cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photosynthesis, Rubisco Activity and Amount, and Their Regulation by Transcription in Senescing Soybean Leaves

Senescence is a phase of leaf ontogeny marked by declining photosynthetic activity that, in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.), is paralleled by a decline in chloroplast function. Soybean leaves have different patterns of decline in photosynthetic capacity and chloroplast function associated with nodal position and sink activity. The objective of this work was to determine whether leaves from nodes 3 and 6 of soybean, which show these different patterns, are similarly regulated with respect to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity and content and also to ascertain the degree of regulation of Rubisco content by transcription. Leaves from nodes 3 and 6 of field-grown soybean plants were sampled periodically from the time of their unfolding until near death. In situ CO2-exchange rate (CER) increased to a maximal level in both leaves and then declined slowly. For node 3 leaves the decline was progressive, but for node 6 leaves the decline was arrested at about 75% of maximum CER for a period of about 20 d, coincident with the onset of rapid seed growth, before a short period of very rapid decline immediately preceding leaf death. Rubisco activities and Rubisco content were directly correlated with CER in the leaves exhibiting the two different patterns. Rubisco activation ratio was similar for the two leaves and did not change throughout development. The primary regulator of photosynthesis at the physiological level, thus, was the amount of Rubisco protein. Decreases in Rubisco holoenzyme during senescence of both leaves were accompanied by coordinate decreases in the levels of mRNAs for the small and large subunits of Rubisco, suggesting that the decrease in Rubisco enzyme amounts during soybean leaf senescence is due to slower transcription rates and that levels of these mRNAs are coordinately controlled during senescence as they are during chloroplast development. However, plastid DNA template availability and posttranscriptional controls may also influence Rubisco content during senescence of these leaves. We conclude that soybean leaf photosynthesis likely unfolds according to a single developmental program but that modifications can be superimposed upon this program to maximize photosynthetic rates.
Selection of D2S3, an Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Strain with High Oral Susceptibility to Dengue 2 Virus and D2MEB, a Strain with a Midgut Barrier to Dengue 2 Escape

Abstract Family-based phenotypic selection was used to breed two genetic strains of Aedes aegypti L. that differ in susceptibility to infection with dengue serotype 2 virus (DEN-2) strain JAM1409. A Dengue 2 Susceptible on 3 chromosomes (D2S3) strain was bred from Ae. aegypti aegypti and Ae. aegypti formosus P1 parents to have a high midgut infection rate (MIR) and a high disseminated infection rate (DIR). A Dengue 2 Midgut Escape Barrier (D2MEB) strain was bred from D2S3 and Houston P1 parents to have a high MIR and a low DIR. After selection in the F2 generation, single strand conformation polymorphism genotypes were determined at cDNA marker loci throughout the genome to test for Mendelian ratios and thereby identify regions containing deleterious or lethal alleles. Both strains were orally challenged with two other DEN-2 genotypes, two DEN-1 genotypes, one DEN-3 genotype, and two DEN-4 genotypes. There were significant differences in MIR and DIR for the different virus strains in both the D2S3 and the...
A Reference List to Field Botany in Kentucky (1985–2006)

ABSTRACT The reference list of 874 field botany entries principally from 1985 to 2006 updates two previous reference lists, the last of which appeared in 1989. Seventy-seven relevant entries through 1987 are included that were not indexed in the last reference list. One hundred fifty-two entries are from 1989 or earlier, 391 from the 1990s, and 331 since 2000. The references include 606 peer-reviewed journal articles, 67 scientific botanical books, 62 technical articles, 46 theses, 30 technical reports, 22 dissertations, 18 book chapters, and 23 popular books. The four largest botanical subjects within 11 subdivisions are floristics (247), synecology (205), autecology (134), and systematics (126).
EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPENSATORY WETLAND MITIGATION IN MASSACHUSETTS, USA

Abstract This study describes the results of wetland construction projects designed to offset wetland losses authorized under the wetland regulatory program of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including analysis of 391 project files identified in the study period between 1983 and 1994 and 114 field sites. Detailed comparisons of replacement plant communities were made with remnant impacted wetlands when these existed. Most projects in the study were relatively small, impacting less than 46.5 m2 (500 ft2) of wetland. The majority of projects (54.4%) were not in compliance with the Massachusetts wetland regulations for a variety of reasons, including no attempt to build the project (21.9%), insufficient size or hydrology (29.8%), or insufficient cover of wetland plants (2.6%). Many of the projects constructed (64.9%) were smaller than required. The majority of constructed projects involved impacts to forested wetlands (71.1%). Most replication projects were designed to produce scrub/shrub systems (61.4%),...
A Reductive Cyclization Approach to Attenol A

