cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Feeding bioassay for stored-product insect pests using an encapsulated food source

Abstract A procedure that was developed to encapsulate liquid and semiliquid diets was used to encapsulate dry diet for use in a feeding bioassay for beetles that are pests of stored products. Vacuum was used to form Parafilm ® into numerous 6 mm diameter wells. The wells were filled with clean sand (control) or ground dry dog food (test), and the Parafilm ® sealed to produce individual pellets. A single pellet was then placed in the center of a 9 cm diameter Petri dish and feeding activity of groups of ten adults of Sitophilus oryzae (L.), the rice weevil; Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), the sawtoothed grain beetle; and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the red flour beetle, was tested. The number of insects on the encapsulated pellet and the amount of food or sand scattered were checked hourly for the first 8 h of the study and after 24 h. Few insects were observed on pellets containing sand and little or no sand was observed scattered outside of the pellet, so the presence of dog food in the pellet was needed for insects to feed on the pellet. In tests with encapsulated dog food, the amount of food scattered provided a better quantitative measure of feeding than the number of insects on the pellet. Insects that were starved for 48 h caused greater amounts of food scatter than insects starved for 24 h prior to the test. In direct comparisons among all three species, T. castaneum responded the most slowly and the bioassay may be improved by increasing the amount of time starved. Sitophilus oryzae responded very quickly and the entire pellet was essentially consumed within the first 4–5 h of the study. The encapsulated diets provide a promising method to evaluate feeding behavior of stored-product insect pests.
Recovery After Fracture of the Distal Radius

Stretching exercises are an important part of recovery after sustaining a fracture of the distal radius. However, from the patient's perspective, painful stretching exercises can be counterintuitive after injury. Stretching exercises are straightforward and do not require a significant amount of coaching. It is ultimately the protectiveness, passivity, and sometimes a sense of futility that require coaching. The key for the provider is to empathize with the difficult and counterintuitive nature of the recovery process.
Vasoplegia During Cardiac Surgery: Current Concepts and Management

Vasoplegic syndrome (VS) is a recognized and relatively common complication of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), appearing with an incidence ranging between 5% and 25%. It is characterized by significant hypotension, high or normal cardiac outputs and low systemic vascular resistance (SVR), and increased requirements for fluids and vasopressors during or after CPB. Patients developing VS are at increased risk for death and other major complications following cardiac surgery. This review will focus on the pathophysiology and contemporary strategies of treating VS encountered after CPB.
The Fundamental Manipulations of Surgery: A Structured Vocabulary for Designing Surgical Curricula and Simulators

Abstract A structured vocabulary is proposed for supporting the design and development of advanced surgical simulators. Nine fundamental surgical instrument-tissue actions or manipulations are defined and common synonyms provided. The vocabulary focuses on “target skills” that are familiar to surgeons, in comparison with “enabling skills” from the lexicon of instructional designers and psychometricians. The adoption of this vocabulary can facilitate communication among surgeons and bioengineers developing “high-fidelity” surgical simulators.
A critical appraisal of evidence-based dentistry: the best available evidence.

Statement of problem The principle of evidence-based dentistry requires that relevant scientific literature be integrated into the dentist's practice and the patient's treatment needs and wishes. This approach involves critically appraising the scientific literature for the best available evidence in order to make clinical decisions. Purpose The purpose of the study was to critically appraise the process by which a practitioner attempts to make an evidenced-based clinical decision. This process is illustrated by evaluating the clinical literature pertaining to zirconia-based single crowns. Material and methods An electronic search was performed in PubMed and the Cochrane Library by using Boolean operators for articles published in English between January 1950 and October 2012 to address the PICO (patients, intervention, comparison, outcome) question, “In adults, how does the long term prognosis of zirconia-based single crowns compare to conventional single crowns on natural teeth?” Comparisons were made across the publications to determine the quality of relevant information. Results Three systematic reviews included 4 clinical trials. Two randomized clinical trials and 1 retrospective study met the search criteria but were not identified in the systematic reviews. The definitions of the outcomes and the presentation of the data varied among studies. Conclusions The lack of standardization of reporting data, the nonstandardized definitions of outcomes, and the impact of the length of the research study were identified as problems that need to be addressed to improve the quality of systematic reviews and other clinical trials.
Elastic Anisotropy in Zirconia Single Crystals

Results are presented for the measured single-crystal elastic constants of yttria-stabilized zirconia, for yttria contents of 1.7 to 20 mol%. The results cover a range of materials which vary from a mixture of monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic to those which are fully cubic. These single-crystal measurements are used to calculate the bounds on the elastic moduli for polycrystalline materials. Comments are made on the elastic anisotropy of zirconia relative to a number of other single-crystal ceramics, with graphical comparisons of the anisotropy of Young's moduli of these ceramics.
Considerations on ultra-high frequency electric field effects on oxygen vacancy concentration in oxide thin films

