cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Wheat

A 2-yr study was conducted in South Carolina wheat fields to describe spatial and temporal dynamics of stink bugs sampled with sweep nets. In 2008, the main phytophagous species were Euschistus servus (Say) (35.8, 36.7%), Oebalus pugnax (F.) (35.0, 6.0%), Nezara viridula L., (15.2, 46.3%), and Thyanta custator (F.) (14.0, 10.5%) for adults and nymphs, respectively. In 2009, the main phytophagous species were O. pugnax (39.8, 37.8%), E. servus (38.4, 30.0%), N. viridula (14.6, 29.5%), and T. custator (6.8, 2.8%). chi(2) goodness-of-fit tests indicated that all species (both adults and nymphs) had observed distributions that did not match the Poisson distribution. Indices of dispersion (I(D )) across sampling dates were significantly >1 for all species and life stages, also suggesting a nonrandom distribution. Slopes of Taylor's power law were significantly greater (P 1 in all cases except for E. servus adults and T. custator nymphs. The inverted distance weighted interpolation method showed considerable levels of spatial variability in densities within fields. Sampling along the edge of fields showed a significant distance from field border effect (P < 0.05) on all adults in both years except for N. viridula. High densities in wheat adjacent to a susceptible crop such as corn suggests that localized control methods in wheat may be effective in mitigation of stink bugs and damage in corn.
Derivation of 2-D Empirical Correlations for Film-Cooling Effectiveness and Heat Transfer Augmentation From Spanwise Averaged Data and Correlations

In existing gas turbine heat transfer literature, there are several correlations developed for the spanwise-averaged film-cooling effectiveness and heat transfer augmentation for inline injection on flat plates. More accurate and detailed predictions of film-cooling performance, particularly 3-D solid temperatures are needed for design purposes. 2-D correlations where effectiveness and heat transfer augmentation are functions of streamwise and spanwise directions are necessary to satisfy this need. Previously developed 2-D correlations for single row of cylindrical holes with inline injection have been improved to include the effects of shaped holes such as hole breakthrough width (t/D) and area ratio (AR). The correlations are improved to better match spanwise effectiveness of a single row of shaped cooling holes using data and spanwise-averaged correlations. Modifications to the correlations to improve application to compound injection (β) have been implemented. The blowing ratio is modified to account for the compound angle effect. The spanwise location of maximum film-cooling effectiveness and heat transfer augmentation are obtained as functions of the streamwise coordinate. Iterative Conjugate Heat Transfer Reduced Order Film Model (ICHT-ROFM) was used to obtain 3-D conjugate temperature distribution in film cooled solids.The developed correlations predicted a relative cooling effect in the near hole region for shaped holes (24 K) and for compound angle injection (20K) compared to cylindrical holes. Spanwise variations in the solid temperature in the near hole region are between 40–50K for a temperature difference of 250K between the surface and the main stream and are quite significant, showing the need for 3-D simulations. Shaped and compound angle holes increase this temperature difference due to the increased cooling. The comparisons of solid temperatures for conjugate and non-conjugate heat transfer cases show about 13–18K or 8–10% of the local temperature difference of 180K. Therefore it can be concluded that the calculations of 3-D temperature distributions using conjugate heat transfer are very important for design purposes.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Quantification of neural tissue injury in a rat radiculopathy model: comparison of local deformation, behavioral outcomes, and spinal cytokine mRNA for two surgeons.

Abstract Clinical and experimental work indicate that a variety of factors contribute to radicular pain mechanisms, including mechanical injury. While it has been qualitatively suggested that the magnitude of nerve root mechanical injury affects the nature of the pain response, no study has quantified the local in vivo injury biomechanics in these models. Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to develop and implement an in vivo method to quantify compressive nerve root injury strain severity and characterize its effect on the resulting responses in an existing lumbar radiculopathy rat model. Male Holtzman rats were divided into a sham group with only nerve root exposure or a ligation group with the nerve root tightly ligated using silk suture. Using image analysis, nerve root radial strains were calculated at the time of injury for two surgeons. Mechanical allodynia was continuously assessed throughout the study and spinal cord cytokine mRNA levels were assayed on postoperative day 7. The degree of intersurgeon variability for imposing a ligation injury in this model was also assessed. Mean compressive injury strains in the nerve root were 32.8±14.2% and were not different for the two experimenters. Animals undergoing more severe ligation strains exhibited significantly heightened allodynia following injury and greater upregulation of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1α/β, IL-6, and IL-10. Results indicate a direct correlation of local nerve root injury severity with the ensuing physiologic responses associated with nociception.
Uncovering local magnetospheric processes governing the morphology and variability of Ganymede's aurora using three‐dimensional multifluid simulations of Ganymede's magnetosphere

