cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liquid fuel combustion within silicon-carbide coated carbon foam

Abstract Combustion of kerosene inside porous inert medium (PIM) has been investigated with the goal of reducing the emissions of nitric oxides (NO x ), carbon monoxide (CO) and soot. Silicon-carbide (SiC) coated carbon foam is used as PIM to attain high structural strength. The two-zone porous burner design consists of preheat and combustion sections. Different PIM configurations were tested by stacking together square porous pieces of 2.5 cm thickness. Two types of fuel injectors are considered: (i) in the air-assist injector, approximately 5% of the combustion air is used for atomization and the remaining air enters as the primary co-flow around the injector, and (ii) in the swirling-air injector, all of the combustion air enters the injector to create a swirling flow around the fuel jet to enhance atomization and fuel–air premixing. The distance between the injector and PIM inlet is a key operational parameter, which was varied in experiments with both injectors over a range of equivalence ratios and heat release rates. The NO x and CO emissions were measured to optimize the PIM configuration with minimum emissions. Results show stable combustion over a wide operating range. Three combustor operational regimes are identified depending upon the injector location.
Decoding Complex Chemical Mixtures with a Physical Model of a Sensor Array

Combinatorial sensor arrays, such as the olfactory system, can detect a large number of analytes using a relatively small number of receptors. However, the complex pattern of receptor responses to even a single analyte, coupled with the non-linearity of responses to mixtures of analytes, makes quantitative prediction of compound concentrations in a mixture a challenging task. Here we develop a physical model that explicitly takes receptor-ligand interactions into account, and apply it to infer concentrations of highly related sugar nucleotides from the output of four engineered G-protein-coupled receptors. We also derive design principles that enable accurate mixture discrimination with cross-specific sensor arrays. The optimal sensor parameters exhibit relatively weak dependence on component concentrations, making a single designed array useful for analyzing a sizable range of mixtures. The maximum number of mixture components that can be successfully discriminated is twice the number of sensors in the array. Finally, antagonistic receptor responses, well-known to play an important role in natural olfactory systems, prove to be essential for the accurate prediction of component concentrations.
Electroless metal plating of microtubules: Effect of microtubule-associated proteins

Microtubules (MTs) are self-assembled proteinaceous filaments with nanometer scale diameters and micrometer scale lengths. Their aspect ratio, the reversibility of their assembly and their ability to be metallized by electroless plating make them good candidates to serve as templates for the fabrication of nanowires. We have shown that microtubule-associated-proteins (MAPs) play a critical role in maintaining the MT stability during Pt-catalyzed electroless Ni plating. MAP-stabilized MTs metallized for one minute in a Ni-acetate-based electroless-plating bath are coated with a metal film only several nanometers thick. The MAPs appear to lead to the formation of nanometer-wide metal bridges between the MTs. The metal coatings are constituted of small Pt clusters (∼3 nm), distributed and oriented randomly, embedded in an amorphous nickel matrix.
Optimization of the Friction Stir Welding Process for Superplastic Forming and Improved Surface Texture for Titanium Aerospace Structures

In friction stir welding (FSW), the semi-circular shaped FSW pin tool feed marks that are left behind varied in depth and shape which are detrimental not only in fatigue performance but also in further processing such as superplastic forming (SPF). Experimental investigation was conducted to determine the effects of changes to the FSW process parameters on the surface roughness of the weld of fine grain 2 mm thick titanium alloy, Ti- 6Al-4V. In addition to optimizing the surface texture of the welds, the superplastic performance of the weld nugget was made to be equal to the superplasticity of the parent metal by altering the spindle speed and feed rate used during FSW to identify the quality in terms of cold weld or hot weld. FSW process conditions of spindle speed of 500 RPM and a feed rate of 150 mm/min was found to produce a uniform deformation in both weld and parent metal when the joint was superplastc formed.
Clinical, laboratory and histological associations in adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 10–30% of the general U.S. population and can progress to significant fibrosis and cirrhosis.1 When nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is present, the 5 and 10-year survivals are estimated at 67% and 59% respectively.2 The presence of NASH and early fibrosis is currently established only by liver biopsy; noninvasively determining who has NASH and who is at risk for progressing to cirrhosis remains challenging.3 Serum aminotransferases are routinely measured to detect liver disease, but their specificity and sensitivity for NASH, fibrosis or cirrhosis is low4 and the results may vary considerably over time 5, 6 and among laboratories.7 The NASH Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) was initiated by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in 2002 to conduct multi-center, collaborative studies on the etiology, contributing factors, natural history, complications, and treatment of NASH. To meet these goals, patients with the full spectrum of NAFLD or cryptogenic cirrhosis were enrolled in an observational Database study (Database), and patients with NASH into an adult treatment trial (PIVENS)8, 9 and a pediatric treatment trial (TONIC).10 The objectives of this paper are (1) to provide a description of all adult patients enrolled in NASH CRN studies, (2) to determine the associations of basic clinical variables with the diagnosis of definite NASH, stage of fibrosis, grade of inflammation and presence of hepatocellular ballooning injury, and (3) to determine the overall accuracy of models using only demographic and basic clinical variables to predict the presence of NASH, and the activity grade and fibrosis stage of NASH. A similar analysis of the clinical and histological features of NAFLD in children enrolled in the NASH CRN studies has been published.11
Urbanization Alters Soil Microbial Functioning in the Sonoran Desert