Atomistic simulations employing dynamic charge transfer between atoms are used to investigate ultra-thin oxide growth on Al(100) metal substrates in the presence of an ac electric field. In the range of 1–10 GHz frequencies, the enhancement in oxidation kinetics by ∼12% over natural oxidation can be explained by the Cabrera–Mott mechanism. At field frequencies approaching 0.1–1 THz, however, we observe a dramatic lowering of the kinetics of oxygen incorporation by ∼35% compared to the maximum oxidation achieved, which results in oxygen non-stoichiometry near the oxide–gas interface (O/Al ≈ 1.0). This is attributed to oxygen desorption from the oxide surface. These results suggest a general strategy to tune oxygen concentration at oxide surfaces using ac electric fields that could be of interest in diverse fields related to surface chemistry and applications such as tunnel barriers, thin dielectrics and oxide interfaces.
The application of high density microarray for analysis of mitogenic signaling and cell-cycle in the adrenal.

Angiotensin II (AII) binds to specific G-protein coupled receptors and is mitogenic in adrenal, liver epithelial, and vascular smooth muscle cells. The H295R human adrenocortical cell line, which expresses AII receptors predominantly of the AT1 subclass, proliferates in response to treatment with AII. The induction and maintenance of cellular proliferation involves a precisely coordinated induction of a variety of genes. As the human genome sequencing projects near completion a variety of high throughout technologies have been developed in order to create dynamic displays of genomic responses. One high throughout method, the gridded cDNA microarray has been developed in which immobilised DNA samples are hybridized on glass slides for the identification of global genomic responses. For this purpose high precision robotic microarrayers have been developed at AECOM. The cyclin D1 gene, which encodes the regulatory subunit of the cyclin D1-dependent kinase (CD1K) required for phosphorylation of the retinoblas...
At the gates of death

Apoptosis that proceeds via the mitochondrial pathway involves mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), responsible for the release of cytochrome c and other proteins of the mitochondrial intermembrane space. This essential step is controlled and mediated by proteins of the Bcl-2 family. The proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak are required for MOMP, while the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, including Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mcl-1, and others, prevent MOMP. Different proapoptotic BH3-only proteins act to interfere with the function of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 members and/or activate Bax and Bak. Here, we discuss an emerging view, proposed by Certo et al. in this issue of Cancer Cell, on how these interactions result in MOMP and apoptosis.
Excitation functions and isobaric analogue states in the 55Mn(p, γ)56Fe reaction

Abstract Four excitation functions with proton energy range 1.3 to 1.85 MeV and γ-ray energy thresholds from 1.5 to 8.0 MeV were determined for the reaction 55 Mn(p, γ) 56 Fe. Gamma-ray spectra were taken for two close-lying resonances at proton energies 1531 and 1537 keV. An analysis of the spectra suggests the spin-parity assignments for those two states to be 4 + and 2 + , respectively, consistent with their being isobaric analogues to the close-lying third and fourth excited states in 56 Mn.
Factor structure of the state-trait anxiety inventory for children

Abstract The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children was administered to 644 children in grades 4, 5 and 6. The intercorrelations among the 40 STAIC items were subjected to a principal components analysis using unities in the diagonals. Orthogonal rotations were then performed via the Varimax procedure. Examination of the 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 factor rotations indicated that the three factor solution was best in terms of simple structure and psychological meaning. The three factors that emerged were: Trait Anxiety, State Anxiety Present, and State Anxiety Absent.
Appendicitis: do clinical scores matter?

Acute abdominal pain represents one of the most common reasons for children and adults to seek care in the emergency department (ED). The diagnosis can be difficult, with significant variability in the presentation and differential diagnosis according to patient age and sex. Computed tomography (CT) has improved our diagnostic ability, but concerns related to ionizing radiation and overuse have prompted clinicians to consider clinical scores and algorithms to aid in the diagnosis. Two well-studied appendicitis scores were developed by Alfredo Alvarado for adults and Madan Samuel for children, with the explicit purpose of diagnosing appendicitis. The Alvarado score was developed in Philadelphia in the mid-1980s. The score was derived from retrospectively collected data from 305 adult patients admitted to a single hospital and had a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 74% (95% confidence interval [CI] not provided). Samuel derived a separate clinical decision rule (Pediatric Appendicitis Score) to identify children at high risk for appendicitis by prospectively evaluating 1,170 patients at a single institution. The Pediatric Appendicitis Score had a reported sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 99.2% to 100%) and specificity of 92% (95% CI 89.0% to 94.2%). When developed, given the favorable test characteristics, both rules were thought to hold considerable clinical utility. However, across multiple external validation studies, their performance has varied. Furthermore, many have questioned the actual utility of either score, given that clinical judgment alone may provide similar test performance. In this month’s Annals, Ebell and Shinholser present a meta-analysis of adult and pediatric studies evaluating the performance of the Alvarado and Pediatric Appendicitis Score appendicitis scoring systems. The authors aimed to use the extensive published literature to identify optimal Pediatric Appendicitis Score and Alvarado scores that can be used to risk-stratify patients with acute abdominal pain as low, moderate, or high risk for appendicitis. The authors focused their meta-analysis on 24 prospective cohort studies (13 adult and 11 pediatric) in which the final diagnosis was verified. These validation studies were conducted in 16 countries and on 5 continents during a 20-year period. The authors aimed for
Replanning and analysis of partial setup strategies in printed circuit board assembly systems