We investigate local magnetospheric processes governing the morphology and variability of Ganymede's aurora depending on its position with respect to the center of the Jovian plasma sheet. We couple an existing three-dimensional multifluid simulation to a new aurora brightness model developed for this study. With this, we are able to qualitatively and quantitatively show that the short- and long-period variabilities observed in Ganymede's auroral footprint at Jupiter are also predicted to be present in the brightness and morphology of the aurora at Ganymede. We also examine the relationship between acceleration structures and precipitation of electrons in Ganymede's neutral atmosphere by looking at the component of the electric field parallel to Ganymede's magnetic field. Our results confirm that regions of electron accelerations coincide with regions of brightest auroral emissions, as expected. Finally, we identify the likely source regions of electrons generating the aurora at Ganymede and discuss the plasma dynamic mechanisms likely responsible for these accelerations.
A time- and space-efficient garbage compaction algorithm

Given an area of storage containing scattered, marked nodes of differing sizes, one may wish to rearrange them into a compact mass at one end of the area while revising all pointers to marked nodes to show their new locations. An algorithm is described here which accomplishes this task in linear time relative to the size of the storage area, and in a space of the order of one bit for each pointer. The algorithm operates by reversibly encoding the situation (that a collection of locations point to a single location) by a linear list, emanating from the pointed-to location, passing through the pointing locations, and terminating with the pointed-to location's transplanted contents.
Computer simulations of the dynamics of multicomponent ion exchange and adsorption in fixed beds. Gradient-directed moving finite element method

Abstract In most fixed-bed separation processes, interference (competition of solutes for sorbent sites) coupled with mass transfer effects results in complex concentration waves. A general rate equation model was developed to simulate the column dynamics of multicomponent adsorption and ion exchange. This model takes into account axial dispersion, film and intraparticle diffusion, size exclusion and interference effects for systems with nonlinear isotherms or variable separation factors. The model equations were solved with a new method of orthogonal collocation on gradient-directed moving finite elements. Both the boundaries and the number of finite elements were adjusted to focus the collocation points in the region of steep concentration gradients. The computation time for simulating a step change was reduced to about 20% of that of orthogonal collocation on fixed finite elements. Column dynamics of step input and elution processes were simulated with the rate equation model. The predicted effluent histories are shown to be in close agreement with the data on protein elution. This model is important for studying interference phenomena coupled with mass transfer effects, especially for systems with a large number of components, small feed pulses, small interparticle diffusivities and large sorbent particles.
Cytotoxicity/genotoxicity: The application of cell culture techniques to the measurement of marine sediment pollution

Abstract Fish cell cultures were used to determine whether in vitro aquatic animal cell culture systems were capable of detecting pollution in the marine environment. Cells derived from rainbow trout gonad (RTG-2) and bluegill fry tissues (BF-2) were used as model cell systems to measure cytotoxicity and genotoxicity following exposure to Puget Sound sediment extracts, benzo(a)pyrene and MNNG. Sediment was collected from several sites within Puget Sound known to be contaminated with compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Each of the sediment samples was extracted with organic solvents and added to cultures of the two model cell systems in DMSO. Following exposure the cultures were evaluated for cell death, mitotic inhibition, stimulatory effects, and chromosomal damage. These cell cultures responded to the sediment extracts much as they did to known mutagenic/carcinogenic chemicals which were used as model compounds. Those sediments known to be contaminated, based on chemical analysis and historical use patterns were also found to be qualitatively and quantitatively more toxic than were sediments from areas which were relatively unaffected by human activity. The results show that in vitro cell systems are capable of detecting pollution in the marine environment and have the potential of being powerful tools in aquatic toxicology in conjunction with whole animals or as a method of screening materials prior to in vivo testing.
PET: reducing database energy cost via query optimization

Energy conservation is a growing important issue in designing modern database management system (DBMS). This requires a deep thinking about the tradeoffs between energy and performance. Despite the significant amount of efforts at the hardware level to make the major components consume less energy, we argue for a revisit of the DBMS query processing mechanism to identify and harvest the potential of energy saving. However, the state-of-art architecture of DBMS does not take energy usage into consideration in its design. A major challenge in developing an energy-aware DBMS is to design and implement a cost-based query optimizer that evaluates query plans by both performance and energy costs. By following such a strategy, our previous work revealed the fact that energy-efficient query plans do not necessarily have the shortest processing time.This demo proposal introduces PET -- an energy-aware query optimization framework that is built as a part of the PostgreSQL kernel. PET, via its power cost estimation module and plan evaluation model, enables the database system to run under a DBA-specified energy/performance tradeoff level. PET contains a power cost estimator that can accurately estimate the power cost of query plans at compile time, and a query evaluation engine that the DBA could configure key PET parameters towards the desired tradeoff. The software to be demonstrated will also include workload engine for producing large quantities of queries and data sets. Our demonstration will show how PET functions via a comprehensive set of views from its graphical user interface named PET Viewer. Through such interfaces, a user can achieve a good understanding of the energy-related query optimization and cost-based plan generation. Users are also allowed to interact with PET to experience the different energy/performance tradeoffs by changing PET and workload parameters at query runtime.
Epinephrine in the Treatment of Cardiac Failure due to Shunts