Cities can transform ecosystems in multiple ways, through modification of land use and land cover and through exposure to altered physical, chemical, and biological conditions characteristic of urban environments. We compared the multiple impacts of urbanization on microbial carbon (C) and nutrient cycling in ecosystems across Phoenix, Arizona, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the USA. Land-use/land-cover change from desert to managed ecosystems altered soil microbial functioning, primarily through changes in organic matter supply. Although residential xeriscapes often feature native plants and patchy structure like deserts, spatial heterogeneity in soil biogeochemical cycling was not tightly linked to plant canopies. Grassy lawns exhibited higher nitrogen (N) and phosphorus demand by microorganisms than other landscape types, suggesting that high C quality may effectively sequester these nutrients during periods between fertilization events. Soils in native desert remnants exposed to the urban environment had higher organic matter content, but supported lower activities of extracellular peroxidase enzymes compared to outlying deserts. Experimental N enrichment of desert systems decreased peroxidase activities to a similar extent, suggesting that protected desert remnants within the city are receiving elevated N loads that are altering biogeochemical functioning. Although some microbial processes were spatially homogenized in urban desert remnants, resource islands associated with plants remain the dominant organizing factor for most soil properties. The extent to which native desert preserves within the city functionally resemble managed xeriscapes and lawns suggests that these remnant ecosystems are being ‘domesticated’ by exposure to the urban environment.
Measurements of leaf orientation, light distribution and sunlit leaf area in a boreal aspen forest

A new instrument called a Multiband Vegetation Imager (MVI) (Kucharik et al., 1997), which uses a 16-bit charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and filter exchange mechanism to capture 2-band (visible and near-infrared) image pairs of plant canopies, has been used to measure the light distribution over sunlit leaves and indirectly infer leaf area index (LAI), sunlit LAI and leaf angle distribution (LAD) in a boreal aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest during the Boreal Ecosystem‐ Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). One purpose of this study is to demonstrate that by combining MVI measurements with numerical Monte Carlo simulations of forest canopy architecture, the LAD and sunlit LAI of aspen can be obtained indirectly. Our results show that this boreal aspen stand exemplifies an erectophile LAD, with a mean leaf inclination angle near 708 .W e also find that the values of the measured and modeled sunlit leaf area in aspen do not change dramatically for typical northern boreal latitude solar zenith angles (i.e. 30‐708). A major problem with determining the sunlit LAI is deciding what range of light intensities constitute a sunlit leaf because penumbra create a smooth continuum of light intensities over sunlit and shaded leaves in the canopy. Therefore, we show that the upper and lower limits can be placed on sunlit LAI values in aspen by using different leaf illumination threshold levels to determine sunlit and shaded LAI in the canopy. Typically, sunlit LAI values in aspen (LAIa3.3) range between 0.8‐1.0 at a 708 sun zenith angle and 1.1‐1.6 at a 308 sun zenith angle. Monte Carlo simulations and MVI measurements suggest that canopy sunlit leaf area estimates are possible from below the canopy at modest LAI values ( 5.0). Since a substantial fraction of the total sunlit leaf area can be viewed from below the canopy in aspen (40‐60% of the total sunlit LAI), a representative light distribution can be measured and used to quantify the canopy leaf angle distribution. # 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Transformative Learning Through Conceptual Metaphors Simile, Metaphor, and Analogy as Levers for Learning

This article presents findings from a research study wherein participants demonstrated the use of similes, metaphors, and analogies, termed conceptual metaphors, in response to disorienting dilemmas instigated by breast cancer. In this qualitative case study of 18 breast cancer survivors, conceptual metaphors were used in three distinct ways: (a) to uncover tacit ways of making meaning, (b) to name experiences, and (c) to imagine new possibilities. The experiences were considered transformative because the participants claimed new ways of thinking and being, leading to a fuller and richer lived experience. Educators aspiring to promote transformative learning may want to add techniques that incorporate conceptual metaphors to their (metaphorical) toolbox of pedagogical resources.
Wage Slavery or Creative Work

