cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in the human vocal tract due to aging and the acoustic correlates of speech production: A pilot study

This investigation used a derivation of acoustic reflection (AR) technology to make cross-sectional measurements of changes due to aging in the oral and pharyngeal lumina of male and female speakers. The purpose of the study was to establish preliminary normative data for such changes and to obtain acoustic measurements of changes due to aging in the formant frequencies of selected spoken vowels and their long-term average spectra (LTAS) analysis. Thirty-eight young men and women and 38 elderly men and women were involved in the study. The oral and pharyngeal lumina of the participants were measured with AR technology, and their formant frequencies were analyzed using the Kay Elemetrics Computerized Speech Lab. The findings have delineated specific and similar patterns of aging changes in human vocal tract configurations in speakers of both genders. Namely, the oral cavity length and volume of elderly speakers increased significantly compared to their young cohorts. The total vocal tract volume of elderly speakers also showed a significant increment, whereas the total vocal tract length of elderly speakers did not differ significantly from their young cohorts. Elderly speakers of both genders also showed similar patterns of acoustic changes of speech production, that is, consistent lowering of formant frequencies (especially F1) across selected vowel productions. Although new research models are still needed to succinctly account for the speech acoustic changes of the elderly, especially for their specific patterns of human vocal tract dimensional changes, this study has innovatively applied the noninvasive and cost-effective AR technology to monitor age-related human oral and pharyngeal lumina changes that have direct consequences for speech production.
A Formative Experiment to Enhance Teacher-Child Language Interactions in a Preschool Classroom.

A formative experiment investigated how two strategies aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of language interactions could be integrated into a preschool classroom. Strategies for enriching...
The American Institute of Ultrasound Policy and statement on safety

Abstract While no simple, absolute answers exist to the question of the safety of diagnostic ultrasound, the available information suggests the following reasonable attitudes towards its medical use. Diagnostic ultrasound has proven to be a valuable tool in medical practice and should be used without hesitation, with appropriate equipment and procedures, when medical benefit is expected. An excellent safety record exists in that after decades of clinical use there is no known instance of human injury due to diagnostic ultrasound.
Microscale thermomechanical characterization of environmentally conditioned shape memory polymers

Abstract Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are an emerging class of active polymers that have dual-shape capability and are, therefore, candidate materials for reconfigurable structures. However, the durability of SMPs has not been fully investigated to ensure they function properly in relevant environments. In this study, epoxy-based SMPs were conditioned separately in simulated service environments designed to be reflective of anticipated performance requirements, namely, (1) exposure to UV radiation for 125 cycles, (2) immersion in lube oil at ambient temperature, (3) immersion in water at 49 °C. A novel high-temperature indentation method was used to evaluate the shape recovery ability and mechanical properties of the conditioned SMPs. Results show that environmentally conditioned SMPs generally exhibit decreased glass transition temperatures and higher moduli and strain rate sensitivities in comparison to an unconditioned one. Environmental conditioning affects the shape recovery abilities of the SMPs if the recovery temperatures are set low. In particular, the UV exposed and water immersed SMPs exhibit noticeable lower shape recovery ratios compared to the unconditioned material. When the recovery temperature is above T g , the material’s ability to regain shape remains relatively unchanged with conditioning.
A Syndrome Resembling Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis in the Dog

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LYG) was diagnosed in seven dogs. Most of the affected dogs were young to middle -aged, and there was no breed or sex predilection. Basophilia was detected in six of the seven dogs. Radiographic abnormalities included lung lobe consolidation or pulmonary mass lesions, as well as abnormally large tracheobronchial lymph nodes. Histologic changes included angiocentric and angiodestructive pulmonary infiltrates characterized by large lymphoreticular and plasmacytoid cells as well as normal lymphocytes, eosinophils, and plasma cells. Five dogs were treated with combination chemotherapy, and three had a complete response to treatment. (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1989; 3:15–19)
Self-reported natural history of recurrent prolapse among women presenting to a tertiary care center

Abstract Objective To describe the characteristics of recurrent pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Methods A convenience sample of patients presenting with recurrent POP symptoms between October 2007 and February 2010 completed questionnaires. The survey focused on timing of recurrence(s), symptoms, and demographics. Results Ninety-seven women completed questionnaires. Thirty-four (35.1%) had undergone multiple prior treatments. Overall, 23 of 76 (30.3%) women had not informed their surgeon of the recurrence. Twenty-seven of 59 (45.8%) women reported that their symptoms were the same as before treatment, whereas 23 of 59 (39.0%) reported more severe symptoms. POP was considered to be persistent if symptoms returned within 3 months, and recurrent if symptom relief exceeded 3 months. After primary surgery, 28 of 79 (35.4%) cases were considered to be persistent, whereas 51 (64.6%) cases were recurrent. Similar percentages were seen after second and third treatments. Conclusion Overall, 35% of participants experienced early return of symptoms. Almost one-third of participants had not informed their surgeon of the recurrence, indicating that there may not be an accurate self-assessment of outcome in the absence of careful follow-up.
Alleviation of mechanical and thermal allodynia by CGRP8-37 in a rodent model of chronic central pain