This paper considers the operation of component placement equipment for the assembly of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in a medium-volume, medium-variety manufacturing environment. It focuses on the setup management and operational planning issues associated with productive use of these expensive resources. The concept of replanning is introduced to adapt to changes in the production environment by explicitly considering the initial state of the system. The partial setup strategy is suggested as a means of efficient adaptation and as a strategy that subsumes other setup strategies encountered in practice and the literature. These concepts are applied to the optimization of a single-placement machine producing multiple products. The results of using partial setups are compared with other commonly used strategies. Experimental results suggest significant gains at the singlemachine level. Future research is being pursued to improve the solution procedures and extend these replanning concepts to the line level.
Computational comparison of charge neutralisations of conductors and insulators with corona ionisers

Abstract We report a numerical investigation of phenomena of charge neutralisations of insulators and conductors with a balanced DC or AC ioniser using 2-D cylindrical electrohydrodynamic modelling. The early-phase phenomena of the insulator charge neutralisation are complicated and significantly different from the conductor ones, which indicates that the evaluation by the standard test may lead to potential problems in practical applications. In addition, the results of simulations demonstrated that, in the insulator charge neutralisation, ionisers themselves can cause latent hazards during neutralisation. We propose proper use of ionisers and the standard test to avoid such hazards.
Some nonregular designs from the Nordstrom–Robinson code and their statistical properties

The Nordstrom-Robinson code is a well-known nonlinear code in coding theory. This paper explores the statistical properties of this nonlinear code. Many nonregular designs with 32, 64, 128 and 256 runs and 7-16 factors are derived from it. It is shown that these nonregular designs are better than regular designs of the same size in terms of resolution, aberration and projectivity. Furthermore, many of these nonregular designs are shown to have generalised minimum aberration among all possible designs. Seven orthogonal arrays are shown to have unique word-length pattern and four of them are shown to be unique up to isomorphism.
The cost utility of a multi-disciplinary foot protection clinic (MDFPC) in an Irish hospital setting.

Background Foot ulceration which may result in lower limb amputation is one of the most feared complications among patients with diabetes and the prevention of both ulceration and amputation is a major challenge facing the health service. Many studies have proposed dedicated diabetic foot teams as the future of diabetic foot care.
Relationships of Selected Presage and Context Variables to Achievement

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of residualized student achievement with class size and selected teacher presage variables (years teaching and coaching, in-service training, perceived knowledge and skill, and skill) and to determine differences in residualized achievement for student subgroups based on grade, sex, or special needs status for two skills (serving and the forearm pass) in junior high/middle school volleyball units. Teachers completed a questionnaire and skills test for presage variables. Students (N = 202 for the forearm pass and N = 200 for the serve) in 10 classes were pretested, received instruction, and were posttested. Residualized achievement was based on regression analysis. Class size had a negative relationship with achievement for the serve skill. There were various relationships based on the presage variables. For both skills, males had a positive residual score and females a negative residual score, though this difference was significant on...
Lack of toxicity of chromium chloride and chromium picolinate in rats.

To evaluate the safety of chromium (Cr) as a nutrient supplement. Several recent studies have reported beneficial effects of supplemental Cr at levels higher than the upper limit of the suggested intake for Cr. Trivalent Cr is considered relatively nontoxic but some recent unconfirmed studies have questioned its toxicity. We evaluated the toxicity of Cr chloride and a more bioavailable form of trivalent Cr, Cr tripicolinate.Harlan Sprague Dawley rats (4 weeks of age) were fed a stock diet to which was added 0, 5, 25, 50 or 100 mg of Cr per kg of diet as chloride or picolinate. Fasting blood samples were taken at 11 and 17 weeks and animals sacrificed at 24 weeks of age. Lack of toxicity was demonstrated by blood and histological measurements. Chromium incorporation into tissues was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption.There were no statistically significant differences in body weight, organ weights or blood variables among all the groups tested at 11, 17 and 24 weeks. Blood variables measured ...
Indirect Amplitude Stabilization of a Tunable Laser through Control of the Intensity of a Pump Laser by an Electro-Optic Modulator:

