stat) median values 7 and 7.5 on day 1; 9 and 9 on day 4, and 10 and 10 on day 7. Conclusions: These data suggest that alpha-stat management for SCP provides more effective metabolic suppression than pH-stat, with lower CBF. Clinically, the better preservation of cerebral autoregulation during alpha-stat perfusion should reduce the risk of embolization. Q 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Neurological recovery at age 92 after acute trauma and operative spinal decompression

Abstract People aged > 80 years are among the fastest growing segments of most Western societies. With improved lifestyles and medical care, complex surgical interventions will be increasingly offered to elderly patients. Questions will arise about the value of performing major surgery in patients near their postulated end of life. Here, we describe a near-full neurological recovery from a profound neurological deficit that occurred as a result of a spinal fracture after a fall. To our knowledge, this is the first report of neurological recovery at such an advanced age.
Primary adenocarcinoma of the female urethra. A review and report of 3 cases.

Abstract Forty-one cases of adenocarcinoma of the female urethra reported in the literature with adequate clinical and pathological data are reviewed. Three additional cases are reported. Two patients died shortly after initial treatment, one with widespread metastases. The third patient survives without clinical evidence of tumor 4 years after initial surgical therapy and one year after radiation treatment of a vaginal metastasis.
Quantification of nanoparticle release from polymer nanocomposite coatings due to environmental stressing

ABSTRACTCertain engineered nanoparticles (ENP) reduce the flammability of components used in soft furnishings (mattresses and upholstered furniture). However, because of the ENP's small size and ability to interact with biological molecules, these fire retardant ENPs may pose a health and environmental risks, if they are released sometime during the life cycle of the soft furnishing. Quantifying the released amount of these ENPs under normal end-use circumstances provides a basis for assessing their potential health and environmental impact. In this article, we report on efforts to identify suitable methodologies for quantifying the release of carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, and sodium montmorillonites from coatings applied to the surfaces of barrier fabric and polyurethane foam. The ENPs released in simulated chewing and mechanical stressing experiments were collected in aqueous solution and quantified using Ultraviolet-Visible and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy. The micros...
Trends in Follow-Up of Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Symptomatic Cholelithiasis

Funding: Supported by grants from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas Grant # RP140020 , UTMB Clinical and Translational Science Award #UL1TR000071, NIH T-32 Grant # 5T32DK007639, and AHRQ Grant # 1R24HS022134
Editing Tips for the Busy Attorney

This piece provides examples of two high-profile cases where attorneys could have avoided small but significant errors by editing legal documents. The piece then discusses four useful editing tactics: swapping editing tasks with a colleague, setting the document aside, reading the document aloud, and editing in planned stages. Examples of planned stages include a page-by-page review, a review for content and flow, a review for citation errors, a review for grammar and style, a review for misspellings, typographical mistakes, and citation form, and a review for errors particular to the writer.
Identifying biomarkers for monitoring disease progression in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (THER7P.942)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating neuroinflammatory disorder which afflicts over 400,000 Americans. Currently, determining clinical or sub-clinical disease progression in MS patients and development of novel treatments has been hampered by the lack of specific and sensitive laboratory tests. Recently, our lab has developed a technique called M 2 proteomics, which is a rapid quantitative approach for identifying putative protein biomarkers and therapeutic targets of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a commonly used animal model for MS. Notably, we identified several putative-biomarkers which correlate with different stages of monophasic EAE. The objective of this study is to identify protein biomarkers of disease progression in a progressive EAE model using non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. We hypothesize that during progressive EAE key central nervous system (CNS) disease-specific proteins will be released into blood and changes of these proteins can be used to determine disease progression. Using the progressive NOD EAE model, we determined the expression of putative CNS-specific protein biomarkers by immune assay in brain homogenate and serum longitudinally over the course of disease. We identified several CNS-specific potential biomarkers in serum that correlated with the progression of disease. The results of this study could help development of biomarkers for disease progression and testing of novel treatments for progressive MS.
Mercury Oxidation over the V2O5(WO3)/TiO2 Commercial SCR Catalyst

