cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Organizational principles of Khirigsuur monuments in the lower Egiin Gol valley, Mongolia

Khirigsuurs are the largest and most common archaeological monuments of the Mongolian Steppe in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, a critical time for the spread of nomadic pastoralism and the emergence of a new social order during the Bronze Age in Inner Asia. Using data from a full coverage regional survey of the Lower Egiin Gol valley, this paper presents a system for studying the defining ground level features of Khirigsuurs to discover structural categories, organize sites, compare Khirigsuur monuments across regions and explore activities that may have gone on around the Khirigsuurs themselves as they were built and used. The primary methods used are a study of monumental scale and a typology of additive parts from which complex and comparable types emerge. Elaborate Khirigsuurs illustrate the use of Khirigsuurs as small monuments, stages for group activities, and are the persistent backdrop for social transformations during the spread of nomadic pastoralism. I suggest that the Khirigsuurs of the Lower Egiin Gol are monuments constructed with relatively regular frequency, by a consistently sized group, and used for group oriented activities rather than the memorialization of an elite. This is consistent with something one might see as part of a regular yearly nomadic round.
Accurate proton affinity and gas-phase basicity values for molecules important in biocatalysis.

Benchmark quantum calculations of proton affinities and gas-phase basicities of molecules relevant to biochemical processes, particularly acid/base catalysis, are presented and compared for a variety of multilevel and density functional quantum models. Included are nucleic acid bases in both keto and enol tautomeric forms, ribose in B-form and A-form sugar pucker conformations, amino acid side chains and backbone molecules, and various phosphates and phosphoranes, including thio substitutions. This work presents a high-level thermodynamic characterization of biologically relevant protonation states and provides a benchmark database for development of next-generation semiempirical and approximate density functional quantum models and parametrization of methods to predict pKa values and relative solvation energies.
TWO‐POINT RAY TRACING IN GENERAL 3D MEDIA1

Abstract The modelling of realistic 3D geology and wave‐propagation phenomena is an important aspect of exploration geophysics. Ongoing research on a new model representation in terms of strongly reflecting interfaces described by surface patches, and on two‐point (i.e. source‐receiver) non‐zero‐offset ray tracing in such models, is presented. Examples are used to demonstrate how this model representation facilitates the description of geological unconformities such as pinched‐out layers, overhangs and reverse faults. Neither pseudo‐layers, nor ‘transparent’ or zero‐impedance extensions are needed for surfaces that do not naturally cover the geological window under study. These are therefore no longer layered models and consequently they require new ray‐tracing techniques which are described and exemplified.
Light dark matter anomalies after LUX

We examine the consistency of light dark matter (DM) elastic scattering in CoGeNT, DAMA, and CDMS-silicon in light of constraints from XENON, CDMS, LUX, PICASSO and COUPP. We consider a variety of operators that have been employed to reconcile anomalies with constraints, including anapole, magnetic dipole, momentum-dependent, and isospin-violating DM. We find that elastic scattering through these alternative operators does not substantially reduce the tension between the signals and the null constraints for operators where at least two of the three purported signals map onto a common space in the DM mass-scattering cross-section plane. Taking a choice of the scintillation efficiency that lies at the $\ensuremath{-}1\ensuremath{\sigma}$ region of the Manzur et al. measurement relieves tension between signals and the LUX constraint---in particular for a magnetic dipole interaction and a xenophobic interaction (though for the latter the signal regions do not substantially overlap). We also find that modest changes in the halo model do not alter this result. We conclude that, even relaxing the assumption about the type of elastic scattering interaction and taking a conservative choice for the scintillation efficiency, LUX and the results from other null experiments remain in tension with a light DM elastic scattering explanation of direct detection anomalies.
Evaluating Community-Based Programs for Dementia Caregivers: The Cost Implications of Adult Day Services

This study analyzes the short- (3 months) and long-term (1 year) cost implications of adult day care, a community-based program that has gained attention for its positive impact on dementia caregiv...
Micro-Fluidic Flow Induced by High-Frequency AC Micro-Bubble Jets

A new mechanism for generating a micron-sized bubble jet in an electrolyte within a micro-fluidic device is reported. A three-dimensional electrode tip is placed at the center of a micro-channel. All but the electrode tip is insulated with a dielectric film. A counter insulated electrode sits across the tip electrode and a large high-frequency (> 100 kHz) and high intensity (>1000 V) AC field is applied across the electrodes. The large voltage generates micron-sized bubbles at the tip which snaps off intermittently or continuously to produce a micro-bubble jet by a unique tip streaming mechanism. The ejected bubbles continue to be driven by an electrostatic force in the tip direction and move at a velocity in excess of 10 cm/sec. They drag a large surrounding liquid column around them to move at the same velocity and hence generate a pumping action stronger than all reported electro-kinetic micro-pumps.© 2004 ASME
Fournier's Gangrene as a Possible Side Effect of Bevacizumab Therapy for Resected Colorectal Cancer

Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in combination with fluorouracil (FU)-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Its mechanism of action is inhibition of tumor angiogenesis by neutralizing vascular endothelial growth factor. Adverse events resulting from its use include gastrointestinal perforation, wound-healing complications, hemorrhage, and arterial thromboembolism. We present a case of a 67-year-old man who developed Fournier's gangrene during treatment with bevacizumab 4 months after completing mFOLFOX6 (5-FU/leucovorin/oxaliplatin) for CRC. Other than bevacizumab, the patient had no medications and had no medical conditions that would predispose to Fournier's gangrene.
Inhibition of integrin-linked kinase blocks podocyte epithelial-mesenchymal transition and ameliorates proteinuria

Proteinuria is a primary clinical symptom of a large number of glomerular diseases that progress to end-stage renal failure. Podocyte dysfunctions play a fundamental role in defective glomerular filtration in many common forms of proteinuric kidney disorders. Since binding of these cells to the basement membrane is mediated by integrins, we determined the role of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) in podocyte dysfunction and proteinuria. ILK expression was induced in mouse podocytes by various injurious stimuli known to cause proteinuria including TGF-β1, adriamycin, puromycin, and high ambient glucose. Podocyte ILK was also found to be upregulated in human proteinuric glomerular diseases. Ectopic expression of ILK in podocytes decreased levels of the epithelial markers nephrin and ZO-1, induced mesenchymal markers such as desmin, fibronectin, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), promoted cell migration, and increased the paracellular albumin flux across podocyte monolayers. ILK also induced Snail, a key transcription factor mediating epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Blockade of ILK activity with a highly selective small molecule inhibitor reduced Snail induction and preserved podocyte phenotypes following TGF-β1 or adriamycin stimulation. In vivo , this ILK inhibitor ameliorated albuminuria, repressed glomerular induction of MMP-9 and α-SMA, and preserved nephrin expression in murine adriamycin nephropathy. Our results show that upregulation of ILK is a convergent pathway leading to podocyte EMT, migration, and dysfunction. ILK may be an attractive target for therapeutic intervention of proteinuric kidney diseases.
Smart Shadow: Platform to Provide Real-World Services in Ubiquitous Environments and Its Applications

Recently, ubiquitous environments have been extensively studied, and hardware environments (e.g., network or small devices) will be available soon. When the hardware environments become available, problems related to service provisioning will still remain. Device (resource) conflict or service conflict will occur in multi-user actual ubiquitous environments. The methods to solve these problems, which are used in current systems, are to enumerate all the cases and solve any conflict before service execution. However, these methods lack generality and thus cannot be applied to unexpected cases. To solve this problem, we are now developing a new service platform called Smart Shadow. On the Smart Shadow platform, users, services, devices, and fields are treated as agents. In addition, communication and interaction among the agents aim to solve device and service conflicts. The prototype of the Smart Shadow platform and an example application using the platform are described. We have already exhibited Smart Shadow and an application implementation to the public and have conducted a preliminary evaluation. Our developed Smart Shadow will contribute to service provisioning in future ubiquitous environments.
Structural Organization of the Spliced Immediate-Early Gene Complex that Encodes the Major Acidic Nuclear (IE1) and Transactivator (IE2) Proteins of African Green Monkey Cytomegalovirus.

Total immediate-early (IE) RNA synthesized after infection with African green monkey cytomegalovirus (SCMV) in the presence of cycloheximide contained a major 2.3-kb mRNA species that acted as template for in vitro synthesis of a single 94-kD nuclear protein. The same IE RNA hybridized predominantly to a 1.8-kb subregion of the 220-kb genome which mapped 1.5 kb to the left of the in vitro transcription start site and TATATAA motif previously associated with the powerful MIE (IE94) enhancer region. However, DNA sequence and S1-mapping analysis of a 5-kb region downstream from the promoter revealed the existence of a far upstream noncoding first exon and four additional spliced exons capable of encoding two alternative protein products with shared N-terminal domains. This region is similar in structure to that of the MIE gene complex of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), including being highly CpG suppressed. Exons 2, 3, and 4 encode an acidic protein equivalent to the 68-kD IE1 protein (UL123) of HCMV and exons 2, 3, and 5 encode a protein equivalent to the 80-kD IE2 (UL122) DNA-binding protein of HCMV. Transcripts from across the IE2 region were detected within the cycloheximide RNA, but they were present at 10- to 20-fold lower abundance than IE1 transcripts. The proposed 547-codon IE1 (IE94) acidic phosphoprotein of SCMV displays minimal residual homology with the IE1 protein of HCMV, but both associate with metaphase chromosomes and have large C-terminal glutamic-acid-rich domains. In contrast, the proposed 583-codon IE2 protein of SCMV displays extensive amino acid similarity to the HCMV IE2 transcriptional regulatory protein especially within C-terminal domains that are known to play a major role in promoter targeting for both transactivation and negative autoregulation functions.
Misoprostol, an anti-ulcer agent and PGE2 receptor agonist, protects against cerebral ischemia