A reductive cyclization strategy was applied to the synthesis of attenol A. This nontraditional approach to the spiroacetal structure illustrated several advantages of the reductive cyclization methodology. The attenol A core was formed in a carbon-carbon bond coupling that gave rise to a previously inaccessible spiroacetal epimer, a new method to synthesize thioketene acetals from a phenyl sulfone was realized, and the configurational stability of a nonanomeric spiroacetal was evaluated. A minor byproduct in the reductive cyclization reaction was identified that for the first time allowed direct evaluation of the stereoselectivity in a reductive cyclization of a dialkyloxy alkyllithium reagent.
Explaining Away Differences in Moral Judgment Comment on Gray and Keeney (2015)

Moral judgments about harm versus impurity differ in a number of nonsuperficial ways, as shown by dozens of studies, conducted by dozens of separate research labs, using a wide variety of methods a...
Impacts of Changing Marijuana Policies on Alcohol Use in the United States

Background Marijuana policies are rapidly evolving. In the United States, recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 4 states and medical marijuana is legal in 23 states. Research evaluating such policies has focused primarily on how policies affect issues of price, access to, use, and consequences of marijuana. Due to potential spillover effects, researchers also need to examine how marijuana policies may impact use and consequences of alcohol. Methods The current paper is a critical review of articles evaluating alcohol outcomes associated with marijuana decriminalization, medical marijuana legalization, and nonmedical or recreational marijuana legalization. We identified articles and reports through (1) online searches of EBSCO host database including Academic Search Premier, Econlit, Legal Collection, Medline, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO, as well as PubMed and Google Scholar databases; (2) review of additional articles cited in papers identified through electronic searches; and (3) targeted searches of state and local government records regarding marijuana law implementation. We reviewed studies with respect to their data sources and sample characteristics, methodology, and the margin of alcohol and marijuana use, timing of policy change, and the aspects of laws examined. Results The extant literature provides some evidence for both substitution (i.e., more liberal marijuana policies related to less alcohol use as marijuana becomes a substitute) and complementary (i.e., more liberal marijuana policies related to increases in both marijuana and alcohol use) relationships in the context of liberalization of marijuana policies in the United States. Conclusions Impact of more liberal marijuana policies on alcohol use is complex, and likely depends on specific aspects of policy implementation, including how long the policy has been in place. Furthermore, evaluation of marijuana policy effects on alcohol use may be sensitive to the age group studied and the margin of alcohol use examined. Design of policy evaluation research requires careful consideration of these issues.
Genetic Modification of the Relationship between Parental Rejection and Adolescent Alcohol Use.

Aims Parenting practices are associated with adolescents' alcohol consumption, however not all youth respond similarly to challenging family situations and harsh environments. This study examines the relationship between perceived parental rejection and adolescent alcohol use, and specifically evaluates whether youth who possess greater genetic sensitivity to their environment are more susceptible to negative parental relationships. Methods Analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we estimated a series of regression models predicting alcohol use during adolescence. A multiplicative interaction term between parental rejection and a genetic index was constructed to evaluate this potential gene-environment interaction. Results Results from logistic regression analyses show a statistically significant gene-environment interaction predicting alcohol use. The relationship between parental rejection and alcohol use was moderated by the genetic index, indicating that adolescents possessing more ‘risk alleles’ for five candidate genes were affected more by stressful parental relationships. Conclusions Feelings of parental rejection appear to influence the alcohol use decisions of youth, but they do not do so equally for all. Higher scores on the constructed genetic sensitivity measure are related to increased susceptibility to negative parental relationships.
The Columbian Moment: Overcoming Globalization in Vizenor’s The Heirs of Columbus

This essay reassesses Gerald Vizenor’s novel The Heirs of Columbus in the context of the critical concepts of transnationalism and globalization. Drawing in part on the work of Indian economist Amartya Sen’s and Italian political philosopher Giacomo Marramao, the central argument of this piece is that Vizenor’s novel functions as a meditation on the ambiguous nature of modern globalization for Indian people. Through his subversive re-scripting both of the history of the “Columbian moment” of encounter and of Columbus’ own identity, Vizenor seeks to open up an imaginative space between the historical reality of a form of globalization over-determined by Western colonialism and an alternative, utopian model of what globalization might mean if re-cast in indigenous terms.
Changes in Composition of Crude Egg Protein Preparations when Kept Under Refrigeration for Several Years

Abstract As part of an experiment to study the effect of a methionine and lysine deficient diet on the amino acid composition of eggs, crude white and yolk proteins were separated from the eggs (Evans, Davidson and Butts, 1950). The white protein was nothing more than the dried egg whites and contained an average of 80.0 percent crude protein (N×6.25). Yolk protein preparations were made by separating the yolk of the hard boiled egg from the white and extracting the broken up yolk first with cold ethanol in a beaker with decantation and then in the Goldfisch extractor first with ethanol and then with diethyl ether. The ether was removed by heating the material in a beaker on the steam bath. The yolk protein preparations contained on the average 85.5 percent crude protein (N×6.25). Nitrogen was determined by the Kjeldahl-Wilforth-Gunning method (A.O.A.C., 1950). One-gram samples of protein preparation were hydrolyzed by …
Fruiting Body Ultrastructure in the Protostelid Schizoplasmodiopsis Vulgare