A novel method has been developed to stabilize the intensity of a tunable laser. In this method, the tunable laser is amplitude-stabilized indirectly by controlling the intensity of the pump laser through an electro-optic modulator placed between the pump and the tunable lasers. A small portion of the tunable laser beam was split into a reference photodiode to provide a reference signal for the feedback driver to drive the Pockels cell. Any fluctuation in the intensity of the tunable laser is compensated for by varying the intensity of the pump laser through the feedback driven Pockels cell. Results obtained on the Ti-sapphire laser pumped by an ion laser demonstrate that up to 100 × reduction in the laser noise level can be accomplished by use of this method. Furthermore, with this method, it is possible to adjust the intensity of the laser to be exactly equal for different wavelengths, and to maintain this level for as long as the stabilization is activated. Applications of this method for different types of tunable lasers, including dye and F-center lasers, are discussed.
Requirements-Gathering Collaborative Networks in Distributed Software Projects

This position paper explores the practices and challenges of distributed requirements gathering through case studies taken from the telecommunications, gaming, and factory automation domains. The social organization of the participants, their formal and informal collaborations, and adoption of relevant tools are modeled as requirementsgathering collaborative networks. The study identifies specific problems and challenges that were observed in the three case studies.
Targeted σ factor turnover inserts negative control into a positive feedback loop

Since their classification as members of the sigma(70) superfamily, Group IV alternative sigma factors have been found to control gene expression in response to diverse environmental or stress signals. Activity of the Streptomyces coelicolor Group IV family member, sigma(R) (SigR), is increased by changes in the oxidation-reduction state of cytoplasmic disulphide bonds. Once released by its cognate anti-sigma factor RsrA, sigma(R) activates expression of gene products that help cells reduce cytoplasmic disulphide bonds. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Kim and co-workers provide new insights into positive and negative control of sigma(R) activity. The authors show that a transcript derived from the inducible sigma(R)-dependent sigRrsrA p2 promoter operon encodes a sigma(R) protein of a higher molecular weight (termed sigma(R')) than is found in uninduced cells. One major difference between sigma(R') and the smaller sigma(R) protein found in uninduced cells is the rapid proteolysis of sigma(R') by the ClpP1/P2 protease system. The genes for the ClpP1/ClpP2 protease subunits are themselves members of the sigma(R) regulon. The newly identified positive (sigma(R') synthesis) and negative control (selective sigma(R') turnover) aspects of this circuit are either found or predicted to exist in other related Group IV sigma factor family members.
How Much Observational Data Is Enough? An Empirical Test Using Marital Interaction Coding

Using three different samples of couples (clinic, nondistressed community, and engaged), we found that 15 minutes was sufficient to witness enough behavior to make reliable (i.e., internally consistent) estimations of most Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (Heyman & Vivian, 1993) code frequencies. Ten minutes is sufficient for many codes of interest. The ease in which “how much time is necessary” calculations can be made should entice behavioral investigators from a variety of content areas to publish such figures. By empirically investigating a factor that in most fields becomes reified through convention, investigators can conduct observational research that is both maximally efficient and maximally scientifically defensible.
Pattern recognition using ω-orbit finite automata

In this paper, a new pattern recognition scheme is proposed by the authors, which features compressing a huge input vector into a tiny one and catching the characteristics of the input vector efficiently. The development of this scheme is based on a theory of class 2 dynamical systems, where the class 2 dynamical system is defined by the authors. An approach using (omega) -Orbit Finite Automata developed by the authors is a special class of this method. This scheme has two stages, encoding and quantization. The encoding procedure stores an input vector in an attractor of a class 2 dynamical system. The quantization procedure divides the parameter space of the class 2 dynamical systems inferred at encoding stage. A retrieval algorithm for (omega) -OFA and several inference algorithms of class 2 dynamical system from a given input vector are introduced.
Japanese children's family drawings and their link to attachment

This study explored the applicability of family drawings as a tool to estimate attachment security in a sample of Japanese six-year-olds (N = 47), applying Kaplan and Main's (1986) Family Drawing system. Maternal secure/insecure attachment status judged by the Adult Attachment Interview predicted family drawings' secure/insecure distinction produced by Japanese six-year-olds. However, insecure Japanese drawings took forms not seen in the original Berkeley drawings, such as a lineup of faces alone. Further examination of the Japanese children's drawings using global rating scales (Fury, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1997) yielded significant gender differences, rarely reported in the attachment literature, with girls scoring higher in scales that predict attachment security and boys scoring higher in scales that predict attachment insecurity. However, attachment security, as captured in the drawings, was not related to attachment security, observed behaviorally using Main and Cassidy's (1988) sixth-year reunion syste...
Permeance of H2 through porous graphene from molecular dynamics

Abstract A recent experiment (Koenig et al., 2012 [15] ) demonstrated the capability of porous graphene as one-atom-thin membrane to separate gases by molecular sieving. A quantitative connection between the measured leak rate and the simulated gas permeance has yet to be established. Using H2 as a model gas, here we determine its permeance through porous graphene from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Trajectories are used to directly obtain H2 flux, pressure drop across the graphene membrane, and subsequently, H2 permeance. The permeance is determined to be on the order of 105 GPU (gas permeance unit) for pressure driving forces ranging from 2 to 163 atm. By relating to the experimental leak rate, we then use the permeation data to estimate the pore density in the experimentally created porous graphene.
Pitfalls in the diagnosis of cerebellar infarction.