Induction of COX-2 activity in cerebral ischemia results in increased neuronal injury and infarct size. Recent studies investigating neurotoxic mechanisms of COX-2 demonstrate both toxic and paradoxically protective effects of downstream prostaglandin receptor signaling pathways. We tested whether misoprostol, a PGE(2) receptor agonist that is utilized clinically as an anti-ulcer agent and signals through the protective PGE(2) EP2, EP3, and EP4 receptors, would reduce brain injury in the murine middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion (MCAO-RP) model. Administration of misoprostol, at the time of MCAO or 2h after MCAO, resulted in significant rescue of infarct volume at 24 and 72h. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated dynamic regulation of the EP2 and EP4 receptors during reperfusion in neurons and endothelial cells of cerebral cortex and striatum, with limited expression of EP3 receptor. EP3-/- mice had no significant changes in infarct volume compared to control littermates. Moreover, administration of misoprostol to EP3+/+ and EP3-/- mice showed similar levels of infarct rescue, indicating that misoprostol protection was not mediated through the EP3 receptor. Taken together, these findings suggest a novel function for misoprostol as a protective agent in cerebral ischemia acting via the PGE(2) EP2 and/or EP4 receptors.
Age, Class, Politics, and the Welfare State

Preface 1. The welfare state: some neglected considerations 2. Theoretical perspectives on the welfare state 3. Social welfare spending in advanced industrial democracies 4. Social welfare spending and democratic political context 5. Economic growth, social welfare spending, and income inequality 6. Infant mortality, equality, and social welfare spending 7. Conclusions: the causes and consequences of the welfare state References.
The fire resistance test and its relation to real-world fires

The characteristics of fire resistance test furnaces are examined. It is shown that the efficiency of a furnace, as measured in terms of the heat load it imposes on a test specimen, depends markedly on the size of the furnace and the nature of the furnace gas. Only with large furnaces heated by gases of high radiation potential (near-black gases) can the test results be regarded as meaningful and reproducible. Reling a defective furnace with a material of very low thermal inertia, though helpful, is unlikely to bring its performance up to the required level. Methods of determining the efficiency of test furnaces are outlined. The theorem of uniformity heat load is recognized as a succinct descriptor of fires with respect to their destructive potential. As such, it forms the basis for correlating real-world fires with standard test fires.
Linear series and the existence of branched covers

In this paper, we use the perspective of linear series, and in particular results following from the degeneration tools of limit linear series, to give a number of new results on the existence and non-existence of tamely branched covers of the projective line in positive characteristic. Our results are both in terms of ramification indices and the sharper invariant of monodromy cycles, and the first class of results are obtained by intrinsically algebraic and positive-characteristic arguments.
Rational Choice and Rational Cognition

There is a close but largely unexplored connection between law and economics and cognitive psychology. Law and economics applies economic models, modes of analysis, and argument to legal problems. Economic theory can be applied to legal problems for predictive, explanatory, or evaluative purposes. In explaining or assessing human action, economic theory presupposes a largely unarticulated account of rational, intentional action. Philosophers typically analyze intentional action in terms of desires and beliefs. I intend to perform some action because I believe that it will (is likely to) produce an outcome that I desire. This standard “belief-desire” model of action invokes what philosophers of psychology and action theorists aptly refer to as a “folk psychology.”
Detail preserving reproduction of color images for monochromats and dichromats

In spite of the ever-increasing prevalence of low-cost, color printing devices, gray-scale printers remain in widespread use. Authors producing documents with color images for any venue must account for the possibility that the color images might be reduced to gray scale before they are viewed. Because conversion to gray scale reduces the number of color dimensions, some loss of visual information is generally unavoidable. Ideally, we can restrict this loss to features that vary minimally within the color image. Nevertheless, with standard procedures in widespread use, this objective is not often achieved, and important image detail is often lost. Consequently, algorithms that convert color images to gray scale in a way that preserves information remain important. Human observers with color-deficient vision may experience the same problem, in that they may perceive distinct colors to be indistinguishable and thus lose image detail. The same strategy that is used in converting color images to gray scale provides a method for recoloring the images to deliver increased information content to such observers.
The structure of the Nazca ridge and Sala y Gomez seamount chain from the dispersion of Rayleigh waves

SUMMARY We report single-station measurements of group velocity for fundamental mode Rayleigh waves that propagated along two ‘aseismic ridges’ in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin: the Nazca ridge and the Sala y Gomez chain. We find that the Nazca ridge dispersion curves, when regionalized to isolate the ridge contribution, indicate group velocities of about 3.5 km s-’ for short periods. These values are slower than predicted for the geometry of the propagation paths. Interpreting this velocity heterogeneity is complicated by the recognition that the Nazca ridge is about 1000 km longer than previously thought, but models of Vyv for the ridge derived by inverting the dispersion curves reveal abnormally thick (18 f 3 km) oceanic crust along its longitudinal axis. This value compares favourably with previously published results over the Tuamotu plateau, thus strengthening the hypothesis that the Nazca ridge and Tuamotu plateau are mirror images, formed by a hotspot coincident with the Farallon-Pacific spreading centre before 20 Ma. In contrast, the measurements along the Sala y Gomez chain are consistent with typical oceanic crust and mantle. When these values are inverted, they reveal no thick crust (6 km) along the Sala y Gomez chain. We conclude from this result that the chain was likely formed as a leaky fracture zone, not as a simple hotspot track.
Effect of niacin supplementation on fibrinogen levels in patients with peripheral vascular disease