A technic for establishing a controlled aorto-pulmonary shunt in closed-chest, spontaneously breathing dogs has been developed. Wide opening of the shunt is well tolerated in some animals, but others develop acute left ventricular failure. Administration of sympathetic blocking agents may induce a failure response on opening the shunt, in an animal that previously tolerated it well. Epinephrine infusion during the control period consistently prevented cardiac failure when the shunt was widely opened. Epinephrine was also capable of reversing the failure, if rapidly infused before left ventricular systolic pressure had dropped to extremely low levels. It was also effective in countering the adverse effects of sympathetic blocking agents. The optimal rate of infusion was found to be 0.5 to 1.5 µg./Kg./min. of epinephrine hydrochloride. A constant infusion of epinephrine hydrochloride was administered to three infants with large left-to-right shunts who had failed to respond to intensive decongestive measure...
Thin Film Morphology and Tribology Study of Mayonnaise

The texture of food is considered related to its rheological behavior when confined within thin films between two shearing or squeezing surfaces. Such thin-film tribological properties may represent foods undergoing massive grinding and deformation during mastication. The thin-film tribological properties rather than the bulk rheological properties correlated with the composition (oil droplets, etc.) and texture of mayonnaise samples. Using the Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA) technique and optical interferometry using fringes of equal chromatic order, we characterized the thin-film morphology and measured tribological and other interfacial properties of mayonnaise emulsions. Results revealed new properties that help differentiate between full fat, light and fat free mayonnaises. This provides an important approach to determine properties of such foods in thin films which cannot be deduced from bulk properties.
The adsorption characteristics of Cu(II) in the presence of chelating agents

Abstract The adsorption characteristics of Cu(II) in the presence of chelating agents was investigated in the laboratory. The results showed that the presence of chelating agents improved the extent of Cu(II) adsorption, although ligand:Cu(II) ratio = 1:1 seemed to be important to assure optimum Cu(II) adsorption, at least in the Cu(II)-NTA-γ-Al2O3 system. Electrostatic interaction appeared to be an important mechanism for complexed Cu(II) adsorption. However, a finite adsorption of Cu(II) complexes of NTA, glycine, and aspartic acid was observed at the pHzpc of γ-Al2O3. This suggests the presence of specific chemical interaction. The adsorbed Cu(II) species in the presence of chelating agents, such as NTA, is the complexed form, i.e., CuNTA−. A model has been proposed to qualitatively explain the attachment of CuNTA− species onto γ-Al2O3 surface.
Localization of the Na+-activated K+ channel Slick in the rat central nervous system.

Na+-activated K+ currents (KNa) have been reported in multiple neuronal nuclei and the properties of KNa vary in different cell types. We have described previously the distribution of Slack, a Na+-activated K+ channel subunit. Another recently cloned Na+-activated K+ channel is Slick, which differs from Slack in its rapid activation and its sensitivity to intracellular ATP levels. We now report the localization of Slick in the rat central nervous system using in situ and immunohistochemical techniques. As for Slack, we find that Slick is widely distributed in the brain. Specifically, strong hybridization signals and immunoreactivity were found in the brainstem, including auditory neurons such as the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. As has also been shown for Slack, Slick is expressed in the olfactory bulb, red nucleus, facial nucleus, pontine nucleus, oculomotor nucleus, substantia nigra, deep cerebellar nuclei, vestibular nucleus, and the thalamus. Slick mRNA and protein, however, also are found in certain neurons that do not express Slack. These neurons include those of the hippocampal CA1, CA2, and CA3 regions, the dentate gyrus, supraoptic nucleus, hypothalamus, and cortical layers II, III, and V. These data suggest that Slick may function independently of Slack in these regions. Computer simulations indicate that Slick currents can cause adaptation during prolonged stimuli. Such adaptation allows a neuron to respond to high-frequency stimulation with lower-frequency firing that remains temporally locked to individual stimuli, a property seen in many auditory neurons. Although it is not yet known if Slick and Slack subunits heteromultimerize, the existence of two genes that encode KNa, that are widely expressed in the nervous system, with both overlapping and nonoverlapping distributions, provides the basis for the reported heterogeneity in the properties of KNa from various neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 484:80–92, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Graduate student and faculty perspectives on criteria used in evaluating effective classroom teaching

Abstract This article presents the results of an empirical research study conducted to explore graduate social work student and faculty perspectives on criteria that should be used in evaluating effective classroom teaching. In revealing a high level of agreement between the two groups, the study findings clearly suggest that students can serve as reliable identifiers of appropriate evaluative criteria and can make significant contributions to the assessment of teaching effectiveness. Guidelines for the effective implementation of the study instrument and the establishment of a systematic procedure of student-faculty evaluations are offered.
Heterologous replicase driven 3' end repair of Cucumber mosaic virus satellite RNA.