CGRP(8-37) is a truncated version of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) that binds to the CGRP receptor with similar affinity but does not activate the receptor and is a highly selective CGRP receptor antagonist. CGRP and activation of its receptor appear to play a role in peripheral inflammatory and neuropathic models of pain although there is considerable controversy. The aim of this study was to examine possible anti-nociceptive effects of CGRP(8-37) on a model of chronic central neuropathic pain known to develop weeks after spinal hemisection. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were given a spinal hemisection (N=34) or a sham surgery (N=10) at the T13 spinal segment. An externally accessible PE-10 intrathecal catheter that terminated at T13 was used for drug delivery. Animals were allowed to recover for 4 weeks at which time the hemisected animals displayed mechanical and thermal allodynia bilaterally, in both forelimbs and hindlimbs. CGRP(8-37) was delivered just prior to a testing session in 1, 5, 10, or 50 nM doses in artificial cerebral spinal fluid in 10 microl volumes. CGRP(8-37) was effective in alleviating mechanical and thermal allodynia in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). The 50 nM dose was most efficacious for both forelimb and hindlimb responses (P<0.05). The period of efficacy was 10 min to onset for a duration of 20 min. Post-drug washout responses were not statistically significant compared to pre-drug responses. The sham control groups demonstrated no statistically significant difference at any dose of CGRP(8-37) when compared to pre-surgical baseline values. In conclusion, CGRP(8-37) is effective in abolishing mechanical and thermal allodynia produced by spinal hemisection. Consequently, the CGRP receptor may play a role in chronic central neuropathic pain and offers a novel therapeutic approach to managing chronic central pain.
Cell-specific Activation of the Glial-specific JC Virus Early Promoter by Large T Antigen

JC virus causes the human demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy by selective infection of glial cells. This cell specificity results from glial-specific expression of viral early genes (large and small T antigens). Analysis of transcriptional regulation by the MH1 JC virus early promoter demonstrates that glial specificity is directed by the basal promoter. Because T antigen regulates the basal region of several viral and cellular promoters, we investigated whether it controls the JC virus basal promoter in a glial-specific manner. A JC virus T antigen expression plasmid generated a 95-kDa protein which exhibited nuclear localization and physical association with p53. T antigen repressed the JC virus and SV40 early promoters 4- to 5-fold in glioma cells. Conversely, T antigen induced 100- to 200-fold activation of the JC virus early promoter in nonglial cells, whereas the SV40 promoter was repressed. Activation required the JC virus TATA box sequence and a pentanucleotide repeat immediately upstream of the TATA box, but was independent of the upstream enhancer region. These data demonstrate that the JC virus basal promoter is responsible for glial-specific gene expression and suggest a mechanism for this regulation.
Application of Child Art Theories to the Interpretation of Children's Art

The primary purpose of this paper is to assemble information about theories of child art into a conceptual basis related to the interpretation of children's art. A general overview of nine theories...
A Method for Obtaining Amacronucleated Animals in Paramecium aurelia.

Amacronucleated single animals of Paramecium aurelia are produced by a three-step procedure. The three steps are: 1) the formation of homopolar double animals, 2) the reduction in number of macronuclei from two to one and the maintenance of this unimacronucleated condition, and 3) the occurrence of clefts in these unimacronucleated double animals. The amacronu-cleated single animals are produced from the unimacronucleated, partially separated, homopolar double animals either by fission or by the complete separation of the two components of the double animals. The method described may apply in principle to many other ciliates.
Lipid biosynthesis in bovine mammary cells from [1-14C]butyrate

Abstract 1. 1. Lactating mammary cells incorporated [1- 14 C]butyrate (30 nmoles per mg. protein per 12 hours) into various lipid classes when cultured in vitro . 2. 2. The preponderance of the radioactivity( > 80 per cent) was in the triglyceride fraction with smaller quantities in other lipids. phospholipids (4 per cent), diglycerides (6 per cent), free fatty acids (7-0 per cent), monoglycerides (1 per cent), and cholesterol esters (0.5 per cent). 3. 3. Radiogaschromatography showed that butyrate was used in the synthesis of fatty acids C 4 -C 16 inclusive. After 12 hours lauric acid (C 12 : v ) had the highest specific activity.
Role of cytochrome P-450 in hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity to LLC-PK1 cells