This study demonstrates that niacin supplementation decreases plasma fibrinogen and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in subjects with peripheral vascular disease randomized to receive niacin, warfarin, antioxidants, or placebo. Changes in fibrinogen levels are highly correlated with changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.61; p < 0.009) in subjects taking niacin.
Foam Separation of Mercury(II) and Cadmium(II) from Aqueous Systems

Abstract Mercury(II) and cadmium(II) were separated from aqueous systems by a number of batch-type precipitate flotation and adsorbing colloid flotation techniques. HgS, CdS, and Cd(OH)2 were removed by precipitate flotation; Fe(OH)3, Al(OH)3, FeS, and CuS were used as adsorbing colloids. Sodium lauryl sulfate and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTA) were used as collectors. Dependence of separation efficiency on pH and ionic strength was investigated. Floc foam flotation of both metals with CuS and HTA was found to be quite effective, resulting in residual Hg(II) levels as low as 5 ppb and residual Cd(II) levels as low as 20 ppb. Floc foam flotation of Cd(II) with FeS and HTA yielded residual Cd(II) levels as low as 10 ppb.
Is more beta better? [beta testing]

Designers of performance support systems need to know their users and can get information about users by several sources, including beta testers. Large samples of beta testers are easier to get than large samples of subjects from laboratory testing and field studies. However, sampling bias may yield misleading data from beta testers. The paper discusses an example case of designers and beta testers for an international corporation. Tables present the views of computer software users by two sample groups: designers of performance support systems and beta testers of that company's software.
Variants of Triticum mosaic virus Isolated From Wheat in Colorado Show Divergent Biological Behavior.

Abstract Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) is a recently discovered virus infecting wheat. We compared Colorado isolates C10-492 and C11-775 with the 06-123 isolate. Comparisons were made using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), infectivity assay, host range, dry weight (DW), inoculation of ‘Mace’ wheat with temperature-sensitive resistance to Wheat streak mosaic virus, and the deduced amino acid sequence of the coat proteins (CP) and P1 proteins. Both C10-492 and C11-775 infected ‘Gallatin’ barley and, when compared with 06-123, had significantly reduced ELISA values and virus titers in wheat. Both Colorado isolates caused symptomless infections in Mace, whereas 06-123 caused mosaic symptoms. The amino acid sequences of the CP differed by two and one amino acids for C10-492 and C11-775, respectively, compared with 06-123. The sequence of C10-492 differed from C11-775 by one amino acid. The P1 amino acid sequence of C10-492 and C11-775 differed from 06-123 by three and one amino acids, respectively. T...
Statistically-Constrained High-Dimensional Warping Using Wavelet-Based Priors

In this paper, a Statistical Model of Deformation (SMD) that captures the statistical prior distribution of highdimensional deformations more accurately and effectively than conventional PCA-based statistical shape models is used to regularize deformable registration. SMD utilizes a wavelet-based representation of statistical variation of a deformation field and its Jacobian, and it is able to capture both global and fine shape detail without overconstraining the deformation process. This approach is shown to produce more accurate and robust registration results in MR brain images, relative to the registration methods that use Laplacian-based smoothness constraints of deformation fields. In experiments, we evaluate the SMD-constrained registration by comparing the performance of registration with and without SMD in a specific deformable registration framework. The proposed method can potentially incorporate various registration algorithms to improve their robustness and stability using statistically-based regularization.
The Chloride Conductance of Tight Junctions of Rat Ileum Can Be Increased by cAMP But Not by Carbachol

It is well known, that in mammalian small intestine, cAMP increases Cl- permeability of the apical membrane of enterocytes as part of its secretory action. Paradoxically, this is usually accompanied by an increase of the transepithelial resistance. In the present study we report that in the presence of bumetanide (to block basolateral Cl- uptake) cAMP always decreased the transepithelial resistance. We examined whether this decrease in resistance was due to a cAMP-dependent increase of the paracellular electrolyte permeability in addition to the increase of the Cl- permeability of the apical cell membrane. We used diffusion potentials induced by serosal replacement of NaCl, and transepithelial current passage to evoke transport number effects. The results revealed that cAMP (but not carbachol) could increase the Cl- permeability of the tight junctions in rat ileum. Moreover, we observed a variation in transepithelial resistance of individual tissue preparations, inversely related to the cation selectivity of the tissue, suggesting that Na+ permeability of the tight junctions can vary between preparations.
Giant Kidney Worms in Mink from New York: Prevalence, Distribution, and Health Implications