Background Cerebellar infarctions are an important cause of neurologic disease. Failure to recognize and rapidly diagnose cerebellar infarction may lead to serious morbidity and mortality due to hydrocephalus and brain stem infarction. Objectives To identify sources of preventable medical errors, the authors obtained pilot data on cerebellar ischemic strokes that were initially misdiagnosed in the emergency department. Methods Fifteen cases of misdiagnosed cerebellar infarctions were collected, all seen, or reviewed by the authors during a five-year period. For each patient, they report the presenting symptoms, the findings on neurologic examination performed in the emergency department, specific areas of the examination not performed or documented, diagnostic testing, the follow-up course after misdiagnosis, and outcome. The different types of errors leading to misdiagnosis are categorized. Results Half of the patients were younger than 50 years and presented with headache and dizziness. All patients had either incomplete or poorly documented neurologic examinations. Almost all patients had a computed tomographic scan of the head interpreted as normal, and most of these patients underwent subsequent magnetic resonance imaging showing cerebellar infarction. The initial incorrect diagnoses included migraine, toxic encephalopathy, gastritis, meningitis, myocardial infarction, and polyneuropathy. The overall mortality in this patient cohort was 40%. Among the survivors, about 50% had disabling deficits. Pitfalls leading to misdiagnosis involved the clinical evaluation, diagnostic testing, and establishing a diagnosis and disposition. Conclusions This study demonstrates how the diagnosis of cerebellar infarction can be missed or delayed in patients presenting to the emergency department.
Advances in management of polycystic liver disease.

The focus of this review is polycystic liver disease, a genetic disorder characterized by multiple macroscopic liver cysts that initially bud from biliary epithelium but subsequently lack communication with the biliary tree. There are two main clinical presentations: polycystic liver associated with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and isolated polycystic liver disease. Both of these forms of polycystic liver disease exhibit an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Clinical manifestations of polycystic liver disease are related to either mass effect of the volume of hepatic cysts or to complications arising within the cysts. Polycystic liver disease rarely progresses to hepatic failure or clinical complications of portal hypertension. Management is directed at counseling patients and families, treating complications and reducing cyst load by surgical techniques: cyst fenestration, hepatic resection or, rarely, hepatic transplantation. Recent research suggests that blockade of cyst secreti...
Quasi-equilibrium reduction in a general class of stoichiometric producer–consumer models

This article compares a general closed nutrient, stoichiometric producer–consumer model to a two-dimensional ‘quasi-equilibrium’ approximation. We demonstrate that the quasi-equilibrium system can be rigorously analysed, resulting in nullcline-based criteria for the local stability of system equilibria and for the non-existence of periodic orbits. These results are applied to a study of the dependence of the reduced system on nutrient and energy enrichment. When energy and nutrient enrichment are considered together, the associated bifurcation structures of the two models are seen to share the same essential qualitative characteristics. However, numerical simulations of the three-dimensional parent model show highly complex domains of the persistence and extinction that by Poincare–Bendixson theory are not possible for the two-dimensional reduction. This complexity demonstrates a major difference between the two models, and suggests potential challenges in the use of either model for predicting the long-t...
Characterization and Evaluation of 64Cu-Labeled A20FMDV2 Conjugates for Imaging the Integrin αvβ6

Purpose The integrin αvβ6 is overexpressed in a variety of aggressive cancers and serves as a prognosis marker. This study describes the conjugation, radiolabeling, and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of four chelators to determine the best candidate for 64Cu radiolabeling of A20FMDV2, an αvβ6 targeting peptide.
Thermoelectric transport in topological insulator Bi2Te2Se bulk crystals

Bi2Te2Se (BTS221) bulk crystals were recently discovered as an intrinsic 3D topological insulator. We have synthesized this material, and studied the transport properties of BTS221 from the thermoelectrics perspective. Temperature (T) dependent resistivity measurement indicates surface dominant transports in our sample at low T. We also report Seebeck measurement between 50K to room T.
Development of Neural Systems for Reading in the Monolingual and Bilingual Brain: New Insights From Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Neuroimaging

What neural changes underlie reading development in monolingual and bilingual children? We examined neural activation patterns of younger (ages 6-8) and older (ages 8-10) children and adults to see whether early-life language experience influences the development of neural systems for reading. Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, we observed an age-related shift in neural recruitment of language areas (left inferior frontal gyrus [LIFG], superior temporal gyrus [STG]). Bilinguals showed a greater extent and variability of neural activation in bilateral IFG and STG, and higher cognitive areas (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostrolateral prefrontal cortex). This bilingual "neural signature" reveals the extent that neural systems underlying reading development can be modified through differences in early-life language experience.
Comparative Study of FinFET Versus Quasi-Planar HTI MOSFET for Ultimate Scalability