The current study was designed to test the role of cytochrome P-450 in hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity, and to determine whether it may serve as a source of catalytic iron. Hydrogen peroxide led to iron release (as measured by iron/bathophenanthroline complex) from the microsomes prepared from LLC-PK1 cells. Cimetidine, which inhibits cytochrome P-450 by interacting with the heme iron, significantly blocked iron release, whereas ranitidine, which has a similar structure as cimetidine but is a weak inhibitor of P-450, did not have an effect (H2O2, 0.42 +/- 0.04; H2O2 + cimetidine, 0.23 +/- 0.02 nmol/mg protein; N = 4, P < 0.01). Exposure of LLC-PK1 cells to hydrogen peroxide (2.5 mM) resulted in a significant increase in the bleomycin-detectable iron (iron capable of catalyzing free radical reactions) content that was prevented by cimetidine, but not ranitidine. We then examined the effect of the inhibitors of cytochrome P-450 on cell death (as measured by Trypan blue exclusion) after exposure of LLC-PK1 cells to 2.5 mM hydrogen peroxide for 120 minutes. Inhibition of cytochrome P-450 by cimetidine significantly reduced the cell death; the effect was observed with 0.05 mM and was concentration dependent with 1 mM affording almost complete protection (H2O2, 59 +/- 1.3% vs. H2O2 + cimetidine, 11 +/- 0.7%; N = 5, P < 0.01). In contrast, ranitidine did not show any protection. We confirmed that the protective effect of cimetidine was not related to scavenging hydrogen peroxide or hydroxyl radicals or chelating iron. A second inhibitor of cytochrome P-450, piperonyl butoxide, had a similar dose-dependent beneficial effect against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell injury. Our data thus indicate an important role of cytochrome P-450 in hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity to LLC-PK1 cells and suggest that cytochrome P-450 may serve as a source of catalytic iron.
Theoretical aspects of the chromatographic analysis of heterogeneous polymers

Abstract A method for the chromatographic analysis of heterogeneous polymers is proposed and theoretically confirmed. Such polymers include block and random copolymers, oligomers and polymers with functional groups. The basis of this procedure is the combined use of two main variants of liquid chromatography, size-exclusion and adsorption chromatography. The experimental data are treated by the methods of the theory of distributions. This procedure makes it possible to determine the molecular weight distribution of heterogeneous polymers and their compositional distribution and the distribution of functional groups. The possibility of using the adsorption variant of liquid chromatography under both isocratic and gradient conditions is considered.
Conjugate crenulation cleavages in the Uncompahgre Formation, Needle Mountains, Colorado

Abstract Multiply deformed metasediments of the Proterozoic Uncompahgre Formation contain a well-developed conjugate set of crenulation cleavages and related folds. Conjugate character is indicated by the presence of conjugate folds and crenulations, synchronous cleavage development, lack of consistency in sense of overprinting where overprinting exists, and bimodal attitude distribution on πS2 diagrams. Despite the overall conjugate character of the folds and cleavages, most outcrops exhibit only one of the two possible sets. Attitudes of fold hinges and intersection lineations suggest that these conjugate structures formed late in the second phase of deformation, after extensive D1 transposition and after D2 macroscopic folds were well-developed and cut by fold-related thrusts. Although considerable controversy exists regarding whether non-conjugate sets of crenulation cleavages develop parallel to the XY plane of the strain ellipsoid or not, it is clear that conjugate crenulation cleavages must develop at an oblique angle to the XY plane. Although individual outcrops may develop one member of a conjugate set to the exclusion of the other, mechanical and geometric constraints necessary for conjugate cleavage development appear to be such that it is extremely unlikely that only one member of a conjugate set would develop over an entire region to the total exclusion of its conjugate pair. Although similar in appearance, conjugate and non-conjugate crenulation cleavages appear to be two different species, one forming at a substantial oblique angle to the XY plane, the other probably forming parallel or nearly parallel to it.
Online privacy as legal safeguard: the relationship among consumer, online portal, and privacy policies

Several surveys attest to growing public concerns regarding privacy, aggravated by the diffusion of information technologies. A policy of self-regulation that allows individual companies to implement self-designed privacy statements is prevalent in the United States. These statements rarely provide specific privacy guarantees that personal information will be kept confidential. This study provides a discourse analysis of such privacy statements to determine their overall efficacy as a policy measure. The in-depth analysis of privacy statements revealed that they offer little protection to the consumer, instead serving to authorize business practices which allow companies to profit from consumer data. Using public good theory as a foundation, policy implications are discussed.
Evidence of structure II hydrate formation from methane+ethane mixtures