Western philosophical and scientific traditions often view human work as inherently onerous, wearisome, and degrading. Adam Smith, writing in the eighteenth century, saw work as the toil and trouble that is the real price humans pay for everything they need or want. Karl Marx, writing in the nineteenth century, considered wage labor alienating, but saw the possibility of self-expressive work. Dupre and Gagnier, a philosopher and a critic writing near the end of the twentieth century, agreed that work could be self-fulfilling, but only for an elite minority. This article summarizes the Western philosophical views of work from ancient to modern times. It reframes the philosophical positions as empirical questions and addresses them with statistics and models drawn from a 1995 U.S. survey. Observations suggest that work, in modern America, is not usually alienated. The great majority of Americans rate their paid work or other main daily activities (mostly unpaid work) as more autonomous and creative than not...
Glenohumeral chondrolysis: A systematic review of 100 cases from the English language literature

Hypothesis Chondrolysis can be a devastating complication of shoulder arthroscopy. We undertook a review of the 100 cases reported in the English language to test the hypothesis that common factors could be identified and that the identification of these factors could suggest strategies for avoiding this complication. Materials and methods We systematically reviewed the English language literature and identified 16 articles reporting 100 shoulders in which postsurgical glenohumeral chondrolysis had developed. Results The average reported patient age was 27 ± 11 years at the time of surgery; 35 were women. The most common indications for surgery were instability (n = 68) and superior labrum anteroposterior lesions (n = 17). In 59 cases, chondrolysis was reported to be associated with the use of intra-articular pain pumps. The infusate was known to include bupivacaine in 50 shoulders and lidocaine in 2. Radiofrequency capsulorrhaphy was performed in 2 shoulders. Discussion Fifty-nine percent of the reported cases of glenohumeral chondrolysis occurred with the combination of arthroscopic surgery and postarthroscopy infusion of local anesthetic. The arthroscopic operations observed with chondrolysis were not limited to stabilization procedures, and the infused anesthetic was not limited to bupivacaine. Conclusion In that postoperative infusion of local anesthetic and radiofrequency may not be essential to the success of shoulder arthroscopy, surgeons may wish to consider the possible risks of their use.
Cholesteatoma induction. Consequences of external auditory canal ligation in gerbils, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice and rats.

Surgical ligation of the external auditory canals of Mongolian gerbils produces-aural cholesteatomas that are similar to spontaneous gerbilline cholesteatomas. These experimental cholesteatomas expand rapidly, medially displacing the tympanic membrane and eroding bone. Less than 2 months after ligation, half these cholesteatomas are in contact with the bony prominence of the cochlea. Ligation-induced formation of cholesteatomas may be unique to the gerbil. Keratin deposits are produced by similar ligations of the external auditory canals of cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats. However, in these animals there is no medial displacement of the tympanic membrane, no cholesteatoma formation, and no bone erosion. Cholesteatomas were not seen in cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats even after post-ligation intervals of 6 to 36 months.
Genetically Engineered Block Copolymers: Influence of the Length and Structure of the Coiled-Coil Blocks on Hydrogel Self-Assembly

Purpose To explore the relationship between the structure of block polypeptides and their self-assembly into hydrogels. To investigate structural parameters that influence hydrogel formation and physical properties.
Recombination and Assortment in the Macronucleus of TETRAHYMENA THERMOPHILA: A Theoretical Study by Computer Simulation

The compound nature of the macronucleus of Tetrahymena thermophila presents multiple opportunities for recombination between genes on the same macronuclear chromosome. Such recombinants should be detectable through their assortment at subsequent amitotic macronuclear divisions. Thus, a macronucleus that is initially AB/ab should produce recombinant assortees of the genotypes Ab/aB. Computer simulation shows that, when the recombination frequency is two or fewer times per cell cycle, recombinant assortees are produced at experimentally measurable frequencies of less than 40%. At higher recombination frequencies, linked genes appear to assort independently. The simulations also show that recombination during macronuclear development can be distinguished from recombination in subsequent cell cycles only if the first appearance of recombinant assortees is 100 or more fissions after conjugation. The use of macronuclear recombination and assortment as a means of mapping macronuclear genes is severely constrained by the large variances in assortment outcomes; with experimentally small sample sizes, such mapping is impossible.
A case for NOW (Networks of Workstations)

Networks of workstations are poised to become the primary computing infrastructure for science and engineering. NOWs may dramatically improve virtual memory and file system performance; achieve cheap, highly available, and scalable file storage: and provide multiple CPUs for parallel computing. Hurdles that remain include efficient communication hardware and software, global coordination of multiple workstation operating systems, and enterprise-scale network file systems. Our 100-node NOW prototype aims to demonstrate practical solutions to these challenges. >
A Change of Heart