The FinFET is compared against the quasi-planar trigate bulk MOSFET with high-permittivity (high- k) dielectric trench isolation (HTI MOSFET) for low-standby-power applications, at dimensions near the end-of-roadmap (11-nm half-pitch). It is found that the optimal transistor structure depends on the fin aspect ratio (AR) and the HTI dielectric constant eHTI: for sufficiently high eHTI, the HTI MOSFET can provide comparable or lower delay as the FinFET, for AR up to ~2.5. Thus, the development of high-k dielectric and/or high-AR fin formation technologies will ultimately determine which transistor design is more advantageous.
Tobacco plastid transformation using the feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase [α]-subunit of tobacco (ASA2) as a new selectable marker

Genetic engineering of chloroplasts normally requires the stable introduction of bacterial derived antibiotic or herbicide-resistance genes as selective markers. Ecological and health concerns have been raised due to the presence of such genes within the environment or the food supply. One way to overcome this issue is the use of plant genes able to confer a metabolic or developmental advantage to the transformed cells manipulating the plant's biosynthetic pathways. We explored the feasibility of using, for plastid transformation, the selection system based on the feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase (AS) alpha-subunit gene of tobacco (ASA2) as a new selective marker and the indole analogue 4-methylindole (4MI) or the tryptophan analogue 7-methyl-DL-tryptophan (7MT) as the selection agents. An expression cassette containing Prrn-ASA2 was effectively integrated into the region between accD and ycf4 of the tobacco plastome by the biolistic process. Plastid transgenic plants were obtained on medium supplemented with 300 microM 7MT or 4MI. Transplastomic plants showed normal phenotype and fertility and the resistance to the selection agents 7MT and 4MI was transmitted maternally. The plastid transformed lines also exhibited a higher level of AS enzyme activity that was less sensitive to Trp-feedback inhibition and, consequently, increased free Trp levels in leaves about 7-fold.
A hybrid strategy with Simplified Optimal Trajectory Control for LLC resonant converters

In this paper, a Simplified Optimal Trajectory Control (SOTC) for the LLC resonant converters is proposed. During the steady state, linear compensator like PI or PID is used, controlling the switching frequency (f s ) to eliminate the steady error. However, during load transients, the Simplified Optimal Trajectory Control (SOTC) method takes over, controlling the pulse widths of the driving signals. Using the state-plane analysis, the pulse widths are estimated, letting the state variables track the optimum trajectory locus in the minimum period of time. Experimental results show that digital logic requirement is very small, but the performance improvement is significant.
Effect of Multiple Coil Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus on Blood Flow to the Left Lung as Determined by Lung Perfusion Scans

Lung perfusion scans reveal that multiple-coil closure of the ductus does not interfere with pulmonary blood flow. However, caution is necessary when placing multiple coils in small infants.
Ethnic solidarity and black business: The case of ethnic beauty aids distributors in Chicago

The development of a separate economic niche for black entrepreneurs in Chicago's ethnic beauty aids industry is examined. It is argued that this economic niche developed in response to advantages black entrepreneurs had in mobilizing ethnic resources in the black community. The findings lend support to general theoretical arguments stating that ethnicity, race, and other symbols for identity function as low-cost screening devices for evaluating the likelihood that trading partners will honor economic contracts, particularly in a market setting where formal market mechanisms are not fully developed. The findings are based on a series of in-person interviews with Korean, Jewish and black distributors of ethnic beauty aids in Chicago.
Adaptive methods to solve free boundary problems of flow through porous media

SUMMARY Grid adaptive methods combined with domain adaptation are discussed for two-dimensional seepage flow problems with free boundaries through porous media. Examples of grid and domain adaptive methods are presented to demonstrate several ways to predict grids and shapes of free boundaries using an iterative scheme. Finally, the combined adaptive methods are applied to obtain smooth non-oscillatory shape of a free boundary of seepage flow through non-homogeneous porous media.
Front side metallization of crystalline silicon solar cells using selectively laser drilled contact openings

Selective removal of the silicon nitride dielectric layer has been demonstrated even using nanosecond range laser pulses, through carefully controlling the energy density of laser pulses. It has been found that, a laser pulse with a peak energy density of 4.3 J/cm2 or lower can remove the nitride layer without altering the underlying silicon while a pulse with a peak energy density of 4.8 J/cm2 or higher will substantially damage the silicon. With the laser energy density maintained below the threshold for silicon ablation, multiple laser pulses can be used to more completely remove the nitride layer. Also, using high quality blanket sputtered nickel film as metal contact layer and screen printed silver gridlines as an etching protection mask, a new method for front side metallization has been developed. The specific contact resistance can be reduced by about two orders of magnitude compared to the conventional screen printed and fired through silver contact, and the firing temperature can be lowered to about 500°C.
The price of access: Capitalization of neighborhood contextual factors