Abstract To investigate the extent of the 3′ end repair in a satellite RNA of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) strain Q (Qsat) by a heterologous Tomato aspermy virus (TAV), a set of biologically active agrotransformants corresponding to the three genomic RNAs of TAV was developed. Analysis of Nicotiana benthamiana plants agroinfiltrated with TAV and either wild type or each of the six 3′ deletion mutants of Qsat revealed that (i) heterologous replicase failed to generate Qsat multimers, a hallmark feature of homologous replicase dependent replication of Qsat; (ii) manifestation of severe symptom phenotypes and progeny analysis suggested that heterologous replicase was competent to repair Qsat deletion mutants lacking up to 3′13 nucleotides (nt) but not beyond and (iii) comparative in silico analysis indicated that the 3′ secondary structural features of the repaired Qsat progeny from heterologous vs homologous driven replicases are remarkably very similar. The significance of these observations is discussed.
Effect of zearalenone and estradiol benzoate on serum concentrations of LH, FSH and prolactin in ovariectomized gilts.

Abstract Six ovariectomized gilts were given zearalenone (Z), estradiol benzoate (EB) or vehicle in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. Zearalenone was added to 2.3 kg of a corn-soybean ration at a dose of 1 mg Z/kg body weight; EB was given intramuscularly at 0.1 mg EB/kg body weight. Control gilts received vehicle solvent for both Z and EB. Blood samples were collected from indwelling jugular cannulas at 6-h intervals for 48 h before Z, EB or vehicle was given. After treatment, blood samples were drawn at 6-h intervals for an additional 84 h. Serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) decreased (P
Effective fault-tolerant control paradigm for path tracking in autonomous vehicles

A novel fault-tolerant control paradigm that integrates fault detection (FD) with optimal control for path tracking is designed to ensure accurate path tracking in the presence of faults. The proposed approach is designed to maintain vehicle stability, dynamics, and maneuverability in the event of a faulty steering system. A sensor fusion-based fault detection and identification approach is proposed to accurately detect and identify sensor faults when they occur. A weight adjustment algorithm is considered to ensure accurate detection while providing robustness against parameter variations and uncertainties. Following FD and using the estimated fault vector, a fault-tolerant controller is designed to guarantee the stability of the closed loop system. The proposed controller incorporates a linear quadratic regulator (LQR)-based algorithm with a feed-forward gain. The LQR-based controller is designed to maintain system stability under faulty conditions while operating the dynamic system at minimum cost. The...
Nonconventional versus conventional application of pseudo‐first‐order kinetics to fundamental organic reactions

Three new analysis procedures for pseudo-first-order kinetics are introduced and applied to eight different fundamental organic reactions. The reactions belong to the following classes: nitroalkane proton transfer, formal hydride ion transfers from NADH model compounds, and SN2 reactions of alkyl halides with ionic and neutral nucleophiles. The three methods consist of (1) half-life dependence of kapp, (2) sequential linear pseudo-first-order correlation, and (3) revised instantaneous rate constant analysis. Each of the three procedures is capable of distinguishing between one- and multistep mechanisms, and the combination of the three procedures provides a powerful strategy for differentiating between the two mechanistic possibilities. The data from the eight reactions chosen as examples clearly show how the procedures work in practice. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 44: 2–12, 2012
Micromechanical modeling of thermal spallation in granitic rock

Abstract While the underlying mechanisms governing thermal spallation in rock have been known since the 1930s, our ability to model this behavior remains largely empirical. Leading models of thermal spallation either rely on experimentally derived relationships linking applied thermal stresses to spall production, or employ idealized representations that ignore the effects of rock microstructure. Although such models are useful for describing systems within a given context, they are less suited to extrapolate outside the range to which they are fitted or to derive new insight into how mechanisms at smaller-scales influence spall production. This paper describes a numerical modeling tool designed to conduct explicit simulations of thermal spallation at the grain-scale. The model uses an Eulerian–Godunov scheme to simulate solid and fluid mechanical behavior, permitting both inter- and intra-granular fracture. Simulations conducted with the model illustrate how differences in rock properties, microstructural geometry and mineral volume fractions, combined with variations in thermal and mechanical loading conditions, influence spallation at the grain scale. We discuss the implications of these results on the processes controlling thermal spallation of rock, in particular, the role of micropores in the onset and extent of spallation.
Non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma limited to the larynx