Methane and ethane are each known to form structure I (sI) hydrates. However, Raman and NMR spectroscopic measurements made on clathrate hydrates formed from binary gas mixtures of methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) indicate that structure II (sII) hydrate forms in this system for certain compositions. Raman band frequencies for ethane and NMR chemical shifts for ethane were used to identify the hydrate structure in these studies. Raman spectra obtained from six different CH4+C2H6 hydrates at Lw–H–V equilibrium conditions and 274.2 K indicate a change in hydrate structure from sI to sII between 72.2 and 75 mol% of methane in the vapor. Areas under peaks in the Raman spectra suggest that this change in hydrate structure is associated with a 20% change in hydrate guest composition. Absolute cage occupancies and hydration numbers are obtained from the Raman data. Analysis of the sI to sII transition and a phase diagram for the CH4+C2H6 hydrate system are discussed. High-resolution, solid-state NMR measurements at 253 K confirm that CH4+C2H6 gas mixtures can form either sI or sII hydrates, depending on the vapor composition.
Approaches to ionospheric modelling, simulation and prediction

The ionosphere is a complex, multispecies, anisotropic medium that exhibits a significant variation with time, space, season, solar cycle, and geomagnetic activity. In recent years, a wide range of models have been developed in an effort to describe ionospheric behavior. The modeling efforts include: (1) empirical models based on extensive worldwide data sets; (2) simple analytical models for a restricted number of ionospheric parameters; (3) comprehensive, 3D, time-dependent models that require supercomputers; (4) spherical harmonic models based on fits to output obtained from comprehensive numerical models; and (5) ionospheric models driven by real-time magnetospheric inputs. In an effort to achieve simplicity, some of the models have been restricted to certain altitude or latitude domains, while others have been restricted to certain ionospheric parameters, such as the F-region peak density, the auroral conductivity, and the plasma temperatures. The current status of the modeling efforts is reviewed.
Recommendations for initial antibiotic treatment of extracavitary arterial graft infections

Abstract Background: Initial antibiotic treatment of extracavitary arterial graft infections is usually empiric or based on Gram's stain findings. Increasing virulence of bacteria causing extracavitary arterial graft infections may render previous choices of antibiotics obsolete. The purposes of this study were to correlate Gram's stain findings of grampositive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria with wound cultures and provide a microbiologic basis for appropriate initial antibiotic therapy. Methods: Between July 1, 1979 and June 30, 1994, specimens obtained on the day of admission from purulent wounds involving 113 extracavitary arterial graft infections were retrospectively reviewed for Gram's stain and culture and sensitivity results. Results: Gram's stain findings correlated with final cultures in only 28 of 113 cases (25%), including 20 of 48 pure gram-positive, 2 of 24 pure gram-negative, and 6 of 41 mixed bacterial cultures. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common gram-positive bacteria cultured (43 isolates) and Pseudomonas species was the most common gram-negative bacteria (25 isolates). Bacteria were sensitive to a first-generation cephalosporin in only 32% (36 of 113) of infections. A combination of vancomycin and either ticarcillin-clavulanic acid or ceftazidime, which have minimal toxicity and provide excellent coverage against staphylococci, Pseudomonas , and other gram-negative bacteria, would have covered 96% (109) and 95% (107) of cultured organisms, respectively. Conclusions: Regardless of Gram's stain findings, current recommendations for initial treatment of extracavitary arterial graft infections should include vancomycin and ceftazidime or ticarcillin-clavulanic acid until final culture and sensitivity results dictate the use of more selective antibiotics.
Learning from the pioneers: A multiple-case analysis of implementing Lean in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to capture challenges faced and lessons learned when implementing Lean in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – During 2010-2014, faculty, staff, and administration from three community colleges and four four-year universities attended Educational Lean workshops. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the administrators who originally sought the training opportunity or their designee who coordinated Lean events. Findings – The paper provides insights from seven colleges and universities who have experience with implementing Lean in higher education. Organizational and personal elements are identified and discussed along with seven critical reflection questions to consider before implementing Lean. Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to understand the role of the senior leadership team when implementing Lean as a continuous improvement strategy. This research provides some insight, but is limited to the factors identified b...
Efficient simulation budget allocation for selecting the best set of simplest good enough designs

Simple designs have many advantages compared with complex designs, such as requiring less computing and memory resources, and easier to interpret and to implement. Therefore, they are usually more preferable than complex designs in the real world if their performances are within a good enough range. In this paper, we propose an algorithm OCBA-bSG to identify a best subset of m simplest and good enough designs among K (K > m) total designs. The numerical results show that our approach allocates the simulation budget efficiently, and outperforms some other approaches on the test problems.
The Annual Cycle of the Energy Budget. Part II: Meridional Structures and Poleward Transports