Daniel Levy, MD, Susan Brink 247 pages. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf; 2005. $26.95. ISBN 0-375-41275-1 For most health professionals, “Framingham” means a body of data that guides cardiovascular risk prediction. Lost to most of us is the story of an era when the medical establishment was bewildered by and impotent in a rising tide of arteriosclerotic vascular disease. The Framingham Heart Study began in this setting. The results have been dramatic changes in the practice of cardiology and medicine in general. This fascinating story is told by the current Director of the Study, Dr Daniel Levy, and his coauthor, Susan Brink, in their book, A Change of Heart . The result of Framingham is trusted information on the relationship between common measures made in our patients and the probability of their having a heart attack or stroke. The national guidelines for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors have been built on the relationships found over some 50 years of observation in this Massachusetts community. Indeed, the term “risk factor” was invented to describe the results of the findings from this study. Although full of information about how the science developed, this book is well written and entertaining, meant for the layperson as well as the health professional. Once started, it will not be lying unfinished on your bookshelf. The book provides a description of the state of our knowledge about vascular disease during the early half of this century. The method of high blood pressure management in President Franklin D. Roosevelt is used to …
The impact of cell design on light induced degradation in p-type silicon solar cells

Light-induced degradation (LID) in boron-doped Cz Si cells is known to be a function of the substrate boron and oxygen concentrations. In this paper, a combination of PC1D simulations and device theory is used to show that the efficiency loss due to LID is also a function of cell design. In particular, this loss was found to increase significantly when the surface passivation of cells is improved. The simulation data was also used to establish an empirical relationship which predicts the worst-case stabilized efficiency for boron-doped p-type Cz cells given only the initial efficiencies and thus provides a method for estimating the ‘efficiency parity’ thresholds between n- and p-base cells. When combined with cost modeling, these findings have two practical implications — 1) it will be a challenge to achieve wide-spread grid-parity using current industrial cell processing techniques and substrates and, 2) n-type Si cells, which do not suffer from LID, will achieve efficiency-parity with the best p-type cells at much lower starting efficiencies. Consequently, n-type cells fabricated with low-cost/industrial technologies represent a potentially simpler route to grid-parity.
Negative Regulation of Toll-Like Receptor Signaling by NF-κB p50 Ubiquitination Blockade

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) trigger the production of inflammatory cytokines and shape adaptive and innate immunity to pathogens. We report the identification of B cell leukemia (Bcl)–3 as an essential negative regulator of TLR signaling. By blocking ubiquitination of p50, a member of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB family, Bcl-3 stabilizes a p50 complex that inhibits gene transcription. As a consequence, Bcl-3–deficient mice and cells were found to be hypersensitive to TLR activation and unable to control responses to lipopolysaccharides. Thus, p50 ubiquitination blockade by Bcl-3 limits the strength of TLR responses and maintains innate immune homeostasis. These findings indicate that the p50 ubiquitination pathway can be selectively targeted to control deleterious inflammatory diseases.
The Pricing of Seasoned Equity Offerings: Evidence from REITs

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been a very active sector in the capital market over the last few years. This paper examines the pricing of seasoned equity offers by equity REITs during 1991-1996. Consistent with Parsons and Raviv's model, we find that SEOs by REITs are underpriced with respect to both the closing price on the day before and the closing price on the day of the offer. Underpricing depends on the institutional ownership of the firm's common stock. Issues by firms with higher institutional ownership are more underpriced for post-1990 REITs. Further, consistent with the notion that theories of IPO pricing apply to SEOs as well, the underpricing of SEOs is a function of the issue size and of the underwriter's reputation. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
A parallel time-domain adaptive integral method based hybrid field-circuit simulator

Time-domain methods are highly suited for analyzing electromagnetic phenomena involving time-varying and nonlinear structures. An FFT-based scheme, the time-domain adaptive integral method (TD-AIM) is hybridized with a SPICE-like circuit simulator to allow for the analysis of electromagnetic phenomena involving large-scale nonlinearly loaded structures. The coupled nonlinear system of equations is solved using a Newton-Raphson algorithm at each time step. The proposed methodology is compared to the recently developed hybrid plane-wave time-domain accelerated TDIE-circuit solver described by K. Aygu/spl uml/n et al. (see IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol.52, no.2, p.573-83, 2004). Even though both methods focus on hybrid fast TDIE-circuit analysis schemes, and therefore are similar in nature, there are differences. Our method has advantages which show that it is better suited for analyzing microwave circuits.
DNA Demethylase Activity Maintains Intestinal Cells in an Undifferentiated State Following Loss of APC

SUMMARY Although genome-wide hypomethylation is a hallmarkofmanycancers,rolesfor active DNA demethylation during tumorigenesis are unknown. Here, loss of the APC tumor suppressor gene causes upregulation of a DNA demethylase system and the concomitant hypomethylation of key intestinal cell fating genes. Notably, this hypomethylation maintained zebrafish intestinal cells in an undifferentiated state that was released upon knockdown of demethylase components. Mechanistically, the demethylase genes are directly activated by Pou5f1 and Cebpb and are indirectly repressed by retinoic acid, which antagonizes Pou5f1 and Cebpb. Apc mutants lack retinoic acid as a result of the transcriptional repression of retinol dehydrogenase l1 via a complex that includes Lef1, Groucho2, Ctbp1, Lsd1, and Corest. Our findings imply a model wherein APC controls intestinal cell fating through a switch in DNA methylation dynamics. Wild-type APC and retinoic acid downregulate demethylase components, thereby promoting DNA methylation of key genes and helping progenitors commit to differentiation.
Tunable spectral slicing filters for dense wavelength-division multiplexing