Mercury oxidation by hydrochloric acid over the V{sub 2}O{sub 5}(WO{sub 3})/TiO{sub 2} commercial SCR catalyst was investigated. Both fresh and aged catalysts with honeycomb structure, which were exposed to a coal combustion flue gas in a coal-fired boiler for over 71 000 h. were examined. The aged catalysts were characterized by X-ray and SEM-EDX analysis to examine the presence of ash deposition on the surface. The mercury oxidation rate was enhanced by increasing HCl concentrations and inhibited strongly by the presence of NH{sub 3}. This behavior could be explained by a kinetic model assuming that HCl competes for the catalyst active sites against NH{sub 3}. As the catalyst operation time increased, the mercury oxidation rate was observed to decrease considerably in the presence of NH{sub 3} while NO reduction rate was apparently nearly unchanged. By examining aged catalysts, deposits stemming from fly ash and SO{sub 2}/SO{sub 3} were observed to accumulate continuously on the catalyst surface. The ash deposited on the surface may partially block the active catalyst sites and decrease their number. The decrease of the number of active sites on the catalyst surface caused NH{sub 3} to remain unreacted in the honeycomb catalyst. The decrease of the Hg{supmore » 0} oxidation rate was caused by the inhibition effect of NH{sub 3} remaining in the catalyst.« less
Selection, Growth, and Characterization of Gate Insulators on MOCVD Gallium Nitride for the Use in High Power Field Effect Devices

Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors have been fabricated on n-type GaN (0001) films using thermally grown Ga2O3, remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (RPECVD) SiO2, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) AIN as the gate insulator and Al as the gate electrode. Each GaN epitaxial layer was grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) on a 6H-SiC(0001) substrate on which was previously deposited a 1000A buffer layer of AIN. Nitrogen-free polycrystalline films of Ga2O3 were grown on the GaN. Capacitancevoltage measurements of capacitors fabricated from this oxide showed distinct depletion and accumulation regions with significant leakage. The AIN and SiO2 capacitors demonstrated better electrical characteristics than the Ga2O3 because of lower leakage. The RPECVD SiO2/GaN heterostructures, in particular, showed good agreement with the curves calculated for an ideal oxide and a small amount of hysteresis.
Effectiveness, Implementation, and Policy Diffusion: Or “Can We Make That Work for Us?”

Policy learning has been one of the primary mechanisms by which policy innovations are assumed to diffuse from one jurisdiction to another. Recent research suggests, however, that learning is more than simply observing policy adoption in other jurisdictions and must also include an assessment of the outcomes or effectiveness of those policies. This article argues that an assessment of the ability to implement an innovation is also likely to be a component of the learning process. Specifically, it argues that potential adopters are likely to ask not only, “Was the policy effective in other states that adopted it?” but also, “Can we make the policy work for us?” We test hypotheses drawn from this general argument in a directed dyad analysis of renewable portfolio standards in the American states between 1997 and 2009. Results indicate that shared implementation environments among jurisdictions help determine the impact that information about policy effectiveness has on adoption decisions. These findings sug...
For Better or Worse: Friendship Choices and Peer Victimization Among Ethnically Diverse Youth in the First Year of Middle School

As children approach early adolescence, the risk of peer victimization often increases. Many children experience some form of peer victimization during this time, but children who experience chronic victimization may be particularly vulnerable to adjustment difficulties. Thus, identifying risk and protective factors associated with chronic victimization continues to be an important area of research. This study examined the effect of change in the victimization of friends on change in children's own victimization, taking into account the ethnic group representation of children in their classes. Over 3000 6th grade students (52 % female; M = 11.33 years) were drawn from 19 middle schools varying in ethnic composition. Friendships were distinguished by type-reciprocal, desired, and undesired-and a novel methodology for measuring ethnic group representation at the individual level was employed. Multilevel modeling indicated that change in friends' victimization from fall to spring of 6th grade had a differential impact on children's own victimization by friendship type and that the benefits and consequences of change in friends' victimization were especially pronounced for children in the numerical ethnic majority. The findings underscore the role of friendship choices in peer victimization, even if those choices are not reciprocated, and highlight the unique social risks associated with being in the numerical ethnic majority.
Buprenorphine Integrated Care Delivery Project: Genesis of the Howard University Urban Health Initiative

Population health initiatives are notoriously difficult to realize for reasons of scope and their often cross-functional support requirements. This case, initiated in Washington, DC, targeted the fragile patient population of chronic opiate addicts (and their families). It reveals a number of the themes from Part I, particularly the power of a vision, the need for strong leadership, the flexibility to manage through expected/unexpected challenges, the importance of current capabilities, and the need to develop tactical (short-term) as well as transformational (long-term) initiatives.
RAS Mutations, and RET/PTC and PAX8/PPAR-gamma Chromosomal Rearrangements Are Also Prevalent in Benign Thyroid Lesions: Implications Thereof and A Systematic Review

