cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detection of high clouds in polar regions during the daytime using the MODIS 1.375-/spl mu/m channel

Identification of clouds over Earth's polar regions is difficult from satellite radiometric measurements in the visible and infrared (IR) atmospheric window regions because of the high albedos of snow- and ice-covered surfaces in the visible and the low-temperature contrast between the surface and the troposphere in the IR. The Moderate Resolution Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MODIS) on the Terra Spacecraft has a near-IR channel located within the strong water vapor absorption regions close to 1.38 /spl mu/m. This channel was originally designed for remote sensing of high-altitude clouds in the tropical and mid-latitude regions. In this paper, we report that this channel is also quite useful for detecting high clouds in polar regions during the daytime. Comparisons with IR emission techniques for polar cloud detections are also presented.
Monitoring changes in the chemical composition of dissolvable tobacco products

Dissolvable tobacco products are smokeless, spit-free, made from finely milled tobacco, and dissolve in the mouth of a user. In 2009, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. released a line of dissolvable tobacco products in several test markets. In late 2010, the dissolvables were reformulated and several changes in their composition were determined and are reported here. Our analytical approach featured gas chromatography-mass spectrometry preceded by four separate methods for sample preparation: solvent extraction using acetone, trimethylsilyl derivatization of sugars, solid-phase microextraction of semi-volatiles and liquid–liquid extraction for the quantitative analysis of nicotine. Taken together, these methods identified several changes in the formulation of the initial products and their reformulated versions. One major change in the new dissolvables is that “mellow” and “fresh” flavors have been replaced by a “mint” flavor. Additionally, the strips are no longer dominated by glycerol, but rather threitol. Total nicotine and (free nicotine) concentrations for the orbs, sticks, and strips were found to be 3.35 mg g−1 (1.242 mg g−1), 2.6 mg g−1 (0.850 mg g−1), and 2.74 mg g−1 (0.572 mg g−1), respectively. Total nicotine and free nicotine concentrations have significantly increased in some cases.
Biology of Arthropod Parasitoids and Predators

Basic knowledge of natural enemy biology and ecology is the foundation upon which the applications of biological control rest. In this chapter, aspects of the biology and ecology of arthropod parasitoids and predators are considered. The biology of vertebrates used in biological control is not covered. Following chapters cover the biologies of microbial pathogens and nematodes (Chapter 16) and weed control agents (Chapter 17).
Upper-Body Resistance Training and Self-Efficacy Enhancement in COPD.

Purpose: Loss of skeletal muscle strength is commonly seen with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study aim was to determine the effects of comprehensive upper-body resistance training (8 different lifts) and a self-efficacy enhancing intervention in COPD with respect to muscle strength, symptoms, functional status and exercise adherence. Methods: This randomized trial had 3 groups: upper-body resistance training with an intervention to enhance self-efficacy (UBR + SE), upper-body resistance training and health education (UBR + HE), gentle chair exercises and health education (CE + HE). Subjects performed 16 weeks of supervised training, then 12 months of long-term maintenance at home. Outcomes were: muscle strength, dyspnea, functional status, self-efficacy , and adherence. Results: Sixty-four subjects completed 16 wks of training: age 71 ± 8 yr, fat-free mass index 19 ± 3 kg/m 2 , forced expiratory volume in one second 58 ± 18 percent predicted. The UBR + SE intervention produced a 46% increase in strength compared to a 36% increase in the UBR + HE group (P = 0.054). The combined UBR + SE and UBR + HE groups produced a 41% increase in strength compared to an 11% increase in the CE+HE (P < 0.001). The combined UBR groups also demonstrated increases in lean arm mass (P = 0.003) and a trend toward decreased dyspnea (P = 0.053). There were no group differences in attrition, attendance and training progression. Fifty subjects completed long-term maintenance and the UBR + SE and UBR + HE groups retained some gains in muscle strength, 24% and 21% respectively, and the CE + HE group lost 3% of muscle strength from baseline. Conclusion: The study provides strong evidence that comprehensive resistance training increased strength and lean arm mass and that strength can be partially maintained through a simple home program using hand weights. It provides limited evidence that upper-body resistance training improved dyspnea and that the exercise-specific self- efficacy enhancing intervention was beneficial.
The application of particle swarm optimization and maneuver automatons during non-Markovian motion planning for air vehicles performing ground target search