(1993). Fruiting Body Ultrastructure in the Protostelid Schizoplasmodiopsis Vulgare. Mycologia: Vol. 85, No. 6, pp. 894-897.
Effect of Engine Exhaust Parameters on the Hydrothermal Stability of Hydrocarbon-Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Catalysts for Lean-Burn Systems

A dual-catalyst bed composed of a reduction catalyst, Pd-sulfated zirconia, and an oxidation catalyst, CoOx/CeO2, was investigated for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx (NO and NO2) by hydrocarbons for use in lean-burn natural gas engines. The primary focus of this submission is to examine the hydrothermal stability of the dual-catalyst bed and improve its hydrothermal durability by studying the effect of the engine exhaust parameters. The main parameters investigated were the concentration and nature of the hydrocarbons and the reaction temperature. Both cyclic as well as time-on-stream experiments were conducted under various engine exhaust compositions and different reaction temperatures to establish the conditions that could improve the water tolerance of the dual-catalyst bed. The higher concentration of the hydrocarbon mixture in the simulated engine exhaust was seen to assist the water tolerance of the dual-catalyst bed. Experiments were performed to isolate and identify the primary compon...
Experimental Effect of Ozone on PPS Filter for Boiler Smoke

Because of the excellent performance,PPS filter is the first choice for coal boiler smoke filtration,but its antioxidation is not high.For the complex application of ESP and baghouse,ESP at upstream will give off ozone which may have negative effects on baghouse filter at downstream,so the lifetime of baghouse filter is shortened.In the paper,some systematic experiments are designed to find the effects of ozone on PPS filter,considering the factors of temperature,ozone concentration and contacting time.The experiment data and SEM images show that the filter break strength and brittleness degrade with some fibers broken.Chemical reaction reveals that oxygen reacts with PPS molecule chain and this increases the brittleness and darkens the color of filter. The oxygen concentration should be limited in application.
Upgrading of Iron‐Rich Titanium Minerals Using a Molten Salt Process

The production of synthetic rutile—a common starting material for most titanium production processes—from iron-rich titanium minerals such as pseudorutile and ilmenite is described. The process for “upgrading” the mineral to synthetic rutile is by carbothermal reduction of the mineral while immersed in a molten salt at high temperature, followed by magnetic separation of the reduced iron. A variety of factors are also investigated, such as particle size of the mineral, the type of mineral, and the molten salt used. The solubility of iron(III) oxide in different molten salts is also experimentally determined.
3D microtumors in vitro supported by perfused vascular networks

There is a growing interest in developing microphysiological systems that can be used to model both normal and pathological human organs in vitro. This "organs-on-chips" approach aims to capture key structural and physiological characteristics of the target tissue. Here we describe in vitro vascularized microtumors (VMTs). This "tumor-on-a-chip" platform incorporates human tumor and stromal cells that grow in a 3D extracellular matrix and that depend for survival on nutrient delivery through living, perfused microvessels. Both colorectal and breast cancer cells grow vigorously in the platform and respond to standard-of-care therapies, showing reduced growth and/or regression. Vascular-targeting agents with different mechanisms of action can also be distinguished, and we find that drugs targeting only VEGFRs (Apatinib and Vandetanib) are not effective, whereas drugs that target VEGFRs, PDGFR and Tie2 (Linifanib and Cabozantinib) do regress the vasculature. Tumors in the VMT show strong metabolic heterogeneity when imaged using NADH Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging Microscopy and, compared to their surrounding stroma, many show a higher free/bound NADH ratio consistent with their known preference for aerobic glycolysis. The VMT platform provides a unique model for studying vascularized solid tumors in vitro.
Insertions and Deletions Target Lineage-Defining Genes in Human Cancers

Certain cell types function as factories, secreting large quantities of one or more proteins that are central to the physiology of the respective organ. Examples include surfactant proteins in lung alveoli, albumin in liver parenchyma, and lipase in the stomach lining. Whole-genome sequencing analysis of lung adenocarcinomas revealed noncoding somatic mutational hotspots near VMP1/MIR21 and indel hotspots in surfactant protein genes (SFTPA1, SFTPB, and SFTPC). Extrapolation to other solid cancers demonstrated highly recurrent and tumor-type-specific indel hotspots targeting the noncoding regions of highly expressed genes defining certain secretory cellular lineages: albumin (ALB) in liver carcinoma, gastric lipase (LIPF) in stomach carcinoma, and thyroglobulin (TG) in thyroid carcinoma. The sequence contexts of indels targeting lineage-defining genes were significantly enriched in the AATAATD DNA motif and specific chromatin contexts, including H3K27ac and H3K36me3. Our findings illuminate a prevalent and hitherto unrecognized mutational process linking cellular lineage and cancer.
Neural network control of an optimized regenerative motor drive for a lower-limb prosthesis