Background: Molecular markers associated with thyroid malignancy are increasingly being used as differential diagnostic tools for thyroid nodules. However, little has been reported recently regarding the prevalence of these markers in benign lesions. The literature was systematically reviewed to examine studies that reported on the prevalence of these markers in benign thyroid lesions. Methods: Appropriate studies published between January 1, 2000, and April 30, 2015, and cataloged in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for by combining different keywords for “thyroid tumor” with both general and specific keywords for “molecular marker” by using “AND” as the Boolean operator. All studies meeting criteria that reported the prevalence of RAS mutations, and RET/PTC and PAX8/PPAR-gamma chromosomal rearrangements in benign thyroid lesions were included for study. Results: A total of 64 articles (including 8162 patients, of whom 42.5% had benign lesions) that met all the...
Effect of AlSb quantum dots on efficiency of GaAs solar cell(Conference Presentation)

Quantum Dots (QDs) have a broad applications in science and specifically in solar cell. Many research groups show that by adding QDs with lower bandgap respect to host material, the overall absorption of sun spectrum coverage will increase. Here, we propose using QDs with higher band gap respect to host material to improve efficiency of solar cell by improving quantum efficiency. GaAs solar cells have the highest efficiency in single junction solar cells. However, the absorption of GaAs is not good enough in wavelength lower than 550nm. AlSb can absorb shorter wavelength with higher absorption coefficient and also recombination rate should be lower because of higher bandgap of AlSb respect to GaAs. We embed AlSb QDs in GaAs solar cells and results show slight improvement in quantum efficiency and also in overall efficiency. Coverage of AlSb QDs has a direct impact on quality of AlSb QDs and efficiency of cell. In the higher coverage, intermixing between GaAs and AlSb causes to shift bandgap to lower value (having AlGaSb QDs instead of pure AlSb QDs). This intermixing decrease the Voc and overall efficiency of cell. In lower coverage, AlSb can survive from intermixing and overall performance of cell improves. Optimizing growth condition of AlSb QDs is a key point for this work. By using AlSb QDs, we can decrease the thickness of active layer of GaAs solar cells and have a thinner solar cell.
18.5 A configurable 12-to-237KS/s 12.8mW sparse-approximation engine for mobile ExG data aggregation

Compressive sensing (CS) is a promising solution for low-power on-body sensors for 24/7 wireless health monitoring [1]. In such an application, a mobile data aggregator performing real-time signal reconstruction is desired for timely prediction and proactive prevention. However, CS reconstruction requires solving a sparse approximation (SA) problem. Its high computational complexity makes software solvers, consuming 2–50W on CPUs, very energy inefficient for real-time processing. This paper presents a configurable SA engine in a 40nm CMOS technology for energy-efficient mobile data aggregation from compressively sampled biomedicai signals. Using configurable architecture, a 100% utilization of computing resources is achieved. An efficient data-shuffling scheme is implemented to reduce memory leakage by 40%. At the minimum-energy point (MEP), the SA engine achieves a real-time throughput for reconstructing 61-to-237 channels of biomedicai signals simultaneously with <1% of a mobile device's 2W power budget, which is 76-350× more energy-efficient than prior hardware designs.
Binding, Folding, and Insertion of a β-Hairpin Peptide at a Lipid Bilayer Surface: Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are common in many biological systems and act as host defenses against microbial pathogens. Existing theories on how AMPs permeabilize lipid membranes still lack mechanistic detail. In this study, we used atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the interactions of SVS-1 (KVKVKVKVPDPLTKVKVKVK), an anti-cancer β-hairpin peptide, with a fully hydrated neutral POPC bilayer and a mixture of 1:1 anionic POPC/POPG bilayer. In agreement with experiment, peptides in simulation bind more strongly to anionic bilayers than to neutral bilayers. Unfolded peptides at the anionic surface were observed to undergo several folding and mis-folding pathways. Folded peptides at the surface did not spontaneously insert their hydrophobic faces into the bilayer on the 1 µs timescale, but kept their Lys-rich face downward toward the lipid head groups. Upon the application of sufficient surface tension, the peptides were observed to “flip and dip” into the bilayer within ∼100 ns. Pre-folded SVS-1 peptides were observed to insert in neutral membranes with ample surface tension, but remained at the surface or in solution if unfolded. We associate this insertion phenomenon to increased hydrophobic exposure of lipid tails due to tension. Our simulations suggest electrostatics interactions and hydrophobic exposure are key factors in witnessing an insertion event. The apparent absence of a pathway for a single peptide to produce a defect or pore in the bilayer suggests that the mechanism involves cooperative action of multiple peptides.
A Unified Controller for Walking on Even and Uneven Terrain With a Powered Ankle Prosthesis