This paper presents a centralized receding discrete time horizon controller for use in cooperative high level unmanned air vehicle (UAV) motion planning during a search for land based targets over large ground regions with sensor occlusions. Due to the non-Markovian, dynamic, multimodal, and discontinuous objective function employed, the controller presented uses a stochastic optimizer in the form of either a particle swarm optimizer (PSO) or a comprehensive learning PSO (CLPSO) to calculate UAV routes. A hybrid maneuver automaton is applied to model vehicle dynamics and a Fisher information theory based model of discrete ground regions is used as an objective function. Finally, the non-Markovian process PSO (NMPPSO) algorithm is introduced to achieve better performance by customizing the PSO and its variants to decision processes with non-Markovian reward through the use of a suffix trie.
Resource access management for a utility hosting enterprise applications

We introduce a Resource Access Management (RAM) framework for resource utilities that facilitates Class of Service (CoS) based automated resource management. The framework may be used to offer resources on demand to enterprise applications that have time varying resource needs. The classes of service include guaranteed, predictable best effort, and best effort. The analytical apparatus we exploit requires the notion of application demand profiles that specify each application's resource requirements. These profiles may be statistical in nature. Consequently a policing mechanism is introduced to constrain each application's resource usage within its profile. A case study that exploits data from 48 data center servers, is used to demonstrate the framework. We show that our techniques are effective in: exploiting statistical multiplexing while providing service level assurances, limiting application demands in the presence of hostile application behaviour, and providing for differentiated service levels as planned.
Use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to characterize the heterogeneity and clonality of salmonella isolates obtained from the carcasses and feces of swine at slaughter.

Salmonella enterica isolates were recovered from swine at a collaborating processing plant over a 2-month period in the spring of 2000. In the present study, molecular subtyping by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on the 581 confirmed Salmonella isolates from the 84 Salmonella-positive samples obtained from the previous study. A total of 32 different PFGE pulsotypes were observed visually, and a BioNumerics software analysis clustered those pulsotypes into 12 PFGE groups. The B, F, and G groups predominated throughout the sampling period and were isolated from 39, 22, and 13% of the swine, respectively. In addition, multiple isolates were obtained from 67 of the 84 Salmonella-positive samples, and subtyping revealed multiple PFGE profiles in 35 of these 67 (62%) samples. Both carcass and fecal isolates of Salmonella were recovered from 13 swine, resulting in “matched” samples. Molecular typing of the 252 isolates recovered from the matched samples revealed that 7 (54%) of the 13 carcasses were contaminated with Salmonella pulsotypes that were not isolated from the feces of the same animal. Conversely, from 6 of the 13 (46%) matched animals, Salmonella clonal types were isolated from the feces that were not isolated from the carcass of the same animal. These data establish that each lot of swine introduces new contaminants into the plant environment and that swine feces from one animal can contaminate many carcasses. In addition, these results indicate that the examination of multiple Salmonella isolates from positive samples is necessary to determine the variety of potential contaminants of swine carcasses during slaughter and processing.
Defective pH Regulation of Acidic Compartments in Human Breast Cancer Cells (MCF-7) Is Normalized in Adriamycin-Resistant Cells (MCF-7adr)†

Alkalinization of normally acidic intracellular compartments or acidification of a mildly alkaline cytoplasm by biochemical or genetic manipulation has been demonstrated to inhibit both endocytosis and secretion (Tartakoff, 1983a; Cosson et al., 1989; Mellman et al., 1986; Davoust et al., 1987; Cosson et al., 1989; van Deurs et al., 1989; Maxfield & Yamashiro, 1991; Hansen et al., 1993). These results provide the basis for the conclusion that the maintenance of pH gradients between acidic vesicular compartments and a mildly alkaline cytoplasm is an essential biochemical requirement for the correct functioning of the endocytotic and secretory machinery. Tumor cells have been shown to have an abnormally acidic cytoplasmic pH (Warburg, 1956; Simon & Schindler, 1994). Here we report that the intracellular vesicular compartments in tumor cells (MCF-7) derived from a human breast cancer fail to acidify. This failure results in a significant decrease in the pH gradient (0.9 pH unit) between the vesicular luminal compartments and the cytoplasm. These defects are correlated with a disruption in the organization and function of the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and the pericentriolar recycling compartment (PRC). In marked distinction, drug-resistant tumor cells (MCF-7adr) derived from the MCF-7 line that are resistant to the most widely employed chemotherapeutic drug, adriamycin, appear normal in both acidification and organization of the PRC and TGN. Treatment of drug-resistant MCF-7adr cells with nigericin and monensin, ionophores demonstrated to disrupt vesicular acidification (Tartakoff, 1983b), leads to a resensitization of these cells to adriamycin. Drug sensitivity is proposed to result from an acidification defect within vesicles of the recycling and secretory pathways. A functional consequence of this defect is the diminished capacity of cells to remove cytotoxic drugs from the cytoplasm by sequestration of protonated drugs within the vesicles, followed by drug secretion through the activity of the secretory and recycling pathways.
Learning affinities and dependencies for multi-target tracking using a CRF model