A voltage source converter (VSC) is incorporated in an active prosthetic leg design. The VSC supplies power to the prosthesis motor and regenerates energy from the prosthesis motor for storage in a supercapacitor bank. An artificial neural network controls the VSC switching so that the prosthesis motor generates a knee torque that matches the torque that is output from a passivity-based controller (PBC). The neural network, PBC, and prosthesis motor parameters are optimized with an evolutionary algorithm to achieve knee angle tracking. Several reference trajectories from able-bodied walking were tracked with an RMS tracking error of less than 0.5° while regenerating up to 67 Joules of energy during four gait cycles.
A promiscuous split intein with expanded protein engineering applications.

The protein trans-splicing (PTS) activity of naturally split inteins has found widespread use in chemical biology and biotechnology. However, currently used naturally split inteins suffer from an “extein dependence,” whereby residues surrounding the splice junction strongly affect splicing efficiency, limiting the general applicability of many PTS-based methods. To address this, we describe a mechanism-guided protein engineering approach that imbues ultrafast DnaE split inteins with minimal extein dependence. The resulting “promiscuous” inteins are shown to be superior reagents for protein cyclization and protein semisynthesis, with the latter illustrated through the modification of native cellular chromatin. The promiscuous inteins reported here thus improve the applicability of existing PTS methods and should enable future efforts to engineer promiscuity into other naturally split inteins.
Asian Birthright and Anglo Bequest in Chang-Rae Lee and Bich Minh Nguyen

In this chapter, I analyze Asian American writers’ constant struggle between ethnicity and mainstream assimilation, between what I term “Asian Birthright and Anglo Bequest.” That ethnicity is said to be part of one’s identity as innate as Asian physical features, an Asian birthright, as it were. But ethnicity is subject to social construction within the exigencies of contemporary American culture, particularly the publishing industry. While this Asian birthright is alleged to be intrinsic, intuited somehow by Asian Americans, it could arguably be a self-essentializing move to fashion an identity for a foothold in the multiethnic American community. To assume an Asian birthright then secures an Anglo-American bequest, as in Lee and Nguyen.
Investigation into the molecular structure, electronic properties, and energetic stability of endohedral (TM@C20) and exohedral (TM-C20) metallofullerene derivatives of C20: TM = Group 11 and 12 transition metal atoms/ions

Abstract Density-functional theory at the B3LYP/LanL2DZ level has been employed to probe the structure and electronic properties of the D2h-symmetrical C20 fullerene. The energetic stability of C20 is assessed as transition metals (TM) from Groups 11 and 12 are inserted at either endohedral (TM@C20) or exohedral (TM-C20) sites. The analysis encompasses various ionizations and spin states for each metal. The lowest-energy exohedral derivatives in Group 11 all favor the low spin-state, whereas the neutral Group 12 complexes favor the high spin-state. The energetic stability of the exohedral, as measured by the dissociation energy, increases as the charge increases for a given metal. Significantly more interaction occurs between the TM and the C20 cage in the endohedral derivatives as is evidenced by electric charge being transferred to the carbon cage from both the ns and (n-1)d atomic orbitals of the TM. There was not an observed preference of spin-state for the endohedrals since in many cases the relative energy difference between comparable spin-states ranged between 0.00 eV and 1.10 eV. Of the endohedrals only Zn@C202+ and Cu@C202+ yielded total energies that were less and therefore more stable than the isolated C20 and TM entities.
Better the devil you see, than the one you don’t: bearing witness to emboldened en-whitening epistemology in the Trump era

AbstractCritical scholars of race maintain that racism that is not clearly seen every day is the most dangerous kind. Notwithstanding ‘invisible’ racism qua racism without racists—per some race scholars—explorations on mechanisms of Whiteness in the Trump era must be had. One mechanism is perpetuating epistemological racial ignorance. However, that epistemological moment has passed. Instead, US society is returning to an emboldened en/whitening epistemology characterized by perverse re-appropriation of civil rights terminologies—once used to support People of Color—to instead strengthen White nationalism. Towards racial justice—dismantling White supremacy—we unveil how Whiteness incites an en/whitening epistemological moment so captured in today’s mindsets. Methodologically employing critical hermeneutics, specifically, metaphors, to forever remind Whiteness as dehumanization, this paper identifies the devil of Whiteness so to facilitate the futurity of humanity.
Kinetic theory for strongly coupled Coulomb systems