Abstract We examined 612 wild Neovison vison (Mink) carcasses collected during 1998–2002 from New York State for presence of Dioctophyme renale (Giant Kidney Worm). Twenty-three Mink (15 males and 8 females) contained the parasite in the right kidney. The percentage of infected Mink (3.8%) was considerably lower than was found in Ontario (48%) and Minnesota (27%), but higher than in Manitoba (1%) and North Dakota (<1%). We found a clustered distribution of Giant Kidney Worms in Mink; all infections were located in the northern and central areas of the state and were restricted to a few physiographic and hydrological regions. Left kidneys were enlarged in parasitized Mink, but other condition measures (body and omentum weights, body weight:length ratio, and hepatic metal concentrations) did not differ between infected and non-infected animals when adjusted for gender, age, and capture location. This assessment indicated that Giant Kidney Worms have a minimal impact on Mink health; however, it should be vie...
Predicting readmission stroke type among blacks and whites in California.

Background: It is generally assumed that initial and recurrent strokes are of the same type, but data from South London, United Kingdom; Lausanne, Switzerland; and other studies suggest this may not be true for certain subtypes. In these studies, however, the number of recurrent strokes observed during the follow-up period was small, thereby limiting the ability of these studies to provide reliable estimates of stroke type concordance. Methods: Using a large, diverse, inpatient database, this study sought to: (1) estimate the relative agreement (Cohen's kappa) between initial and recurrent stroke types for blacks and whites; and (2) develop a risk-adjusted logistic model for readmission stroke type, with the initial admission stroke type as the main predictor and race, other sociodemographic variables, and clinical and hospital characteristics as potential covariates. Results: Stroke type concordance was similar for blacks (kappa = 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.71-0.83) and whites (kappa = 0.77, 95% CI=0.74-0.79). In the adjusted logistic regression models, the initial admission stroke type strongly predicted the readmission stroke type (subarachnoid hemorrhage: odds ratio [OR] = 738.31, 95% CI=422.58-1289.93; intracerebral hemorrhage [ICH]: OR=80.86, 95% CI=61.57-106.19; ischemic: OR=125.81, 95% CI=96.12-164.67). Other patient factors, but not race, also predicted readmission stroke type (e.g., younger age increased the odds of having an subarachnoid hemorrhage readmission; atrial fibrillation increased the odds of having an ICH readmission; older age, diabetes mellitus, and heart failure increased the odds of having an ischemic stroke readmission). Conclusion: This study showed that the initial stroke type and other factors were independently associated with the readmission stroke type and that patterns of stroke type concordance were similar for blacks and whites. These results may help to identify patients in high-risk subgroups who are more likely to have a recurrent hemorrhagic stroke, which could inform patient treatment decisions. For example, patients with atrial fibrillation may be at greater risk for having an ICH readmission because of the adverse effects of anticoagulant therapy, antiplatelet treatment, or both, which should be investigated further.
Photonically implemented ultrawideband RF matched filtering

We demonstrate matched filtering of ultrawideband radio frequency waveforms via programmable optical phase filters implemented in a hyperfine resolution pulse shaper. As an example we demonstrate compression of frequency modulated and pseudorandom sequence waveforms.
Switching of Chemoattractant Receptors Programs Development and Morphogenesis inDictyostelium:Receptor Subtypes Activate Common Responses at Different Agonist Concentrations

Abstract One of the common functional features among G-protein coupled receptors is the occurrence of multiple subtypes involved in similar signal transduction events. The cAMP chemoattractant receptor family ofDictyostelium discoideumis composed of four receptors (cAR1–cAR4), which are expressed sequentially throughout the developmental transition from a unicellular to a multicellular organism. The receptors differ in affinity for cAMP and in the sequences of their C-terminal domains. In this study, we constitutively expressed cAR1, cAR2, and cAR3 as well as a series of chimeric and mutant receptors and assessed the capacity of each to mediate chemotaxis, activation of adenylyl cyclase and actin polymerization, and rescue the developmental defect ofcar1−/car3−cells. We found that various receptors and mutants sense different concentration ranges of cAMP but all can mediate identical responses during the aggregation stage of development. The responses displayed very similar kinetics, suggesting no major differences in regulatory properties attributable to the C-terminal domains. We speculate that switching of receptor subtypes during development enables the organism to respond to the changing concentrations of the chemoattractant and thereby program morphogenesis appropriately.
Nicotine Decreases Blood Alcohol Concentration in Neonatal Rats

Background : Our previous findings suggested that the intragastric coadministration of alcohol and nicotine to neonatal rats resulted in a significant decrease from the predicted peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). We hypothesized that the coadministration of alcohol and nicotine would produce a nicotine dose–related decrease in peak BAC and a change in the BAC time curve profile. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rat pups were given alcohol and nicotine simultaneously via intragastric infusion. Two sets of nicotine doses were used in two independent studies. The low doses of nicotine were examined after the study of high doses of nicotine administration because of the possible ceiling effects from these nicotine doses on lowering BACs. Results: The results not only confirmed that the peak BAC was lowered by nicotine, but also generated new findings showing that the profile of BAC time curve was affected by these doses of nicotine. Concerns about possible ceiling effects led us to conduct another experiment to examine the effects of lower doses of nicotine on BACs. Those results showed a significant decline in BACs after cotreatment with 0.5 or 1 mg/kg nicotine and less robust changes on the BAC curve profiles. Although the nicotine dose at 0.25 mg/kg/day did not affect significantly the overall BAC profile, it did lower the peak BAC. Conclusions: Nicotine is capable of lowering the peak BAC among neonatal rat pups. Furthermore, the pattern of the BAC time curve seems to be more affected by high doses of nicotine.
Identifying candidate ncRNAs that direct changes in chromatin structure