Meridional structure and transports of energy in the atmosphere, ocean, and land are evaluated holistically for the mean and annual cycle zonal averages over the ocean, land, and global domains, with discussion and assessment of uncertainty. At the top of the atmosphere (TOA), adjusted radiances from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) are used along with estimates of energy storage and transport from two global reanalysis datasets for the atmosphere. Three ocean temperature datasets are used to assess changes in the ocean heat content (OE) and their relationship to the net upward surface energy flux over ocean (F o ), which is derived from the residual of the TOA and atmospheric energy budgets. The surface flux over land is from a stand-alone simulation of the Community Land Model forced by observed fields. In the extratropics, absorbed solar radiation (ASR) achieves a maximum in summer with peak values near the solstices. Outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) maxima also occur in summer but lag ASR by 1–2 months, consistent with temperature maxima over land. In the tropics, however, OLR relates to high cloud variations and peaks late in the dry monsoon season, while the OLR minima in summer coincide with deep convection in the monsoon trough at the height of the rainy season. Most of the difference between the TOA radiation and atmospheric energy storage tendency is made up by a large heat flux into the ocean in summer and out of the ocean in winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, the transport of energy from ocean to land regions is substantial in winter, and modest in summer. In the Southern Hemisphere extratropics, land ocean differences play only a small role and the main energy transport by the atmosphere and ocean is poleward. There is reasonably good agreement between F o and observed changes in OE, except for south of 40°S, where differences among several ocean datasets point to that region as the main source of errors in achieving an overall energy balance. The winter hemisphere atmospheric circulation is the dominant contributor to poleward energy transports outside of the tropics [6–7 PW (1 petawatt 10 15 W)], with summer transports being relatively weak (3 PW)—slightly more in the Southern Hemisphere and slightly less in the Northern Hemisphere. Ocean transports outside of the tropics are found to be small (2 PW) for all months. Strong cross-equatorial heat transports in the ocean of up to 5 PW exhibit a large annual cycle in phase with poleward atmospheric transports of the winter hemisphere.
Fast and robust progressive stereo reconstruction by symmetry guided fusion

Acquiring photorealistic 3D computer models of objects has been a very active research area with most important applications in Virtual Reality and Multimedia systems. This paper deals with a generalization of dense stereo reconstruction, which forms the basis for incremental fusing of stereo sequences to construct a 3-D model of underwater natural objects. The approach is fast and robust. Initialized with a set of robust feature matches over the left and right images, efficient left-to-right and right-to-left stereo matching are carried out by match propagation [Q. Chen, G. Medioni, 1999]. Symmetry relation between the two stereo matchings is utilized to guide robust fusion. Where a large difference exists between the two dense stereo reconstructions, it is most probable that at least one estimate is erroneous, thus is rejected. Conversely, small differences are expected because of the discrete nature of the disparity values. When fused these two estimates, better results are expected. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Percutaneous transmyocardial intracardiac retroperfusion shunts: technical feasibility in a canine model.

PURPOSE To test the technical feasibility of creating a left ventricle to coronary sinus shunt using endovascular techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS By means of a right jugular vein approach, a needle puncture was made from the coronary sinus to the left ventricle in 10 dogs. The tracts were balloon dilated and lined with 6-mm Wallstents. Shunt patencies, immediate and 4-hours later, were fluoroscopically assessed by contrast material injection into the left ventricle. Blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, and cardiac rhythm were monitored. The dogs were then euthanized. Thoracic cavities and hearts were dissected and inspected. RESULTS Technical success and immediate shunt patency were 100%. No cardiac dysrhythmias, electrocardiographic changes, or reduction in voltage potential were seen. Eight (80%) of the shunts were patent at 4 hours, one (10%) had thrombosed, and one dog died. Nine (90%) dogs had no pericardial hematoma and one (10%) had minimal pericardial blood from needle passes into the pericardial sac. The coronary sinuses were intact and no injuries to the valve leaflets or chordae tendineae were seen. The puncture sites were from the coronary sinus, 1–2 mm (mean, 1.3) from its auricular orifice, into the left ventricle, just below the inferior margin of the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. One dog died at 3 hours with no preceding electrocardiographic evidence of impending demise. Autopsy showed no pericardial hematoma and the heart findings were no different from the other nine dogs. CONCLUSIONS Creation of a left ventricle to coronary sinus shunt with use of endovascular techniques is technically feasible. Study of a transmyocardial intracardiac coronary retroperfusion shunt to deliver oxygenated blood to the ischemic myocardium is warranted.
Communicating Software Architecture using a Unified Single-View Visualization