The calculation of dynamical properties for matter under extreme conditions is a challenging task. The popular Kubo-Greenwood model exploits elements from equilibrium density-functional theory (DFT) that allow a detailed treatment of electron correlations, but its origin is largely phenomenological; traditional kinetic theories have a more secure foundation but are limited to weak ion-electron interactions. The objective here is to show how a combination of the two evolves naturally from the short-time limit for the generator of the effective single-electron dynamics governing time correlation functions without such limitations. This provides a theoretical context for the current DFT-related approach, the Kubo-Greenwood model, while showing the nature of its corrections. The method is to calculate the short-time dynamics in the single-electron subspace for a given configuration of the ions. This differs from the usual kinetic theory approach in which an average over the ions is performed as well. In this way the effective ion-electron interaction includes strong Coulomb coupling and is shown to be determined from DFT. The correlation functions have the form of the random-phase approximation for an inhomogeneous system but with renormalized ion-electron and electron-electron potentials. The dynamic structure function, density response function, and electrical conductivity are calculated as examples. The static local field corrections in the dielectric function are identified in this way. The current analysis is limited to semiclassical electrons (quantum statistical potentials), so important quantum conditions are excluded. However, a quantization of the kinetic theory is identified for broader application while awaiting its detailed derivation.
Vorticity, backscatter and counter-gradient transport predictions using two-level simulation of turbulent flows

ABSTRACTThe two-level simulation (TLS) method evolves both the large-and the small-scale fields in a two-scale approach and has shown good predictive capabilities in both isotropic and wall-bounded high Reynolds number (Re) turbulent flows in the past. Sensitivity and ability of this modelling approach to predict fundamental features (such as backscatter, counter-gradient turbulent transport, small-scale vorticity, etc.) seen in high Re turbulent flows is assessed here by using two direct numerical simulation (DNS) datasets corresponding to a forced isotropic turbulence at Taylor’s microscale-based Reynolds number Reλ ≈ 433 and a fully developed turbulent flow in a periodic channel at friction Reynolds number Reτ ≈ 1000. It is shown that TLS captures the dynamics of local co-/counter-gradient transport and backscatter at the requisite scales of interest. These observations are further confirmed through a posteriori investigation of the flow in a periodic channel at Reτ = 2000. The results reveal that the ...
Utility of Viscoelastic Assays Beyond Coagulation: Can Preoperative Thrombelastography Indices Predict Tumor Histology, Nodal Disease, and Resectability in Patients Undergoing Pancreatectomy?

Background Hypercoagulability and malignancy have been linked since the 1860s. However, the impact of different neoplasms on multiple components of the coagulation system remains poorly understood. Thrombelastography (TEG) enables measurement of coagulation incorporating clotting through fibrinolysis. We hypothesize that specific TEG indices that are associated with hypercoagulability can be appreciated in patients with adenocarcinoma undergoing pancreatic resection. Study Design Blood samples were obtained from patients undergoing pancreatic resection before surgical incision and assayed with TEG. The 4 indices of coagulation measured by TEG included in the analysis were R time, angle, maximum amplitude, and lysis at 30 minutes. Patient tumor type, nodal disease, and mass resectability were contrasted with TEG indices. Results One hundred patients were enrolled over 18 months. The majority (63%) of patients had adenocarcinoma. Patients with adenocarcinoma had increased angle compared with other lesions (49 degrees [interquartile range {IQR} 37 to 59 degrees] vs 43 degrees [IQR 32 to 49 degrees]; p = 0.011). When excluding patients that underwent neoadjuvant therapy, patients with adenocarcinoma had shorter R times (13 minutes [IQR 9 to 16 minutes] vs 14 minutes [IQR 12 to 18 minutes]; p = 0.051), steeper angles (49 degrees [IQR 40 to 59 degrees] vs 43 degrees [IQR 32 to 49 degrees]; p = 0.010), and higher maximum amplitude (67 mm [IQR 61 to 69 mm] vs 62 mm [IQR 57 to 67 mm]; p = 0.017). Nodal disease was associated with a significantly increased angle (49 degrees [IQR 42 to 59 degrees] vs 40 degrees [IQR 32 to 50 degrees]; p = 0.002) and maximum amplitude (64 mm [IQR 61 to 69 mm] vs 62 mm [IQR 56 to 67 mm]; p = 0.017). Patients who underwent successful mass resection had longer R times (14 minutes [IQR 11 to 17 minutes] vs 10 minutes [IQR 9 to 15]; p = 0.033) and shorter angles (44 degrees [IQR 35 to 55 degrees] vs 58 degrees [IQR 45 to 66 degrees]; p = 0.025). Conclusions Patients with adenocarcinoma undergoing pancreatic resection have multiple TEG abnormalities consistent with hypercoagulability. These TEG outputs are associated with tumor type, nodal disease, and probability of a successful resection. The use of preoperative TEG has the potential to aid surgeon and patient discussions on anticipated disease burden and prognosis before resection.
Poster Abstract: Chained of Things: A Secure and Dependable Design of Autonomous Vehicle Services