Background Long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are increasingly recognized as important regulators of genomic processes and cell specification. Many IncRNAs are hypothesized to localize to and regulate chromatin, functionally impacting epigenetic state through interactions with chromatinmodifying proteins’. Numerous IncRNAs have been reported to play a role in the activity or recruitment of the epigenetic factors the Polycomb group (PcG) proteins to genomic sites 2,3 . However, identification and func
Maternal Holding of Preterm Infants During the Early Weeks After Birth and Dyad Interaction at Six Months

ABSTRACT Objective To examine whether a supportive nursing intervention that promoted kangaroo holding of healthy preterm infants by their mothers during the early weeks of the infant's life facilitated coregulation between mother and infant at 6 months of age. Design Randomized controlled trial. Participants Sixty-five mother/infant dyads with mean gestational age at birth of 33 weeks. Fifty percent of infants were male, and 50% were non-White. Interventions An 8-week home intervention encouraged daily 1-hour, uninterrupted holding with either blanket (baby wrapped in blanket and held in mother's arms) or the kangaroo (baby in skin-to-skin contact on mother's chest) method. In both conditions, weekly home visits by an experienced RN included encouragement to hold the infant, emotional support, and information about infant behavior and development. A control group received brief social visits, had no holding constraints, and participated in all assessments. Main Outcome Measures When infants were 6 months of age, the Still-Face Paradigm was used to assess mother/infant interaction. Outcome measures were coregulation of the dyad's responses during the play episodes of the Still-Face Paradigm and vitality in infant efforts to reengage the mother during the neutral face portion of the Still-Face Procedure. Results Significant differences among groups were found in mother/infant coregulation. Post hoc analysis showed that dyads who were supported in kangaroo holding displayed more coregulation behavior during play than dyads in the blanket-holding group. No differences were found between groups in infant vitality during the neutral face portion of the Still-Face Procedure. Conclusion Dyads supported in practicing kangaroo holding in the early weeks of life may develop more coregulated interactional strategies than other dyads.
Design of a High Throughput 25‐Well Parallel Electrolyzer for the Accelerated Discovery of CO2 Reduction Catalysts via a Combinatorial Approach

A combinatorial approach is described for screening homogeneous CO2 reduction electrocatalysts by means of a high-throughput 25-well parallel electrolyzer. Active catalysts were then screened by three methods: (1) the presence of CO gas in the electrolyzer head space; (2) a pH change for the individual solutions before and after bulk electrolysis due to proton consumption during CO2 reduction; and (3) other physical attributes. Based on these screening methods, two solutions out of the 25 were selected for further study. One out of two selected solutions, nickel cyclam, a well-known CO2 reduction electrocatalyst, was correctly identified to be the most active.
Efficient Merging and Filtering Algorithms for Approximate String Searches

We study the following problem: how to efficiently find in a collection of strings those similar to a given query string? Various similarity functions can be used, such as edit distance, Jaccard similarity, and cosine similarity. This problem is of great interests to a variety of applications that need a high real-time performance, such as data cleaning, query relaxation, and spellchecking. Several algorithms have been proposed based on the idea of merging inverted lists of grams generated from the strings. In this paper we make two contributions. First, we develop several algorithms that can greatly improve the performance of existing algorithms. Second, we study how to integrate existing filtering techniques with these algorithms, and show that they should be used together judiciously, since the way to do the integration can greatly affect the performance. We have conducted experiments on several real data sets to evaluate the proposed techniques.
A fluid mechanicians view of wind engineering: Large eddy simulation of flow past a cubic obstacle

We present a fluid mechanicians view of computations of complex 3-D flows in wind engineering. In particular, we focus on large eddy simulation (LES) in which the large scales of motion are computed explicitly while the small or subgrid-scale motions are modeled. This approach can accurately capture the effects of large-scale motions such as wind forces and their fluctuations. Some general issues related to LES in wind engineering are discussed and sample results from simulations of flow past a cubic obstacle are presented.
Split of a Thunderstorm into Anticyclonic and Cyclonic Storms and Their Motion as Determined from Numerical Model Experiments