This paper describes the development of a controller for a powered ankle prosthesis that is intended to provide appropriate biomechanical behavior for walking on both even and uneven terrain without having to explicitly detect local slope to do so. In order to inform development of the controller, the authors conducted a small study of five healthy subjects walking on even and uneven terrain. Data from the healthy subject study were used to formulate behavioral models for the healthy ankle, which were then implemented as controller behaviors in the powered prosthesis prototype and comparatively assessed on an amputee subject.
Planning reactive power control for transmission enhancement

Sufficient controllable reactive power resources are essential for reliable operation of electric power systems. Inadequate reactive power support has led to voltage instability and has been a cause of several recent major power outages worldwide. Motivated by the industry need of effective algorithms of reactive power control planning to counteract voltage instability, this dissertation has developed a general framework for reactive power control planning to mitigate voltage instability and thus enhance the electric transmission system. A backward/forward search algorithm with linear complexity is developed to select candidate locations of reactive power controls while satisfying power system performance requirements. A mixed integer programming based algorithm is presented for reactive power control planning to restore equilibria under severe contingencies. A mixed integer programming based algorithm of reactive power control planning is developed to increase post-contingency voltage stability margins. A systematic algorithm is developed to coordinate planning of static and dynamic reactive power control devices while satisfying the performance requirements of voltage stability margin and transient voltage dip. All the developed algorithms are implemented with MATLAB and tested on the New England 39-bus system. The simulation results obtained indicate that the developed approaches can be used to effectively plan reactive power control devices for transmission enhancement.
A Property of Piecewise Smooth Functions

Piecewise smooth equations are increasingly important in the numerical treatment of complementarity problems and models of equilibrium. This note brings out a property of the functions that enter such equations, for instance through penalty expressions.
Pathogenesis of Acute Renal Failure

Several theories have been proposed to explain the reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) occurring in acute renal failure (ARF). Initially, mechanisms related primarily to disturbances of the tubules were advanced and later, others suggested that abnormalities of the renal circulation contributed to the impairment in GFR. It is now clear that the pathogenesis of ARF is multifactorial involving both tubular and vascular events. However, the relative contribution of these tubular and vascular factors varies considerably depending on the model of ARF. Furthermore, it appears that the mechanisms responsible for the initiation of the decrease in GFR differ from those required for its maintenance.
Hemispheric Differences in Neural Activation during Gaze Cueing in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Measured by Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Atypical hemispheric lateralization during language tasks has been reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Six participants with ASD and eight neurotypical controls underwent MEG while performing a gaze cueing task. Participants indicated whether a character’s gaze shifted congruently or incongruently to targets (asterisk), words, or faces. We hypothesized similar aberrant activity and contextual differences would be evident during joint attention, suggesting fundamental cognitive processing biases in regions necessary for either verbal or nonverbal communication. Data were analyzed with MR-FOCUSS [1]. Results revealed higher mean amplitudes in left occipital and parietal brain regions during gaze shifts to both targets and faces in ASD while higher mean amplitudes in right inferior temporal and medial orbitofrontal regions was evident in controls. Pronounced amplitudes were noted in left angular regions during gaze shifts to faces in ASD. Latency data further reveals contextual differences and a possible double dissociation in brain regions recruited for joint attention. While controls displayed an earlier onset in activation to words in frontal regions and later activation to faces in inferior temporal regions, ASD demonstrated the opposite pattern; an earlier activation in inferior temporal regions and later activation in frontal regions to words. Results suggest atypical hemispheric specialization for joint attention with ASD recruiting left posterior hemispheric regions during gaze shifts to social stimuli while controls recruit right inferior temporal and medial orbitofrontal regions. Consistent with aberrant connectivity and a “crowding” hypothesis, ASD subjects appear to be using regions that underlie reading such as posterior parietal and occipital regions for joint attention. This is the first study to reveal these deficits in ASD children and adolescents with neuroimaging.
Diffusional Quenching of trans-Stilbene by Fumaronitrile: Role of Contact Radical Ion Pairs and Solvent Separated Radical Ion Pairs

A fundamental problem in bimolecular electron transfer reactions in solution between a photoactive acceptor molecule, A*, and an electron donor molecule, D, is ascertaining under what conditions the electron is transferred at molecular contact to give contact radical ion pairs (CRIP) or at long range to give solvent separated radical ion pairs (SSRIP).