Background Studies of neighborhood context on health behavior have not considered that the health benefits of context may be ‘capitalized’ into, or included in, higher housing values. This study examines the associations of better neighborhood context with neighborhood housing values.
Opsonic Requirements for Dendritic Cell-Mediated Responses to Cryptococcus neoformans

The encapsulated pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is poorly recognized by phagocytic cells in the absence of opsonins. Macrophages will bind and internalize complement- or antibody-opsonized C. neoformans; however, less is known about the role of opsonins in dendritic cell (DC)-mediated recognition of the organism. Thus, we studied the opsonic requirements for binding to C. neoformans by cultured human monocyte-derived and murine bone marrow-derived DCs and whether binding leads to antifungal activity and cytokine release. Binding of unopsonized C. neoformans to human and murine DCs was negligible. Opsonization with pooled human serum (PHS) increased binding, while heat treatment of PHS virtually abolished this binding, thus suggesting a role for heat-labile complement components. PHS plus a monoclonal anticapsular antibody, 3C2, had an additive effect on binding for most cryptococcal strains. Human and murine DCs exhibited pronounced anticryptococcal activity in the presence of the antibody at early (2-h) and late (24-h) time points; however, PHS opsonization did not supplement this anticryptococcal activity. Antifungal activity against C. neoformans opsonized in PHS and/or antibody was partially reduced in the presence of inhibitors of the respiratory burst response. Human, but not murine, DCs released modest amounts of tumor necrosis factor alpha when stimulated with C. neoformans opsonized in PHS and/or antibody. However, opsonized C. neoformans failed to stimulate detectable release of interleukin 10 (IL-10) or IL-12p70 from either DC population. Thus, human and murine DCs show maximal binding to and antifungal activity against C. neoformans via a process highly dependent on opsonization.
Federalist No. 72: What Happened to the Public Service Ideal?

Federalist No. 72 is an oft-neglected defense of the president’s reeligibility for election. However, the paper goes well beyond this issue to basic models of human nature and motivation. James L. Perry’s essay confronts this broad issue as a guide to “a public service ethic.” Like other authors in this special issue, Perry reads broadly through the Federalist Papers in search of a deeper definition of public service motivation as a balance between the potency of passion and the limits of reason. Controlling passion was no doubt important to the founders, but it may have drowned out the greater good envisioned in public service commitments to acting on behalf of the people.
Hemojuvelin-Neogenin Interaction Is Required for Bone Morphogenic Protein-4-induced Hepcidin Expression

Hemojuvelin (HJV) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked protein and binds both bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) and neogenin. Cellular HJV acts as a BMP co-receptor to enhance the transcription of hepcidin, a key iron regulatory hormone secreted predominantly by liver hepatocytes. In this study we characterized the role of neogenin in HJV-regulated hepcidin expression. Both HJV and neogenin were expressed in liver hepatocytes. Knockdown of neogenin decreased BMP4-induced hepcidin mRNA levels by 16-fold in HJV-expressing HepG2 cells but only by about 2-fold in cells transfected with either empty vector or G99V mutant HJV that does not bind BMPs. Further studies indicated that disruption of the HJV-neogenin interaction is responsible for a marked suppression of hepcidin expression. Moreover, in vivo studies showed that hepatic hepcidin mRNA could be significantly suppressed by blocking the interaction of HJV with full-length neogenin with a soluble fragment of neogenin in mice. Together, these results suggest that the HJV-neogenin interaction is required for the BMP-mediated induction of hepcidin expression when HJV is expressed. Combined with our previous studies, our results support that hepatic neogenin possesses two functions, mediation of cellular HJV release, and stimulation of HJV-enhanced hepcidin expression.
Cyclophilin A Plays Distinct Roles in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Entry and Postentry Events, as Revealed by Spinoculation

Cyclophilin A (CypA) is necessary for effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication. However, the functions of CypA and the precise steps at which CypA acts in the HIV-1 life cycle remain to be determined. By using a methodology that bypasses the need for attachment factors-spinoculation-we present evidence that CypA participates in both entry and postentry events.
Slow-wave high performance shielded CPW transmission lines: A lossy model

Shielded CPW transmission lines are promising candidates for the development of high-quality factor's transmission lines in millimetre-wave frequency bands, from about 10 GHz to more than 65 GHz. In this paper, state-of-the art experimental results carried out on a CMOS 0.35 µm low-cost technology are first presented. These results open new possibilities for the development of low-loss compact passive circuits. Then, in order to minimize the simulation time and computer's memory need, a simple simulation approach is validated. The simulation of classical and grounded CPW transmission lines is sufficient in order to accurately simulate the behaviour of S-CPW transmission lines, leading to very fast design procedures.
Mental Models of the Earth: A Study of Conceptual Change in Childhood