A case of primary laryngeal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is detailed, with a review of the reports in the English literature on this rare site of presentation. Symptoms at onset generally include hoarseness, and may be observed up to 60 months prior to diagnosis. Four of the five cases classified by the Rappaport system are of diffuse histology. The histologic distinction of true lymphoma from pseudolymphoma, which may mimic lymphoma both grossly and microscopically, is reviewed. Local radiotherapy is a curative treatment of choice, with 16 of 18 cases disease-free throughout follow-up.
Consequences of impact parameter restrictions in relativistic nuclear collisions

Abstract Spectra of high momentum protons from high-energy nuclear collisions are analyzed in terms of a simple statistical model. It can be shown that (1) The spectra can clearly be decomposed into spectator and participant contributions, (2) The average number of mutually interacting nucleons is very insensitive to impact parameter restrictions. Consequences for the possible observation of collective phenomena are discussed.
Modality in Amele and other Papuan languages

In this article data are presented from the Amele language and a number of other different Papuan languages2 to show that in these languages the medial verb form3 is marked for a binary distinction of realis versus irrealis modality. Furthermore it is demonstrated that in these languages the realisirrealis distinction interacts with categories of tense and mood marked on the final verb3 in such a way as to divide them into the two basic domains of realis and irrealis modal status. It is also demonstrated for two of the languages (Amele and Nobonob) which have sentence particles with an illocutionary force function that these particles do not interact with the realis-irrealis modal system marked on the medial verb. In the final discussion and conclusion a schema is suggested to account for the facts of future tense, imperative mood and counterfactual mood being categorized as irrealis in these languages. The schema suggests that events can be referred to in the unreal world as either events that are potentially true/false in the real world, or events that used to be true/false in the real world, or events that are not true/false in the real world.
Geometric algorithms for static leaf sequencing problems in radiation therapy

The static leaf sequencing (SLS) problem arises in radiation therapy for cancer treatments, aiming to accomplish the delivery of a radiation prescription to a target tumor in the minimum amount of delivery time. Geometrically, the SLS problem can be formulated as a 3-D partition problem for which the 2-D problem of partitioning a polygonal domain (possibly with holes) into a minimum set of monotone polygons is a special case. In this paper, we present new geometric algorithms for a basic case of the 3-D SLS problem (which is also of clinical value) and for the general 3-D SLS problem. Our basic 3-D SLS algorithm, based on new geometric observations, produces guaranteed optimal quality solutions using Steiner points in polynomial time; the previously best known basic 3-D SLS algorithm gives optimal outputs only for the case without any Steiner points, and its time bound involves a multiplicative factor of a factorial function of the input. Our general 3-D SLS algorithm is based on our basic 3-D SLS algorithm and a polynomial time algorithm for partitioning a polygonal domain (possibly with holes) into a minimum set of x-monotone polygons, and has a fast running time. Experiments and comparisons using real medical data and on a real radiotherapy machine have shown that our 3-D SLS algorithms and software produce treatment plans that use significantly shorter delivery time and give better treatment quality than the current most popular commercial treatment planning system and the most well-known SLS algorithm. Some of our techniques and geometric procedures (e.g., for the problem of partitioning a polygonal domain into a minimum set of x-monotone polygons) are interesting in their own right.
Evaluation of associations between common variation in mitotic regulatory pathways and risk of overall and high grade breast cancer

Mitotic regulatory pathways insure proper timing of mitotic entry, sister chromatid cohesion and separation, and cytokinesis. Disruption of this process results in inappropriate chromosome segregation and aneuploidy, and appears to contribute to cancer. Specifically, disregulation and somatic mutation of mitotic regulators has been observed in human cancers, and overexpression of mitotic regulators is common in aggressive and late stage tumors. However, the role of germline variation in mitotic pathways and risk of cancer is not well understood. We tested 1,084 haplotype-tagging and functional variants from 164 genes in mitotic regulatory pathways in 791 Caucasian women with breast cancer and 843 healthy controls for association with risk of overall and high grade breast cancer. Sixty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 40 genes were associated (P < 0.05) with risk of breast cancer in a log-additive model. In addition, 60 SNPs were associated (P < 0.05) with risk of high grade breast cancer. However, none of these associations were significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. In gene-level analyses, CDC25C, SCC1/RAD21, TLK2, and SMC6L1 were associated (P < 0.05) with overall breast cancer risk, CDC6, CDC27, SUMO3, RASSF1, KIF2, and CDC14A were associated with high grade breast cancer risk, and EIF3S10 and CDC25A were associated with both. Further investigation in breast and other cancers are needed to understand the influence of inherited variation in mitotic genes on tumor grade and cancer risk.
Test-driving CARs

Redirecting T-cell specificity through the introduction of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is emerging as a clinically feasible approach for adoptive immunotherapy. In this issue of Blood , Till and colleagues now demonstrate that autologous T cells genetically modified to express a CD20-specific
Molecular-modeling calculations of enzymatic enantioselectivity taking hydration into account.