A new type of polarization independent guided-wave optical filter with etalon-like spectral response for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is described and analyzed. A four-port integrated optic device performs the spectral slicing (wavelength interleaving/deinterleaving) function of selecting equally spaced frequency channels from a group of incident WDM channels. Spectral selection is based upon codirectional transverse electric (TE)/spl harr/transverse magnetic (TM) conversion induced by N equally spaced coupling regions in a single mode optical waveguide. A matrix formulation is used to determine the TE/spl harr/TM coupling strengths which yield N-1 equally spaced nulls between adjacent selected frequencies, for N as high as 16. Spectral response is calculated for polarization coupling regions of infinitesimal length as well as for polarization coupling induced by gratings of finite extent. Lithium niobate, due to its high birefringence, is an ideal substrate material for dense WDM filters. Polarization coupling can be induced by a sparse grating of an overlay material such as fused silica. The spectral response can be tuned at submicrosecond speeds by an applied electric field which alters the waveguide birefringence, and hence the optical frequency at which near-complete polarization conversion occurs. A reflective design to make more effective use of the available substrate dimension is described. Single channel selection over a wide spectral range can be achieved by cascading two of the filters in series.
Duct carcinoma in situ. Relationship of extent of noninvasive disease to the frequency of occult invasion, multicentricity, lymph node metastases, and short-term treatment failures

Fifty-three breasts resected for a biopsy diagnosis of duct carcinoma in situ were studied with a serial subgross and correlated radiographic method of examination designed to permit quantitation of the extent of the noninvasive lesion in the breast. Overall frequencies of occult invasion and multicentricity were 21 and 32%, respectively. Among 24 lesions 25 mm or larger in extent (average, 63; median, 56 mm) 11 showed occult foci of invasion, 13 had multicentric foci and six had nipple involvement. Among 29 lesions less than 25 mm in extent (average, 10; median, 8 mm) there were no instances of occult invasion, four were multicentric and two had nipple involvement (P = less than 0.05 for multicentricity and occult invasion). Twenty patients with lesions averaging 8 mm in extent are being followed after excision only in an experimental program. There have been three local recurrences at an average follow-up of 44 months. All recurrences occurred ipsilaterally, two were within the prior biopsy site. All patients with recurrence are free of disease following local resection in two and modified radical mastectomy in one. For lesions with associated microcalcifications, the distribution of the mammographic microcalcifications closely approximates the extent of disease as confirmed histologically. These findings suggest that an important predictive factor for the presence of occult invasion and multicentricity in the resected breast is the extent of the noninvasive lesion.
Reducing Dependence on Central Electric Heating Systems: An Evaluation of an Experimental Program

In 1983 a major utility company conducted an experimental program that placed a portable electric heater into each of 140 households with central electric heat. A pretest-posttest control group design was used to determine whether the use of a single portable electric heater could significantly reduce electricity consumption. Analysis of covariance was employed using the 1982 winter kWh consumption and square footage of the home as covariates. The results indicate that the treatment group had an average monthly kWh consumption for the 1983 winter that was 108 kWh lower than the control group.
A PRODUCT VARIETY TRADEOFF EVALUATION METHOD FOR A FAMILY OF CORDLESS DRILL TRANSMISSIONS