Abstract Since the concept of a rotational thunderstorm was presented by Byers in 1942, little attention has been paid to this important characteristic. Through direct and indirect observations, as well as a series of numerical experiments, the authors, some 24 years later, now postulate that many large thunderstorms are rotating. The numerical experiments revealed that a thunderstorm in a strong environmental wind field deviates to the left of the mean wind unless it rotates slowly and cyclonically. It was also found that the maximum deviation, either to the right or left, occurs when such a thunderstorm rotates with a critical tangential speed of only a few meters per second. This striking result contradicts the conventional expectation that the faster the rotation, the larger the storm's deviation. Further investigation of numerically produced clouds revealed that most of the peculiar motion of thunderstorms can be simulated by computing the momentum of clouds through step-by-step integration. A thunde...
Reduction of MS2 bacteriophage and rotavirus in biosand filters

Diarrheal diseases caused by pathogens remain a significant cause of death in developing areas, especially for children under the age of five. Biosand filters (BSFs) are a promising technology implemented worldwide that can effectively reduce levels of bacteria and bacteriophages. However, besides echovirus, the efficacy of enteric virus reduction in BSFs has not been studied. Furthermore, how divalent cation concentrations in the source water used in BSFs influences virus reduction is not clearly understood. In this study, three bench-scale BSFs were fed daily with groundwater containing divalent cations or cation-free buffered solution to determine MS2 or rotavirus reduction as a function of filter depth, residence time, media ripening, and water source. An integrated cell culture and RT-qPCR assay was developed to quantify rotavirus reduction in water samples collected from the filters. Rotavirus reduction obtained by experiments performed in groundwater increased with depth and reached a cumulative average of 5 log10 (99.999%) reduction after 31 days. Experiments with 1 mM NaHCO3 spiked with MS2 averaged 1.2 log10 reduction after 42 days, and there was not an increasing trend of reduction as a function of depth. Finally, MS2 experiments performed in groundwater reached a cumulative average of 5.36 log10 reduction by a BSF that had been in operation for 684 days, but the reduction also did not increase as a function of depth. Overall conclusions include that 1) at the same filter age and using the same water source, rotavirus reduction was higher than what was previously seen with MS2, indicating that MS2 is a conservative surrogate for rotavirus, 2) MS2 reduction efficacy was related to the divalent cation concentrations of the influent water for an unripened filter, and 3) residence time was crucial for increasing virus reduction in all experiments. This is the first study to determine the efficiency of rotavirus reduction in BSFs, which is an essential first step in understanding the extent to which BSFs can reduce human enteric viruses, and hence decrease diarrheal disease incidence.
The differential test for infectious mononucleosis.

The diagnostic- difficulties that may be encountered in infectious mononucleosis were impressively denKmsjtr'abed to us in a series of 106 patients with this disease, in whom complete "clinical data were available. In 63 of these patients, prior to availability of hematologic and serologic findings, 26 diseases other than infec­ tious mononucleosis were diagnosed: agranulocytosis, appendicitis, brucellosis, diphtheria, duodenal ulcer, gastro-enteritis, Hodgkin's disease, infectious hepa­ titis, influenza, leukemia, measles, meningitis, nephritis, pharyngitis, ulcerative pharyngitis, pneumonia, virus pneumonia, purpura, scarlet fever, serum disease, frontal sinusitis, streptococcic sore throat, acute follicular tonsillitis, acute ulcera­ tive tonsillitis, tuberculous lymphadenitis, Vincent's angina. According to the experience of other authors, the following 23 additional erroneous diagnoses have been recorded in the literature: angioneurotic edema, asthma, bacterial endocardi­ tis, chickenpox, encephalitis, erysipelas, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum, edema of glottis, hyperthyroidism with lymphocytosis, infectious lympho­ cytosis, myocarditis, mumps, obstructive jaundice, poliomyelitis, acute rheu­ matic fever, rickettsialpox, stomatitis, syphilitic cervical adenitis, secondary
Characterizing Deformation Mechanisms in Ni3Ge-Fe3Ge Intermetallic Alloys

The Ni3Ge-Fe3Ge model system provides us with a unique opportunity to characterize the mechanisms of deformation in both anomalous and normal L12 intermetallic alloys. The elastic moduli of alloys in this system have been measured and used as benchmarks for first principles calculations. At 77K, increasing the Fe content has been found to result in a dramatic increase in flow stress. The Ni-rich alloys exhibit a yield strength anomaly, but as Ni is replaced by Fe, the anomalous temperature dependence gradually disappears, and no yield strength anomaly is observed for alloys with more than 25 at% Fe. At low temperatures and Fe contents, the deformation microstructure has been found to be dominated by Kear-Wilsdorf locking; but a transition from octahedral glide and Kear-Wilsdorf locking to cube glide is observed as either Fe content or temperature is increased. This transition is related to changes that occur in the core structures of dissociated superdislocations and planar fault energies measured through computer simulations of weak-beam TEM images.
Prevention and interruption of SV40 induced transplantation immunity with tumor cell extracts.