A new molecular-modeling methodology has been applied to explain enzymatic enantioselectivity in water. This methodology, which combines vacuum molecular mechanics and the continuum solvation method, should provide a more realistic view of the solvent-enzyme and solvent-substrate interactions than the heretofore used approaches involving the vacuum molecular mechanics only. The methodology described herein has been validated using the experimental data on alpha-chymotrypsin's enantioselectivity in the hydrolysis of four chiral substrates. The reasons why the vacuum molecular mechanics, although not taking hydration into account, still in most cases provide a satisfactory approximation of reality are discussed.
An Edge-Heating Device for Optical Measurement of Thermochromic Glazing Materials and Recommended Test Procedure

Thermochromic materials have optical properties that vary with temperature. To simulate energy performance of such materials, it is important to have spectral data in the solar range, 300–2500 nm, for each temperature that the material will have in the simulation. This paper describes a temperature control strategy that allows for measurement of reflectance and transmittance at a fixed temperature using a commercial spectrophotometer. A specimen frame is used to clamp heating strips to the surface at the edge of the sample that is being tested. Multiple thermocouples are used to monitor the temperature gradient over the sample as the center is cooler than the edge. Verification using an infrared (IR) camera and time-resolved transmittance measurements show that the center sample temperature is stable and how long it takes to achieve equilibrium. An interpolation method is described and verified to reduce the number of states that need to be measured. A recommended test procedure is described and used on two different materials.
Guidance and control laws for vehicle pathkeeping along curved trajectories

Abstract The problem of dynamic interactions between guidance and control schemes for autonomous ocean vehicles is studied. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic loss of stability of circular reference paths. The controller time constant and the guidance preview distance serve as the main bifurcation parameters. Hopf bifurcation theory techniques are used in order to establish stability of the fundamental harmonic response. Comparisons between line of sight and cross track error schemes are made and guidelines for more accurate vehicle operations are provided.
A Local Department of Public Health and the Geospatial Data Infrastructure

Local health departments (LHD) are the most widely distributed aspect of the United States public health infrastructure. The role of LHDs has changed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and an increased concern about bioterrorism. This concern resulted in more emphasis on disease surveillance and the need for new institutional linkages of LHDs with other entities for effective response. These changes coincide with technological changes in spatial data integration and the growth of medical informatics in public health. The integration of GIS into the daily work of an LHD holds promise of improving not only bioterrorism response capabilities, but also the management of emerging infectious diseases, such as West Nile Virus or food borne illness, as well as longstanding programs focused on nutrition and safety. Still, the impediments to using GIS at an LHD remain strong as funding decisions and a complex technology continue to challenge implementation efforts.
On discovering most frequent research trends in a scientific discipline using a text mining technique

Science encompasses many sub-domains such as Computer Science, Physics, Medicine, etc. Each domain such as Computer Science can have many sub-disciplines like Networking, Data Mining, Parallel Processing, etc. Many different techniques have been used in these disciplines to solve open problems and improve existing solutions. Innovations in techniques call for researching prevalent solutions and active work being done in that field. It is thus highly desirable, yet a challenging task to automate the process of identifying current trend of research in any sub-discipline. Automation techniques will allow for faster exploration of methodology and ideas, especially among young researchers or the ones switching to related disciplines, enabling further improvisation and invention. This paper presents a technique for mining the titles and abstracts of research papers to aid in achieving this task. The key idea behind this is that the title and abstract of a research paper encompass within their component words, the core technique, methodology, or aim of that paper. We thus present preliminary ideas of a text mining technique that can efficiently identify trending research topics in a discipline. Our initial experiments exhibit encouraging results.
Recruitment of the Arp2/3 complex to vinculin: Coupling membrane protrusion to matrix adhesion

Cell migration involves many steps, including membrane protrusion and the development of new adhesions. Here we have investigated whether there is a link between actin polymerization and integrin engagement. In response to signals that trigger membrane protrusion, the actin-related protein (Arp)2/3 complex transiently binds to vinculin, an integrin-associated protein. The interaction is regulated, requiring phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate and Rac1 activation, and is sufficient to recruit the Arp2/3 complex to new sites of integrin aggregation. Binding of the Arp2/3 complex to vinculin is direct and does not depend on the ability of vinculin to associate with actin. We have mapped the binding site for the Arp2/3 complex to the hinge region of vinculin, and a point mutation in this region selectively blocks binding to the Arp2/3 complex. Compared with WT vinculin, expression of this mutant in vinculin-null cells results in diminished lamellipodial protrusion and spreading on fibronectin. The recruitment of the Arp2/3 complex to vinculin may be one mechanism through which actin polymerization and membrane protrusion are coupled to integrin-mediated adhesion.
Transforming growth factor-β receptors type I, II and III in phenobarbital-promoted rat liver tumors