In this paper we present the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method for assessment of alternative product platforms in product family design. The Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method is an attention-directing tool for evaluating tradeoffs between commonality and individual product performance for product platform alternatives with differing levels of commonality. We apply the Product Variety Tradeoff Evaluation Method to a case study in transmission redesign for a family of cordless drills. The emphasis in this paper is placed on the method rather than the results, per se.
Atrial Fibrillation, Neurocognitive Decline and Gene Expression After Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation and neurocognitive decline are common complications after cardiopulmonary bypass. By utilizing genomic microarrays we investigate whether gene expression is associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation and neurocognitive decline. METHODS: Twenty one cardiac surgery patients were prospectively matched and underwent neurocognitive assessments pre-operatively and four days postoperatively. The whole blood collected in the pre-cardiopulmonary bypass, 6 hours after-cardiopulmonary bypass, and on the 4th postoperative day was hybridized to Affymetrix Gene Chip U133 Plus 2.0 Microarrays. Gene expression in patients who developed postoperative atrial fibrillation and neurocognitive decline (n=6; POAF+NCD) was compared with gene expression in patients with postoperative atrial fibrillation and normal cognitive function (n=5; POAF+NORM) and patients with sinus rhythm and normal cognitive function (n=10; SR+NORM). Regulated genes were identified using JMP Genomics 4.0 with a false discovery rate of 0.05 and fold change of >1.5 or <-1.5. RESULTS: Eleven patients developed postoperative atrial fibrillation. Six of these also developed neurocognitive decline. Of the 12 patients with sinus rhythm, only 2 developed neurocognitive decline. POAF+NCD patients had unique regulation of 17 named genes preoperatively, 60 named genes six hours after cardiopulmonary bypass, and 34 named genes four days postoperatively (P<0.05) compared with normal patients. Pathway analysis demonstrated that these genes are involved in cell death, inflammation, cardiac remodeling and nervous system function. CONCLUSION: Patients who developed postoperative atrial fibrillation and neurocognitive decline after cardiopulmonary bypass may have differential genomic responses compared to normal patients and patients with only postoperative atrial fibrillation, suggesting common pathophysiology for these conditions. Further exploration of these genes may provide insight into the etiology and improvements of these morbid outcomes.
Trends in oral health by poverty status as measured by Healthy People 2010 objectives.

Objective.Poverty is a significant social determinant for oral health, yet Healthy People2010 (HP 2010) does not monitor changes in oral health status by poverty. We assessed recent trends for six ...
beta-catenin signaling can initiate feather bud development

Intercellular signaling by a subset of Wnts is mediated by stabilization of cytoplasmic beta-catenin and its translocation to the nucleus. Immunolocalization of beta-catenin in developing chick skin reveals that this signaling pathway is active in a dynamic pattern from the earliest stages of feather bud development. Forced activation of this pathway by expression of a stabilized beta-catenin in the ectoderm results in the ectopic formation of feather buds. This construct is sufficient to induce bud formation since it does so both within presumptive feather tracts and in normally featherless regions where tract-specific signals are absent. It is also insensitive to the lateral inhibition that mediates the normal spacing of buds and can induce ectopic buds in interfollicular skin. However, additional patterning signals cooperate with this pathway to regulate gene expression within domains of stabilized beta-catenin expression. Localized activation of this pathway within the bud as it develops is required for normal morphogenesis and ectopic activation of the pathway leads to abnormally oriented buds and growths on the feather filaments. These results suggest that activation of the beta-catenin pathway initiates follicle development in embryonic skin and plays important roles in the subsequent morphogenesis of the bud.
Quality Risks Associated with the Utilization of Fusarium Head Blight Infected Malting Barley

Fusarium head blight (FHB) has adversely affected the quality of barley grown in the northern Great Plains of the United States and the eastern Prairie Provinces of Canada since 1993. Objectives of...
Multi-scale Mexican spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis lucida ) nest/roost habitat selection in Arizona and a comparison with single-scale modeling results

Organisms commonly respond to their environment across a range of scales, however many habitat selection studies still conduct selection analyses using a single-scale framework. The adoption of multi-scale modeling frameworks in habitat selection studies can improve the effectiveness of these studies and provide greater insights into scale-dependent relationships between species and specific habitat components. Our study assessed multi-scale nest/roost habitat selection of the federally “Threatened” Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) in northern Arizona, USA in an effort to provide improved conservation and management strategies for this subspecies. We conducted multi-scale habitat modeling to assess habitat selection by Mexican spotted owls using survey data collected by the USFS. Each selected covariate was included in multi-scale models at their “characteristic scale” and we used an all-subsets approach and model selection framework to assess habitat selection. The “characteristic scale” identified for each covariate varied considerably among covariates and results from multi-scale models indicated that percent canopy cover and slope were the most important covariates with respect to habitat selection by Mexican spotted owls. Multi-scale models consistently outperformed their analogous single-scale counterparts with respect to the proportion of deviance explained and model predictive performance. Efficacy of future habitat selection studies will benefit by taking a multi-scale approach. In addition to potentially providing increased explanatory power and predictive capacity, multi-scale habitat models enhance our understanding of the scales at which species respond to their environment, which is critical knowledge required to implement effective conservation and management strategies.
Efficient in vitro and in vivo gene regulation of a retrovirally delivered pro-apoptotic factor under the control of the Drosophila HSP70 promoter.