Software is among the most complex human artifacts, and visualization is widely acknowledged as important to understanding software. In this paper, we consider the problem of understanding a software system's architecture through visualization. Whereas traditional visualizations use multiple stakeholder-specific views to present different kinds of task- specific information, we propose an additional visualization technique that unifies the presentation of various kinds of architecture-level information, thereby allowing a variety of stakeholders to quickly see and communicate current development, quality, and costs of a software system. For future empirical evaluation of multi-aspect, single-view architectural visualizations, we have implemented our idea in an existing visualization tool, Vizz3D. Our implementation includes techniques, such as the use of a city metaphor, that reduce visual complexity in order to support single-view visualizations of large-scale programs.
Antigenic Structure of Surface-Exposed Regions of the Major Outer-Membrane Protein of Chlamydia trachomatis

The major outer-membrane protein (MOMP) of Chlamydia trachomatis displays a number of surface-exposed epitopes. Some of these are shared by all or some of the 15 known serovars, whereas others are serovar-specific. With use of epitope-mapping analysis of limited proteolytic digests of purified MOMPs with monoclonal antibodies, the present study assessed whether the same or different surface-exposed regions of the protein express these different epitopes. Results with both chymotrypsin and the staphylococcal V8 protease for MOMP of serovar F indicated that many of the shared surface epitopes are clustered in one region whereas the serovar-reactive epitope is located in a separate region. Analysis of MOMPs from all the serovars with a species-specific monoclonal antibody indicated that each MOMP possesses a structurally analogous region that expresses this epitope. Such a region might play a role in pathogenic mechanisms that are shared by all serovars.
Activate this classroom at time now

Active and cooperative learning methods represent a paradigm shift in the delivery of engineering education. These techniques recognize that the passive model of the typical college lecture does not work for many students. Instead, active and cooperative learning focuses on the premise that students learn best by doing and working with each other. This paper presents background information on active and cooperative learning techniques at a practical level for immediate incorporation into simulation education. Tips and examples for how to transform a standard lecture into a cooperative exercise are given and the author’s experiences with these techniques are detailed.
Assessing phonological awareness in kindergarten children: Issues of task comparability

Ten different phonological awareness tasks were administered to a group of kindergarten children whose reading ability was assessed 1 year later. The extraneous cognitive requirements inherent in the tasks varied widely. The children’s performance on three tasks that involved a rhyming response was at ceiling, and these tasks did not correlate with subsequent reading progress. The other seven measures were all moderately related to later reading ability and, employed in sets, were very strong predictors. The relative predictive accuracy of the phonological tasks was equal to or better than more global measures of cognitive skills such as an intelligence test and a reading readiness test. The phonological tasks had a large amount of common variance. Factor analysis revealed only one factor on which all the nonrhyming phonological tasks loaded highly. The results bolster the construct validity of phonological awareness, indicate considerable comparability and interchangeability among the tasks used to measure the construct, and are encouraging as regards the possible use of such tasks in predictive test batteries.
Policy-based coordination in joint human-agent activity

In this paper, we outline an approach to policy-based coordination in joint human-agent activity. The approach is grounded in a theory of joint activity originally developed in the context of discourse, and now applied to the broader realm of human-agent interaction. We have been gradually implementing selected aspects of policy-based coordination within the KAoS services framework and have been developing a body of examples that guide additional testing of these ideas through detailed studies of work practice.
Op-amps as "firm" virtual components for systems-on-chip

We propose a new design methodology for op-amps as "firm" Virtual Components for Systems-on-Chip. A fast time to market, robustness to process variation and process migration, and the fact that most SOC designers are digital designers require a new approach to analog design that is closer to digital methods. Our symmetry-based design method consists of a series of "rules of thumb" that ensure a robust functionality and good performance. The resulting "firm" virtual components are easy to generate by computer, have a regular layout, and can be scaled for different performance levels without the multiplicity characteristics for "hard" components.
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase modulates vascular smooth muscle contraction by calcium and myosin light chain phosphorylation-independent and -dependent pathways

Regulation of smooth muscle contraction involves a number of signaling mechanisms that include both kinase and phosphatase reactions. The goal of the present study was to determine the role of one ...
Modeling TCP/IP stack in a single custom processor, with secure data transmission to an Altera-based Web server

Many challenges have been investigated in the past few years to make network communications more secured, more reliable, scalable, standardized, and higher performance. Implementations of these researches vary, taking into consideration several features of embedded system design, such as cost, flexibility, performance, and size. Embedded system cores for network communication are becoming much important recently; due to the demands placed by Smart Grid, sensor mobile network, and etc. However, embedded system designs have unique challenges such as cost, flexibility, and size. In this research, we are aiming to achieve secure and high performance network communication based on TCP/IP protocol stack. NicheStack TCP/IP is a light weight library written in C. Furthermore, in this research, we deployed NicheStack TCP/IP on Nios II processor to serve as protocol suit for a Web server application. Then, we integrated the ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) C code within the web server source code to achieve a secure communication; therefore, we had to know exactly which part of the web server source code is responsible for receiving data from the client and transmitting the data to the Altera board's LCD. Consequently, we made sure that the integrated system: the web server, and the ECC program hides information if the secret is not provided. We used an http client to access the web server through the Internet. The client sends an encrypted data through the network to the web server application that is based on Nios II system securely.
Mechanism of hypoxemia in acute lung injury evaluated by multidetector-row CT.