Rat liver tumors initiated with N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) followed by promotion with phenobarbital (PB) were examined for expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) type I, II and III receptors. RNase protection and TGF beta 1 affinity labeling assays were used to determine TGF beta receptor steady-state mRNA and protein levels, respectively. We have demonstrated that all three TGF beta receptors are expressed in both normal and malignant hepatic tissues. Long-term PB administration did not alter TGF beta receptor mRNA or protein levels in normal liver. However, type I, II and III TGF beta receptor mRNA and protein levels were decreased by approximately 50% in the DEN-initiated/PB-promoted liver tumors as compared to the receptor levels in normal liver tissue surrounding the tumors. In contrast, TGF beta receptor mRNA and protein levels were unchanged in liver tumors initiated with DEN but not PB-promoted. These data demonstrate that PB promotes the formation of a tumor phenotype that is characterized by a significantly reduced number of TGF beta type I, II and III receptors. This suggests that the down-regulation of TGF beta receptors in PB-promoted hepatic tumors may provide a selective growth advantage to the tumor cells by reducing the ability of TGF beta to inhibit their growth.
An efficient channel coding scheme for direct sequence CDMA systems

The author introduces an efficient modulation/coding scheme for direct-sequence (DS) spread-spectrum (SS) code division multiple access (CDMA) networks. The transmitter is allowed to choose between multiple spreading sequences, thus adding redundancy to the transmitted bit stream as well as providing multi-user interference rejection. The multiple code sequences assigned to each user are taken to be cyclic shifts of a single PN (pseudonoise) sequence. The resulting signal set is a multidimensional biorthogonal constellation. A simple receiver is presented for demodulating this signal set, and the performance of the system in the presence of multiple users is given. This uncoded system is found to have performance which is about equivalent to a two-dimensional signaling scheme with a significant amount of coding. A class of trellis codes is then given which gives an additional 3-dB coding gain (asymptotic). The system is found to give a 1.2-dB improvement as compared to previously reported results with about the same complexity. >
Structural Characterization of Penicillin-Binding Protein-Related Factor A (PrfA) from Bacillus Species

Abstract The prfA genes of Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis are in an operon downstream of the ponA gene encoding penicillin-binding protein 1 (PBP1), a major enzyme involved in peptidoglycan synthesis. The specific function of the 23- to 24-kDa PrfA protein is unknown but this protein plays some role in nucleoid segregation and the functions of PrfA and PBP1 are interrelated. We overexpressed B. stearothermophilus and B. subtilis PrfA in Escherichia coli and purified the proteins to homogeneity by cation exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The protein is a monomer in solution, and circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed an abundance of β-sheet secondary structure. Crystals of B. stearothermophilus PrfA were also obtained and diffracted X-rays to 1.8 A resolution.
Elliptic systems and numerical transformations

Properties of a transformation method, which was developed for solving fluid dynamic problems on general two dimensional regions, are discussed. These include construction error of the transformation and applications to mesh generation. An error and stability analysis for the numerical solution of a model parabolic problem is also presented.
Activity of the Estrogen-Metabolizing Enzyme Cytochrome P450 1B1 Influences the Development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background—Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a hyperproliferative vascular disorder observed predominantly in women. Estrogen is a potent mitogen in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and contributes to PAH in vivo; however, the mechanisms attributed to this causation remain obscure. Curiously, heightened expression of the estrogen-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) is reported in idiopathic PAH and murine models of PAH. Methods and Results—Here, we investigated the putative pathogenic role of CYP1B1 in PAH. Quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and in situ analysis revealed that pulmonary CYP1B1 is increased in hypoxic PAH, hypoxic+SU5416 PAH, and human PAH and is highly expressed within the pulmonary vascular wall. PAH was assessed in mice via measurement of right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and right ventricular systolic pressure. Hypoxic PAH was attenuated in CYP1B1−/− mice, and the potent CYP1B1 inhibitor...
Global Tourism Competitiveness and Freedom of the Press: A Nonlinear Relationship

Several studies have empirically explored the determinants of tourism demand and supply as well as the factors that affect destination or tourism competitiveness. However, no prior research has considered the role that uncensored information plays in a country's ability to compete globally in the tourism industry. Using the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, a new measure of tourism competitiveness developed by the World Economic Forum, and the Freedom of the Press Index created by Freedom House, this study concludes that countries that enjoy a free press as well as those that have a restricted press can be competitive in the tourism industry.
Subspace and graph methods to leverage auxiliary data for limited target data multi-class classification, applied to speaker verification