The rise of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) indicates that AVs are soon going to be the juggernaut in car industry. The state-of-the-art technology used by the AVs makes ride-sharing a prominent and flexible way for transportation. In this case, the customers (i.e., who are sharing the AV) and the AV all should come into the picture to verify each other. However, When a user requests for a ride share or rent, the responding AV/IoT device does not have the sufficient capability to store, process, or verify each other. In the existing security solutions, every AV/IoT device typically needs to rely on a trusted third party, which invokes another trust issue. If the trusted third party is rogue or loses credibility, the whole system will collapse. This research aims at exploiting Blockchain to provide a secure and reliable way to communicate among devices with trusts. We implement our proposed Blockchain-based solution and demonstrate the solution on a synthetic case study.
Post-translational Modifications of Recombinant Proteins Determined by LC/Electrospray Mass Spectrometry and High Performance Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a study analyzing posttranslational modifications of recombinant proteins determined by liquid chromatography (LC)/electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) and high-performance tandem mass spectrometry (HPTMS). Human platelet-derived growth factor B-chain (hPDGF-B) and human low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (hNGF-R) were expressed and purified. The purified proteins were reduced, carboxymethylated, and digested with either trypsin or trypsin/chymotrypsin. LC/ESMS experiments were performed using a Carlo Erba Phoenix 20 dual syringe pump system (Fisons) interfaced to a VG Biotech BIO-Q electrospray mass spectrometer. Peptide separation was carried out using an Aquapore 300 column. High-energy CID experiments were carried out on a Kratos Concept IIHH high-performance tandem mass spectrometer equipped with electro-optical multichannel array detection. The results of this study demonstrated that LC/ESMS can be used to readily identify peptides in a protein digest, which show anomalies to the predicted primary structure at the low picomole level and at high speed.
Robust object tracking using constellation model with superpixel

Tracking objects under occlusion or non-rigid deformation poses a major problem: appearance variation of target makes existing bounding rectangle based representation vulnerable to background noise imported during adaptive appearance update. We address the object tracking problem by exploring superpixel based visual information around the target. Instead of representing each object with a single holistic appearance model, we propose to track each target with multiple related parts and model the tracking system as a Dynamic Bayesian Network(DBN). Based on visual features from superpixels, we propose a constellation appearance model with multiple parts which is adaptable to appearance variations. A particle-based approximate inference algorithm over the DBN is proposed for tracking. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm performs favorably against existing object trackers especially during deformation and occlusion.
Gas-Phase Reactions for the Preparation of Ceramic Powders

Publisher Summary This chapter explains the gas-phase reactions for the preparation of ceramic powders. Direct synthesis processing routes have important advantages for the preparation of the ceramic powders that are used to fabricate advanced ceramic parts, because optimum powder dimensions are decreasing to values that are becoming significantly less than 1μm. For submicrometer particle sizes, cost and contamination become progressively more important issues as the diameter decreases. Additionally, size distribution, particle shape, and the degree of agglomeration are important characteristics of a powder. For materials that melt, the liquid-phase criterion is satisfied simply by maintaining the reaction zone temperature at a level that exceeds the melting point of the powder for a period corresponding to the desired diameter. Growth of high-viscosity particles, such as SiO2, requires appropriate compensation in times when particles are exposed to high temperatures. A second reactant stream must be injected into the stream of molten silicon particles at the time when they grow to appropriate dimensions to form the solid compound. It is found that hot-particle streams must be quenched and/or diluted to prevent the formation of agglomerates as the particles continue to collide after they reach the desired diameter.
An Approach to Modelling Operational Risk in Banks

Unlike Market and Credit Risk, there are no commonly agreed measures of Operational Risk. There is, however, some consensus among practitioners that Operational Risk is produced as a result of a failure or "breakdown" in operational processes (Blacker 1998). The objective of modelling operational risk is to estimate the potential exposure to operational risks in financial terms and ultimately to allocate economic capital against these exposures (BBA 1999).
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PREBIOTICS ON VIABILITY UNDER IN VITRO GASTROINTESTINAL CONDITIONS AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF FERMENTED MILK

The effect of inulin, polydextrose and Hi-maize resistant starch on probiotic viability under simulated gastrointestinal conditions and sensory characteristics of ABT (Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12, and Streptococcus thermophilus) fermented milk was investigated during 28 days. B. animalis presented higher survival rates under gastrointestinal stress than L. acidophilus. Although inulin addition enhanced viable counts of L. acidophilus more than those of other prebiotics during the gastric and enteric-1 phases, all samples showed similar L. acidophilus survival after the enteric-2 phase. The supplementation with Hi-maize indicated a protective effect on B. animalis tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions on the 14th and 28th days. Inulin or Hi-maize did not affect the sensory properties of fermented milk whereas the product supplemented with polydextrose had the lowest scores specifically at the end of the storage period.
Abstract MP11: Role of Modifiable and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors in the Association of Kidney Function With Dementia Incidence in Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Introduction: As many as 20-50% of persons with chronic kidney disease have mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment or overt dementia. Shared risk factors, such as aging, sex, hypertension, and diabe...
Experimental Investigations of Ni Nanoparticle-Polyurethane Acrylic Composite for Electrical Conductivity Enhancement