This paper presents the results of an experiment which investigated elementary school children's conceptual knowledge about the earth. First-, 3rd-, and 5th- grade children were asked a series of questions about the shape of the earth. Children's responses to these questions revealed considerable apparent inconsistency. For example, many children said that the earth is round but also stated that it has an end or edge from which people could fall. A great deal of this apparent inconsistency could be explained by assuming that the children used, in a consistent fashion, a mental model of the earth other than the spherical earth model. Five alternative mental models of the earth were identified: the rectangular earth, the disc earth, the dual earth, the hollow sphere, and the flattened sphere. It is argued that these models are constrained by certain presuppositions which children form based on interpretations of their everyday experience. Some of these models (the rectangular earth and the disc earth) seem to be initial models children construct before they are exposed to the culturally accepted information that the earth is a sphere. In the process of knowledge acquisition, children appear to modify their initial models to make them more consistent with the culturally accepted model by gradually reinterpreting their presuppositions. Synthetic models (such as the hollow sphere and the flattened sphere) are generated by children as a solution to the problems arising from the inconsistency between their initial model of a flat earth and the culturally accepted, scientific model of a spherical earth. Children come to understand that the earth is a sphere only when the presuppositions that gave rise to their initial models have been reinterpreted.
Player salary share and the distribution of player earnings

Veteran free agency in professional team sports has led to higher average player compensation, an increase in the share of league revenues going to players, and increased dispersion in player earnings. Tests on the distributions of player salaries in the last decade reject that they are the same in the early and later years. The variance in baseball player compensation is decomposed into share and marginal revenue product effects for 1990 and 1998, and it is found that both effects contributed to the increased variance in player salaries. A simulation of the effect of universal free agency in baseball suggests a modest increase in player salary share and a drop in compensation inequality among players. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Field measurement of population recruitment of Apanteles glomeratus (L.) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), and factors influencing adult parasitoid foraging success in kale

The attack rate by the parasitoid Apanteles glomeratus (L.) on laboratory-reared larvae of Pieris rapae (L.) exposed for 3–4 day periods in a kale field in Massachusetts was greater when five larvae rather than two were placed on plants. The attack rate was greatest if host larvae were in the first instar when placed in the field, and little or no attack occurred when second- or third-instar larvae were exposed. The co-occurrence of unoccupied P. rapae larval feeding sites on plants where larvae were exposed reduced attack rates. Parasitism rates in trap-host larvae and in field-collected larvae (counting only cases in which the parasitoid was still in the egg stage) did not differ as estimators of recruitment to the population of parasitized hosts either in terms of total recruitment achieved per host generation or in the temporal pattern of the recruitment. In both simple and multiple linear regressions, the density of young P. rapae larvae (either parasitized or not) was the strongest correlate of parasitoid recruitment for the whole season, whereas average air temperature was the strongest correlate in the last month of observations (September).
Transdifferentiation of alveolar epithelial type II to type I cells is controlled by opposing TGF-β and BMP signaling

Alveolar epithelial type II (ATII) cells are essential for maintaining normal lung homeostasis because they produce surfactant, express innate immune proteins, and can function as progenitors for alveolar epithelial type I (ATI) cells. Although autocrine production of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 has been shown to promote the transdifferentiation of primary rat ATII to ATI cells in vitro, mechanisms controlling this process still remain poorly defined. Here, evidence is provided that Tgf-β1, -2, -3 mRNA and phosphorylated SMAD2 and SMAD3 significantly increase as primary cultures of mouse ATII cells transdifferentiate to ATI cells. Concomitantly, bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp)-2 and -4 mRNA, and phosphorylated SMAD1/5/8 expression decrease. Exogenously supplied recombinant human TGF-β1 inhibited BMP signaling and enhanced transdifferentiation by promoting the loss of ATII cell-specific gene expression and weakly stimulating ATI cell-specific gene expression. On the other hand, exogenously supplied recombinant human BMP-4 inhibited TGF-β signaling and delayed transdifferentiation by inhibiting the gain in ATI cell-specific gene expression and weakly delaying the loss of ATII cell-specific gene expression. In mouse lung epithelial (MLE15) cells, small-interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of TGF-β receptor type-1 enhanced basal expression of ATII genes while siRNA RNA knockdown of BMP receptors type-1a and -1b enhanced basal expression of ATI genes. Together, these results suggest that the rate of ATII cell transdifferentiation is controlled by the opposing actions of BMP and TGF-β signaling that switch during the process of transdifferentiation.
Sequential Inactivation of Bacillus Subtilis Spores with Ultraviolet Radiation and Iodine

Bacillus subtilis spores were used as an indicator organism to characterize the effects of UV radiation and iodine, alone and in combination, as disinfectants for water. Spore exposures to UV radiation were conducted in shallow, well-mixed batch reactors under collimated beams. Three (essentially) monochromatic collimated UV sources were used in these experiments, with characteristic emission wavelengths of 222, 254, and 282 nm . Iodine exposures were conducted in well-mixed batch reactors. Synergism was demonstrated when UV (at certain doses) and iodine were used as sequential disinfectants; synergism was attributed to UV-induced damage that enhanced the susceptibility of spores to iodine.