Multi-class classification can be adversely affected by the absence of sufficient target (in-class) instances for training. Such cases arise in face recognition, speaker verification, and document classification, among others. Auxiliary data-sets which contain a diverse sampling of non-target instances, are leveraged in this thesis using subspace and graph methods to improve classification where target data is limited. The auxiliary data is used to define a compact representation that maps instances into a vector space where inner products quantify class similarity. Within this space, an estimate of the subspace that constitutes within-class variability (e.g. the recording channel in speaker verification or the illumination conditions in face recognition) can be obtained using class-labeled auxiliary data. This thesis proposes a way to incorporate this estimate into the SVM framework to perform nuisance compensation, thus improving classification performance. Another contribution is a framework that combines mapping and compensation into a single linear comparison, which motivates computationally inexpensive and accurate comparison functions. A key aspect of the work takes advantage of efficient pairwise comparisons between the training, test, and auxiliary instances to characterize their interaction within the vector space, and exploits it for improved classification in three ways. The first uses the local variability around the train and test instances to reduce false-alarms. The second assumes the instances lie on a low-dimensional manifold and uses the distances along the manifold. The third extracts relational features from a similarity graph where nodes correspond to the training, test and auxiliary instances. To quantify the merit of the proposed techniques, results of experiments in speaker verification are presented where only a single target recording is provided to train the classifier. Experiments are preformed on standard NIST corpora and methods are compared using standard evalutation metrics: detection error trade-off curves, minimum decision costs, and equal error rates. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Expression arrays illuminate a way forward for mantle cell lymphoma.

Abstract Analysis of gene expression profiles in mantle cell lymphomas (MCL) has identified a relatively small group of genes that discriminate MCL from other lymphoma subtypes; a cohort of twenty "proliferation signature" genes predicts patient survival.
A Procedure for the Manual Precyclization of Fiber Glass Filters used in the ABI 470A Protein Sequencer

The recent availability of the Applied Biosystems 470A gas phase sequencer has greatly facilitated the structural analysis of proteins and peptides. The most important aspect of the gas phase sequencer is its dramatically increased sensitivity; in particular, its ability to obtain sequence information in the low picomol range (Hewick et al 1981). However, its major drawback is that the glass filter holding the samples must be preconditioned with polybrene before peptide analysis can be performed. Recently, Matsudaira showed that protein can be spotted or electroblotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes, detected by staining with Comassie Blue, and then sequenced directly (Matsudaira 1987). This method is very simple and requires no special chemistry for PVDF membranes, but the repetitive yield of PVDF membranes is lower than that of glass fiber filters. To obtain a higher repetitive yield for short peptide sequence analysis, a polybrene-coated support is recommended (Matsudaira 1987). In this paper, we describe a procedure for preconditioning the glass filter before its insertion into the sequencer. This simple additional step drastically saves sequencer time and makes sequencing more efficient.
Acute Cavitary Histoplasmosis in Rhesus Monkeys: Influence of Immunological Status

Male rhesus monkeys were randomized into groups according to body weight, immunized with different Histoplasma capsulatum antigens, and two weeks later were infected intratracheally with 108H. capsulatum yeast cells. Complement fixation antibody titers, skin tests, and chest X rays were performed at weekly intervals from immunization until autopsy, at which time the spleens were cultured and the lungs and other organs were dissected. Pulmonary cavities were found in 33% of the animals, and extrapulmonary dissemination was present in 85% of the animals. Delayed hypersensitivity and circulating antibody activity was detected in all animals at some time during the experimental period; however, animals which developed pulmonary cavities had a longer period before circulating antibodies were detected than animals which did not develop pulmonary cavities. Delayed hypersensitivity developed at approximately the same time in both cavitary and noncavitary animals. Early appearance of delayed hypersensitivity was associated with reduced amounts of extrapulmonary dissemination, in that animals with a later onset of skin test reactivity had more H. capsulatum cultured from the spleen. There was no correlation between the onset or titers of circulating antibodies and the spleen culture results.
Treatment of ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms in the USA: a paradigm shift

Background Integration of data from clinical trials and advancements in technology predict a change in selection for treatment of patients with cerebral aneurysm. Objective To describe patterns of use and in-hospital mortality associated with surgical and endovascular treatments of cerebral aneurysms over the past decade. Materials and methods The data are 34 899 hospital discharges with a diagnosis of ruptured or unruptured cerebral aneurysm from 1998 to 2007 identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). The rates of endovascular coiling and surgical clipping and in-hospital mortality among patients with an aneurysm are examined over a decade by hospital and patient demographic characteristics. Results From 1998 to 2007, 20 134 discharges with a ruptured aneurysm and 14 765 discharges with an unruptured aneurysm were identified. Over this decade, the number of patients discharged with a ruptured aneurysm was stable while the number discharged with an unruptured aneurysm increased significantly. The use of endovascular coiling increased at least twofold for both groups of patient (p Conclusions The majority of unruptured aneurysms in the USA are now treated with endovascular coiling. Although surgical clipping is used for treatment of most ruptured aneurysms, its use is decreasing over time. Dissemination of endovascular procedures appears widespread across patient and hospital subgroups.