Conductive composites are being considered for use in applications such as electromagnetic shielding. Prior work has shown correlation of electrical conductivity to the microstructure of corresponding composite. In the present paper, composites consisting of polyurethane acrylic and dispersed nickel nanoparticles were fabricated, and tested for their electrical conductivity. In the fabrication process, half of the suspensions were agitated by sonication and half were not. Correlations between electrical conductivity and composite microstructural details are presented. These correlations show an optimum concentration of nickel nanoparticles that result in maximum conductivity enhancement. In addition, sonicating the suspensions increased conductivity of resulting nanocomposites. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) images were used to estimate surface concentration and distribution of Nickel nanoparticles, and were correlated to electrical conductivity measurements. Parameters such as number of particles in contact and junction distance between the nano particles in the composites are suggested as a way of enhancing electrical conductivity.
Polytopes with Mass Linear Functions, Part 1

Let Δ be an n-dimensional polytope that is simple, that is, exactly n facets meet at each vertex. An affine function is “mass linear” on Δ if its value on the center of mass of Δ depends linearly on the positions of the supporting hyperplanes. On the one hand, we show that certain types of symmetries of Δ give rise to nonconstant mass linear functions on Δ. On the other hand, we show that most polytopes do not admit any nonconstant mass linear functions. Further, if every affine function is mass linear on Δ, then Δ is a product of simplices. Our main result is a classification of all smooth polytopes of dimension ≤ 3 which admit nonconstant mass linear functions. In particular, there is only one family of smooth three-dimensional polytopes—and no polygons—that admit “essential mass linear functions,” that is, mass linear functions that do not arise from the symmetries described above. In part II, we will complete this classification in the four-dimensional case. These results have geometric implications. Fix a symplectic toric manifold (M,ω,T,Φ) with moment polytope Δ = Φ(M). Let denote the identity component of the group of symplectomorphisms of (M,ω). Any linear function H on Δ generates a Hamiltonian ℝ action on M whose closure is a subtorus T H of T. We show that if the map has finite image, then H is mass linear. Combining this fact and the claims described above, we prove that in most cases, the induced map is an injection. Moreover, the map does not have finite image unless M is a product of projective spaces. Note also that there is a natural maximal compact connected subgroup ; there is a natural compatible complex structure J on M, and is the identity component of the group of symplectomorphisms that also preserve this structure. We prove that if the polytope Δ supports no essential mass linear functions, then the induced map is injective. Therefore, this map is injective for all four-dimensional symplectic toric manifolds and is injective in the six-dimensional case unless M is a bundle over .
Linguistic consequences of event segmentation in visual narratives: implications for prominence

This experiment uses comic-type visual narratives to investigate effects of event segmentation on the representation of causal events (with an agent and a patient) in discourse. Prior work leaves o...
Optimizing the Deployment and Throughput of DBSs for Uplink Communications

Drone-mounted base stations ( DBS s) are promising means to provide ubiquitous connections to users and support various emerging applications in mobile networks while full duplex communications has the potential to improve the spectrum efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the backhaul-aware uplink communications in a full-duplex DBS-aided HetNet ( BUD ) problem with the objective to maximize the total throughput of the network while minimizing the number of deployed DBSs. Since the BUD problem is NP-hard, it is then decomposed into three sub-problems: the joint UE association, power and bandwidth assignment ( Joint-UPB ) problem, the DBS placement problem (including the vertical and horizontal positions) and the problem of determining the number of DBSs to be deployed. We propose two approximation algorithms to solve the first two sub-problems and use the linear programming to solve the last sub-problem. Finally, another approximation algorithm, referred to as the AA-BUD algorithms, is proposed to solve the BUD problem with guaranteed performance based on the solutions of the three sub-problems. The performance of the AA-BUD algorithm has been demonstrated via extensive simulations, and is shown to be superior to two benchmark algorithms with up to $62\%$ throughput improvement.
Relationship Between Vascular Risk Factors and Location of Intracranial Atherosclerosis in the SAMMPRIS Trial.