Rationale and Objectives. Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) is a homeostatic mechanism causing pulmonary arterial constriction in response to local hypoxia, redistributing blood flow to lung regions with better oxygenation and ventilation. We present the use of computed tomographic (CT) volume and perfusion imaging to show differences in the mechanisms of hypoxemia from alterations in blood flow distribution within different animal models of acute lung injury (ALI). Materials and Methods. Three anesthetized, instrumented, and ventilated sheep were studied, two with induced ALI and one with native pneumonia. One subject was injured by using intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the other, by repetitive saline lavage. Subjects were imaged using multidetector-row CT (MDCT) before and after injury. Lung volume scans were gated to the respiratory cycle. Contrast injection perfusion images were electrocardiogram gated. Computer-based image analysis quantified regional blood flow and total lung, air, and tissue volumes. Results. Total lung air fraction was decreased in both ALI models. In lavage injury, there was a decrease in perfusion to dependent poorly aerated regions, with perfusion shifting to nondependent regions. Conversely, LPS injury greatly increased perfusion to dependent poorly aerated regions. In the subject with pneumonia, decreasing fraction of inspired oxygen redistributed blood flow into the injured regions. Conclusions. MDCT techniques can be used to investigate regional lung perfusion and lung volume distributions to explain physiological mechanisms in ALI. Our findings suggest that after lavage injury, blood flow is redistributed, consistent with preserved HPV and resulting in better oxygenation despite greater lung volume loss compared with LPS injury. In native pneumonia, HPV inactivation can be localized to the injured regions. © AUR, 2006
A reconfigurable interconnect fabric with optical circuit switch and software optimizer for stream computing systems

An optical circuit switched network using a 3D-MEMS crossbar is demonstrated in a datacenter-scalable stream processing system. We developed a complete software control, routing and scheduling framework to interconnect clusters of blade servers.
Intercellular adhesion molecule-1-dependent neutrophil adhesion to endothelial cells induces caveolae-mediated pulmonary vascular hyperpermeability

We investigated the role of caveolae in the mechanism of increased pulmonary vascular permeability and edema formation induced by the activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). We observed that the increase in lung vascular permeability induced by the activation of PMNs required caveolin-1, the caveolae scaffold protein. The permeability increase induced by PMN activation was blocked in caveolin-1 knockout mice and by suppressing caveolin-1 expression in rats. The response was also dependent on Src phosphorylation of caveolin-1 known to activate caveolae-mediated endocytosis in endothelial cells. To address the role of PMN interaction with endothelial cells, we used an intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 blocking monoclonal antibody. Preventing the ICAM-1-mediated PMN binding to endothelial cells abrogated Src phosphorylation of caveolin-1, as well as the increase in endothelial permeability. Direct ICAM-1 activation by crosslinking recapitulated these responses, suggesting that ICAM-1 activates caveolin-1 signaling responsible for caveolae-mediated endothelial hyperpermeability. Our results provide support for the novel concept that a large component of pulmonary vascular hyperpermeability induced by activation of PMNs adherent to the vessel wall is dependent on signaling via caveolin-1 and increased caveolae-mediated transcytosis. Thus, it is important to consider the role of the transendothelial vesicular permeability pathway that contributes to edema formation in developing therapeutic interventions against PMN-mediated inflammatory diseases such as acute lung injury.
In vivo optical trapping indicates kinesin's stall force is reduced by dynein during intracellular transport.

Kinesin and dynein are fundamental components of intracellular transport, but their interactions when simultaneously present on cargos are unknown. We built an optical trap that can be calibrated in vivo during data acquisition for each individual cargo to measure forces in living cells. Comparing directional stall forces in vivo and in vitro, we found evidence that cytoplasmic dynein is active during minus- and plus-end directed motion, whereas kinesin is only active in the plus direction. In vivo, we found outward (∼plus-end) stall forces range from 2 to 7 pN, which is significantly less than the 5- to 7-pN stall force measured in vitro for single kinesin molecules. In vitro measurements on beads with kinesin-1 and dynein bound revealed a similar distribution, implying that an interaction between opposite polarity motors causes this difference. Finally, inward (∼minus-end) stalls in vivo were 2–3 pN, which is higher than the 1.1-pN stall force of a single dynein, implying multiple active dynein.
Hydrodynamic transport coefficients in relativistic scalar field theory.