SummaryNewborn hamsters inoculated at birth with ghosts prepared from cells transformed by papovavirus SV40 and subsequently vaccinated as weanlings with the virus, failed to reject later challenge of the autologous tumor cells. In other experiments, the establishment of transplantation immunity conferred by inoculation of the virus into normal weanling hamsters could be interrupted with tumor cell extracts injected during the course of virus immunization. Once immunity had been established, however, inoculation of ruptured tumor cells failed to significantly alter the immune status of the animals.
Are we getting closer to understanding intratumor heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogenous disease and intratumor heterogeneity is a well-known fact within each individual tumor, and may involve morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular heterogeneities. Understanding of intratumor heterogeneity of HCC should provide critical knowledge about prognosis of the disease and response to therapy. In a recent article by Friemel and colleagues, the investigators utilized a comprehensive approach in linking immunohistochemical markers and molecular changes to morphological intratumor heterogeneity in HCC. The study found that intratumor heterogeneity was detectable in 87% of HCC cases. Combined heterogeneities with respect to morphologic, immunohistochemical, and mutational status of the two most important driver mutations CTNNB1 and TP53 were seen in 22% of HCC cases. The study demonstrates the challenges facing therapeutic strategies targeting single molecules and may explain the limited success so far in developing molecular targeted therapy for HCC.
Physiologic control of food intake.

Three regulatory systems are believed to be involved in controlling food intake, two of which include body supplies of carbohydrate and fat. Adjustments are made via the nervous system, primarily through the hypothalamus.
The Chacoan Great Kiva in Outlier Communities: Investigating Integrative Spaces Across the San Juan Basin

ABSTRACTIn the Pueblo Southwest, great kivas are considered to represent communal, public architecture—spaces where groups of people came together to perform ceremonies, discuss matters of concern, and conduct social or economic transactions. Great kivas are geographically widespread and assume a variety of shapes and sizes. This study examines the distribution and size of Chacoan great kivas constructed in outlier communities in the San Juan Basin during the Late Pueblo H period or Classic Bonito phase (A.D. 1040–;1120). Great kivas are less common in outlier communities near Chaco Canyon, suggesting that people living close to Chaco used integrative facilities located in the canyon. Great kiva area does not appear to be related to population size in Chaco outlier communities, suggesting that the iconographic form of the great kiva was more important than structure size. Great kiva spaces were more than containers for activities. In order to understand their meanings in Chacoan social contexts, it is nec...
Hollow-beam klystron with modulating anode

Klystron amplifiers have proven to be readily adapted to long pulse operation by means of a modulating anode. Several tube designs have been developed in the past which incorporated guns of the modified Pierce type wherein the anode is isolated from the body of the tube and designed such that it selves as a control electrode to switch the beam current on and off. Generally speaking these tube designs have proven successful. Modulating anode-type tubes can be built which minimize the intercepted current on the isolated anode thereby reducing the amount of power required for the pulser or modulator.
Too meta to live

Autobiographical comics first began to appear in large numbers during the underground comix movement, when comics artists resisted the Comics Code Authority’s strict regulations by writing about their own lives. These underground autobiographical comics first flourished during the 1960s and 1970s and gave rise to some of the most influential graphic artists of the late twentieth century, including Art Spiegelman.1 Spiegelman began crafting autobiographical comics in the early 1970s with the publication of two short comic strips: “Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History,” which first appeared in “Short Order Comix” #1 (1973), and “Maus,” originally published in “Funny Aminals [sic]” #1 (1972). Over the next nine years, the three-page, self-referential strip, “Maus,” evolved into the two-volume, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Maus (1986, 1991). Spiegelman had long been known as a central figure in the underground comix movement, but after the publication of Maus he rose to national and international prominence, attracting the attention of critics and scholars outside the field of comics. Due in large part to its serial publication, the critical discussion prompted by Maus continued into the early 1990s, when, as graphic narrative scholar Charles Hatfield suggests, “the reception of Maus suddenly made serious comics culturally legible, recognizable, in a way they had not been before” (xi, emphasis original).2
House Price Indexes: Methodologies

Price indexes are an important component of housing market analysis. This article discusses the construction of cross-sectional hedonic and repeat sales indexes over time. Some problems that arise in these calculations as well as methods for overcoming them are discussed.
Additive Manufacturing of Magnetic Field-Responsive Smart Polymer Composites

In this paper, an additive manufacturing process, named Magnetic Field-assisted Projection Stereolithography (M-PSL), is presented for applications such as fabricating magnetic field-responsive smart polymer composites. The 3D printed magnetic field-responsive smart polymer composite creates a wide range of motions, opening up possibilities for various new applications, like sensing and actuation in soft robotics, biomedical devices, and autonomous systems. In M-PSL process, a certain amount of nano- or micro-scale ferromagnetic particles is deposited into resin vat with a programmable microdeposition nozzle. Then a magnetic field is applied to direct the magnetic particles to the desired area. After that, digital mask images are used to cure particles in photopolymer with certain patterns. Important issues like magnetic particle movements, curing mechanisms, and manufacturing process planning are discussed. Two test cases, an impeller and a two-wheel roller, have been successfully fabricated for remote control under external magnetic field, showing the capability of printed smart polymer composites on performing desired functions.Copyright © 2016 by ASME