Abstract Background: Previous studies have reported that different locations of intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) are associated with different demographic features and vascular risk factors. We aimed to examine this observation in the Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent stroke in Intracranial Stenosis (SAMMPRIS) trial population. Methods: SAMMPRIS was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled 451 patients with recent transient ischemic attack or stroke-related due to severe (70%-99%) stenosis of a major intracranial artery. We compared the baseline demographic features and vascular risk factors between the symptomatic artery locations. Wilcoxon test was used to compare continuous variables, and chi-square test was used for categorical variables. Results: Of 449 patients included in the analysis; 289 (64.4%) had ICAS in the anterior circulation and 160 (35.6%) in the posterior circulation. Features that were significantly different between patients with anterior versus posterior ICAS were: median age (58.3 years versus 64.0 years, P
The Manitou Cliff Dwelling as Public Archaeology: the Ethnographic Museum and the Plurality of Early Archaeological Interpretation

While characterized as a recently-established profession, public archaeology has had a significant impact on the interpretation of historical material for over a century. Early ethnographic museums, such as the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and ancient pueblo sites in the American West were developed as forms of entertainment, specifically to attract tourism, and employed controversial interpretations, often eliminating the nuances of individual tribes and cultural practices. Though interpretive practices have substantially changed, some of the techniques remain part of the interpretation of American Indian peoples even today, perpetuating their influence on the way that individual and collective cultures are viewed by the general public. The employed presentation approaches at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings specifically would not be considered standard practice now, but the involvement of modern American Indian performers among the ruins, and the inclusion of public participation in the site each provide an influential methodology for engaging modern visitors in archaeological remains. Pur caratterizzandosi come disciplina di recente istituzione, l’archeologia pubblica ha avuto un impatto significativo sull’interpretazione del materiale storico per oltre un secolo. I primi musei etnografici, come il Manitou Cliff Dwellings e i siti dei popoli ancestrali dell’America occidentale, sono stati realizzati come luoghi di intrattenimento e specificamente progettati per attrarre turismo, spesso eliminando le sfumature tra singole tribu e pratiche culturali. Sebbene le pratiche interpretative siano cambiate sostanzialmente, alcume tecniche rimangono parte dell’interpretazione degli indiani d’America ancora oggi, perpetuando la loro influenza sul modo in cui le culture individuali e collettive sono viste dal grande pubblico. Oggi gli approcci di presentazione adottati a Manitou Cliff Dwellings non sarebbero considerati una pratica standard, ma il coinvolgimento di artisti indiani americani contemporanei tra le rovine e l’inclusione della partecipazione del pubblico nel sito forniscono una metodologia importante per coinvolgere i visitatori attuali nei resti archeologici.
Special Considerations in the Care of the Infant CAPD/CCPD Patient

Although peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been used extensively in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for more than 15 years, this technology was not routinely offered to infants who presented with irreversible renal failure before the late 1980’s. This practice was the result of a combination of poor patient outcome, characterized by profound neurologic impairment and poor growth, as well as limitations in the equipment available at that time. Fortunately, technical advances and increased clinical experience have improved the availability and the outcome of PD in these patients such that it is now the expectation to offer renal replacement therapy to the even the smallest infant with isolated renal failure. Despite these advances, this population of patients continues to present unique clinical challenges that distinguishes them from older children and adults on PD. This chapter addresses a number of the special issues that arise when caring for infants with ESRD, with therapeutic approaches practiced in our pediatric centers and others.
The Undergraduate Music Degree: Artistry or Employability?

Each year thousands of students graduate with music degrees and have a diverse range of career paths to choose from. As career trajectories of students diversify to meet current market demands, the...
Low-Dose Whole-Lung Radiation for COVID-19 Pneumonia

Abstract Background Safety of whole-lung low-dose radiation therapy (LD-RT) for COVID-19 pneumonia has been established in two phase I trials. By focally dampening pulmonary cytokine hyperactivation, LD-RT may improve outcomes in hospitalized and oxygen-dependent COVID-19 patients. Methods Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were treated with 1.5 Gy whole-lung LD-RT, followed for 28 days or at least until hospital discharge, and compared to an age- and comorbidity-matched control cohort. COVID-19-positive patients eligible for this protocol were hospitalized, had radiographic consolidations, and required supplemental oxygen. Efficacy endpoints were time to clinical recovery, radiographic improvement, and serologic responses. Results Ten patients received whole-lung LD-RT between April 24 and May 24, 2020 and were compared to ten matched control patients, of whom six received COVID-directed therapy. Median time to clinical recovery was 12 days for the control cohort vs 3 days for LD-RT (HR 2.9, p=0.05). Median time to hospital discharge (20 and 12 days, p=0.19), and intubation rates (40% and 10%, p=0.12) were shorter for the LD-RT cohort. The LD-RT cohort had faster radiographic improvement (p=0.03), even among patients with high COVID burden. Serologic recovery in specific hematologic, cardiac, hepatic, clotting, and inflammatory markers occurred more rapidly following LD-RT than among matched controls. Conclusions Strong efficacy signals, including a 3-fold risk reduction in time to clinical improvement, were observed following LD-RT compared to matched patients receiving COVID-directed therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia. Given the global availability of radiation accelerators, ongoing international efforts to investigate the optimal role of LD-RT in COVID-19 pneumonia are justified. Clinical Trial Registration NCT04366791.