Hydrodynamic transport coefficients may be evaluated from first principals in a weakly coupled scalar field theory at an arbitrary temperature. In a theory with cubic and quartic interactions, the infinite class of diagrams which contributes to the leading weak coupling behavior is identified and summed. The resulting expression may be reduced to a single linear integral equation, which is shown to be identical to the corresponding result obtained from a linearized Boltzmann equation describing effective thermal excitations with temperature-dependent masses and scattering amplitudes. The effective Boltzmann equation is valid even at very high temperature where the thermal lifetime and mean free path are short compared to the Compton wavelength of the fundamental particles. Numerical results for the shear and the bulk viscosities are presented.
Brazil's Balbina Dam: Environment versus the legacy of the Pharaohs in Amazonia

The Balbina Dam in Brazil's state of Amazonas floods 2360 km2 of tropical forest to generate an average of only 112.2 MW of electricity. The flat topography and small size of the drainage basin make output small. Vegetation has been left to decompose in the reservoir, resulting in acidic, anoxic water that will corrode the turbines. The shallow reservoir contains 1500 islands and innumerable stagnant bays where the water's residence time will be even longer than the average time of over one year. Balbina was built to supply electricity to Manaus, a city that has grown so much while the dam was under construction that other alternatives are already needed. Government subsidies explain the explosive growth, including Brazil's unified tariff for electricity. Alternative power sources for Manaus include transmission from more distant dams or from recently discovered oil and natural gas deposits. Among Balbina's impacts are loss of potential use of the forest and displacement of about one third of the surviving members of a much-persecuted Amerindian tribe: the Waimiri-Atroari. The dam was closed on 1 October 1987 and the first of five generators began operation in February 1989. The example of Balbina points to important ways that the decision-making process could be improved in Brazil and in the international funding agencies that have directly and indirectly contributed to the project. Environmental impact analyses must be completed prior to decisions on overall project implementation and must be free of influence from project proponents. The current environmental impact assessment system in Brazil, as in many other countries, has an undesirable influence on science policy, in addition to failing to address the underlying causes of environmentally destructive development processes and inability to halt “irreversible” projects like Balbina.
Understanding older adult satisfaction with primary health care services at a nursing center

The measurement of satisfaction levels is a positive evaluation of a distinct health care outcome. The purposes of this descriptive-correlational study were to describe the following: (a) the levels of satisfaction with primary health care services received at a nursing center (NC), and (b) the relationships between satisfaction levels and the demographic characteristics of the older adult NC clients. Older adult clients were very satisfied with the primary health care. Subscale analysis showed that the clients were most satisfied with the technical aspects of professional nursing.
On the microscopic theory of polar solvation dynamics

A microscopic model of the time-resolved Stokes shift is developed. The model calculates the solvation dynamics by combining the atomic resolution of the solute structure with dipolar dynamics from the polarization structure factors of the homogeneous solvent. Calculations are made for coumarin 153 and quinoxaline optical dyes with atomic geometries and charge distributions taken from quantum calculations. Stokes shift dynamics is calculated and compared to experiment in high-temperature acetonitrile and methanol and in low-temperature 2-methyl-tetrahydrofurane using dielectric relaxation data from experiment.
The three-dimensional structure of periodic vorticity layers under non-symmetric conditions

Numerical simulations of a three-dimensional temporally growing shear layer are obtained at high Reynolds number and zero Froude number using a vortex scheme modified for a variable-density flow. Attention is focused on the effect of initial vorticity and density distributions on the interaction between instability modes which lead to the generation and intensification of streamwise vorticity. Results show that the three-dimensional instabilities evolve following the formation of concentrated span wise vorticity cores. The deformation of each core along its span resembles the amplification of the translative instability. The generation of vortex rods, which wrap around individual cores while stretching between neighbouring cores, suggest a mode similar to the Corcos instability. The instability modes leading to the formation of both structures, energized by the extensional strain generated by the cores, grow simultaneously. A similar series of events occurs in variable-density shear layers and in shear layers which start with an asymmetric vorticity distribution. Baroclinic vorticity generation in the variable-density layer leads to the formation of asymmetric cores whose volumetric composition is biased towards the lighter fluid. The structures are propelled, by their asymmetric vorticity distribution, in the direction of the heavier stream while their eccentric spinning forces an uneven stretching of the vortex rods. The origin of the asymmetry is established by comparing these with the results of a shear layer with an initially asymmetric vorticity distribution in a uniform-density flow. The strong late-stage asymmetry exhibited by the former is not observed in the latter. Thus, baroclinic vorticity generation is responsible for the observed symmetry. We also find that initially asymmetric vorticity distribution does not, as suggested before, lead to asymmetric spacing between the streamwise rods, it is concluded that the experimentally observed asymmetric spacing must arise after pairing.