We have developed a self-inactivating retroviral vector system with an internal, inducible Drosophila HSP70 promoter. This vector system delivers the desired transgene into cells rapidly and efficiently. It generates mixed populations of transduced cells where the transgene is inducible, and does not require the isolation of specific clones. Since the transgene is not expressed (or poorly expressed) at the restrictive condition (34°C), mixed populations can be selected in which tumor suppressors or other inhibitory genes can be strongly induced upon changing the conditions (39°C or the plant amino acid L-canavanine). This retroviral vector should be very useful for the expression of sequences that are poorly tolerated by cells, and is also active in animals.
Nietzsche's Second Thoughts About Art

Nietzsche's enthusiasm for art in The Birth of Tragedy (henceforth "BT") was so great that further reflection could only have tempered it?as it in fact did. The Nietzsche of the subsequently attached "Attempt at a Self Criticism" is no longer the ardent "art-deifier" he sees himself as having been in BT. And as he indicates in an entry in his notebooks from the same period as this "Self-Criticism," he had long since ceased to subscribe to the gospel of "Art and nothing but art!" according to which art is "the only superior counterforce to all will to denial of life." (WP 853)1 Moreover, obviously think ing of this early work, he writes in the contemporaneous Fifth Book of The Gay Science that "initially I approached the modern world with a few crude errors and overestimations"?among which, he goes on to make clear, he numbers certain of his views with respect to art. (GS 370) In this paper I shall consider some of the more significant respects in which Nietzsche altered his assessment of art and artists, and develop some of the main points he makes in his many discussions of them subsequent to BT. I shall have relatively little to say about this work, for two reasons. First, I have discussed his thinking about art in it at length elsewhere,2 and would not cover the same ground again here. And second: I consider it unfortunate that so much more attention is generally paid to his treatment of art in that fascinating and important but in many ways immature and merely preliminary study, than is given to the many things he has to say about it in virtually all of his later writings; and I wish to help redress the balance. While Nietzsche's thinking on this matter did change, he also continued to adhere to a good deal of what he had initially maintained, at least in a rather general way. He remained persuaded, among other things, of the validity and usefulness (albeit with some restrictions and modifications) of "the conceptual opposites which I have introduced into aesthetics, Apollinian and Dionysian" making use of the notions on a number of occasions, as shall be seen. (TI IX: 10) He also continued to view art, as he observes in his "Self Criticism" he had in BT, "in the perspective of life." Thus in his subsequent writings he devotes considerable attention to the sources of art in human nature, and to certain general human tendencies which frequently manifest themselves in it; and he likewise is very much concerned with the various functions art can and does perform in human life, and with the light it sheds upon our human nature and possibilities. And many of his later views on these matters are at least connected with points he had made earlier.
Expression of ENDO-1(haptoglobin) in the ectopic and eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis

Objective To detect the expression of the ENDO-1(haptoglobin) in the ectopic andeutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis。Methods A reverse transcription-polymerse reaction(PC-PCR) mothod was utilized to examine Endo-1 mRNA expressions in eutopic and autopic endometrium。Twenty patients with endometriosis were included as study group,and fifteen patients without en-dometriosis selected as control group。Results In 20 matched endometrial and endometriosis specimensExpression(p=1.00) was similar in matched progestational stage endometrium and endometriosis,butendometriotic expression (p=0.004) were significantly greater in secretory 。Eutopic endometrium ofwomen with endometriosis has a higher level of ENDO-1mRNA than women without endometriois(p=0.04)。Conclusions The ENDO-1 mRNA is over expressed in progestational stage endometriosis。Haptoglobin-like ENDO-1 may be associated with localized angiogenesis and altered immune response involved with theaetilogy/pathhphysiology of endometriosis。
Targeting Akt in cell transfer immunotherapy for cancer

Pharmacologic inhibitors of the serine/threonine kinase Akt, initially aimed at deranged oncogenic pathways in tumors, have recently been shown to act as immunomodulators that markedly enhance the antitumor properties of T cells. Repurposing Akt inhibitors to improve antitumor immunity may be viewed as a manifestation of a larger paradigmatic shift in which hallmark characteristics of cancer (e.g., immune evasion), rather than merely causal features (e.g., somatic mutations) can be exploited for therapeutic benefit.
Normal Solvability for Nonlinear Mappings and the Geometry of Banach Spaces

Let X and Y be Banach spaces, L a continuous linear mapping of X into Y . A fundamental principle of linear functional analysis originating with Hausdorff [7] states that if the range R(L) of the linear mapping L is closed in the Banach space Y, then the range R(L) can be characterized as N(I*)⊥, the annihilator in Y of the nullspace N(L*) of the adjoint mapping L* . A mapping L having these properties is said to he normally solvable.
Nurse Perceptions of Electronic Handoff

Nursing handoff is the important exchange of pertinent information between nurses that is critical to patient safety. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to explore progressive care nurses' perceptions of usefulness of a new electronic SBAR handoff tool on an inpatient adult acute care setting at an academic medical center. A 10 question survey including eight Likert response and two open-ended response questions was created from content areas of a survey designed to measure nurses' perceptions of usefulness of a computerized tool for shift handover report writing. The anonymous survey was completed by 16 of 24 eligible participants. Descriptive statistics were performed on the study variables and responses from open-ended questions were analyzed for themes. Survey results revealed that nurses perceive the new handoff summary tool to save time and improve consistency of information exchanged. Nurses stated that communication between departments was not improved and that the summary screen does not accurately represent the patient at the time of report. Open-ended question responses revealed that user error may be contributing to some of the dissatisfaction with the tool. Responses indicated that many nurses still prefer a narrative type of handoff and read physician and nursing assessments for this type of description. Further exploration is needed. Implications for practice include the APRN's important contribution to a successful implementation of electronic handoff. The APRN is essential to the success of such changes as they are uniquely prepared to plan, implement, and evaluate this change across the three spheres of influence.
Isolated craniopharyngioma in the nasal cavity

AbstractWe describe the occurrence of a papillary squamous infrasellar craniopharyngioma isolated to the nasal cavity and maxillary sinus in a 48-year-old male presenting with epistaxis and nasal obstruction. Diagnosis was made by histological analysis of incisional biopsy in clinic. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were performed to evaluate the extent of tumor involvement. The tumor was excised by endoscopic surgery in the operating room with intraoperative frozen section analysis to confirm clear margins. The patient had an uncomplicated post-operative course and no evidence of tumor recurrence at eight months follow-up. This represents the third confirmed case of infrasellar craniopharyngioma isolated to the nasal cavity.
Teaching About Affirmative Action: Challenges from a Freshmen Seminar

This chapter addresses the challenges I faced in teaching a freshmen seminar on the history of affirmative action. One of the goals of the class is to highlight the role the media plays in creating myths about affirmative action, such as the notion that the policy is a form of “reverse discrimination.” After providing the history of the policy and important legal decisions such as the Bakke case, the seminar focuses on print news media representations of the debate surrounding affirmative action. One of the challenges I faced is that most students assume that newspaper accounts are “objective.” To address this challenge, I rely on sociological work on the media to illustrate how such accounts can be biased and then teach students strategies for reading the media critically through a variety of in-class assignments.
Error Mitigation for Short-Depth Quantum Circuits

Two schemes are presented that mitigate the effect of errors and decoherence in short-depth quantum circuits. The size of the circuits for which these techniques can be applied is limited by the rate at which the errors in the computation are introduced. Near-term applications of early quantum devices, such as quantum simulations, rely on accurate estimates of expectation values to become relevant. Decoherence and gate errors lead to wrong estimates of the expectation values of observables used to evaluate the noisy circuit. The two schemes we discuss are deliberately simple and do not require additional qubit resources, so to be as practically relevant in current experiments as possible. The first method, extrapolation to the zero noise limit, subsequently cancels powers of the noise perturbations by an application of Richardson's deferred approach to the limit. The second method cancels errors by resampling randomized circuits according to a quasiprobability distribution.
Current status of vinorelbine for breast cancer.

Vinorelbine tartrate (Navelbine) is a new semisynthetic vinca alkaloid with efficacy against a variety of solid tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Implementation of 1×48 stripline feed network for 30 dB first sidelobe level using Taylor aperture distribution

Directional antenna arrays with excessive side lobe levels waste considerable amount of energy and may also cause interference to other equipment. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce side lobe level. In this work, Taylor aperture distribution based feed network has been designed for a 1×48 linear array to suppress the side lobe levels up to 31 dBs. Our high-gain linear antenna array comprises of 48 anti-podal Vivaldi antenna elements fed through a strip-line based corporate feed network on a FR4 substrate, for S-band radar applications. The proposed feed network comprises of two sub arrays consisting of 24 elements each. These two sub arrays are mirror image to each other such that the inner most antenna elements receive maximum amplitude and the outermost antenna elements would receive minimum amplitudes. The first side-lobe level reduction, achieved using our proposed feed network is 18 dB lower than the conventional uniformly distributed feed networks.
StoryLine: Unsupervised Geo-event Demultiplexing in Social Spaces without Location Information

Some of the most widely deployed IoT devices in urban areas are smartphones in the possession of urban individuals. Their proliferation has led to the emergence of crowdsensing/crowdsourcing services, where humans collect data about their environment (using phones), and servers aggregate the data for various application purposes of interest. With the emergence of social media, a common alternative form of human data entry has become media posts (e.g., on Twitter). This leads to the prospect of building crowdsensing services on top of social media content, exploiting humans as ``sensors". In this paper, we develop one such service, called {\em StoryLine}. The service detects and tracks physical urban events of interest to the user, such as car accidents, infrastructure damage (in the aftermath of a natural disaster), or instances of civil unrest. It offers an interface to client-side software that allows browsing such events in real time, as well as an interface for software applications to a structured representation of the events and their related statistics. The service embodies novel algorithms for real-time detection, demultiplexing, and tracking of physical events using social media data. In our evaluation with Twitter feeds, we show that our service outperforms two state-of-the-art baselines in event detection and demultiplexing. We also conduct two case-studies to show the effectiveness of the real-time event detection capability and event tracking performance of our system.