We propose a learning-based Conditional Random Field (CRF) model for tracking multiple targets by progressively associating detection responses into long tracks. Tracking task is transformed into a data association problem, and most previous approaches developed heuristical parametric models or learning approaches for evaluating independent affinities between track fragments (tracklets). We argue that the independent assumption is not valid in many cases, and adopt a CRF model to consider both tracklet affinities and dependencies among them, which are represented by unary term costs and pairwise term costs respectively. Unlike previous methods, we learn the best global associations instead of the best local affinities between tracklets, and transform the task of finding the best association into an energy minimization problem. A RankBoost algorithm is proposed to select effective features for estimation of term costs in the CRF model, so that better associations have lower costs. Our approach is evaluated on challenging pedestrian data sets, and are compared with state-of-art methods. Experiments show effectiveness of our algorithm as well as improvement in tracking performance.
Amino Acid Signaling in TOR Activation

The target of rapamycin (TOR) is a central cell growth regulator conserved from yeast to mammals. Uncontrolled TOR activation is commonly observed in human cancers. TOR forms two distinct structural and functional complexes, TORC1 and TORC2. TORC1 promotes cell growth and cell size by stimulating protein synthesis. A wide range of signals, including nutrients, energy levels, and growth factors, are known to control TORC1 activity. Among them, amino acids (AA) not only potently activate TORC1 but are also required for TORC1 activation by other stimuli, such as growth factors. The mechanisms of growth factors and cellular energy status in activating TORC1 have been well elucidated, whereas the molecular basis of AA signaling is just emerging. Recent advances in the role of AA signaling on TORC1 activation have revealed key components, including the Rag GTPases, protein kinases, nutrient transporters, and the intracellular trafficking machinery, in relaying AA signals to TORC1 activation.
Hedonic Hot Spot in Nucleus Accumbens Shell: Where Do μ-Opioids Cause Increased Hedonic Impact of Sweetness?

μ-Opioid systems in the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens contribute to hedonic impact (“liking”) for sweetness, food, and drug rewards. But does the entire medial shell generate reward hedonic impact? Or is there a specific localized site for opioid enhancement of hedonic “liking” in the medial shell? And how does enhanced taste hedonic impact relate to opioid-stimulated increases in food intake? Here, we used a functional mapping procedure based on microinjection Fos plumes to localize opioid substrates in the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens that cause enhanced “liking” reactions to sweet pleasure and that stimulate food intake. We mapped changes in affective orofacial reactions of “liking”/“disliking” elicited by sucrose or quinine tastes after d-Ala2-N-Me-Phe4-Glycol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) microinjections in rats and compared hedonic increases to food intake stimulated at the same sites. Our maps indicate that opioid-induced increases in sucrose hedonic impact are generated by a localized cubic millimeter site in a rostrodorsal region of the medial shell. In contrast, all regions of the medial shell generated DAMGO-induced robust increases in eating behavior and food intake. Thus, our results identify a locus for opioid amplification of hedonic impact and reveal a distinction between opioid mechanisms of food intake and hedonic impact. Opioid circuits for stimulating food intake are widely distributed, whereas hedonic “liking” circuits are more tightly localized in the rostromedial shell of the nucleus accumbens.
Phenoloxidase in the periostracum of the marine bivalve Modiolus demissus dillwyn

Phenoloxidase was extracted from Modiolus demissus mantles and periostraca with the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate. Partial purification of the periostracal enzyme was achieved by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme, present in the mantle in latent or proenzyme form, can be chymotryptically activated. Molecular weights of the proenzyme and active enzyme as determined by SDS gel electrophoresis were 80,000 and 70,000 daltons, respectively. A considerable portion of phenoloxidase activity in the periostracum is associated with a large macromolecule that cannot be reduced into smaller subunits, suggesting enzyme covalently immobilized by quinones. Optimal pH of 8.0–8.5 was found for the active enzyme (MW 70,000). Activity was diminished by adding copper chelators or by reducing disulfide bonds. In the former case, activity was restored by titrating the inhibitor with divalent copper. A hydrophobic active site on the enzyme is suggested by low Km and high reaction velocities for substrates with high partition coefficients in 2-octanol:water such as 4-methylcatechol and 4-butylcatechol.
Quantitative Analysis Of Surface Characteristics And Morphology In Death Valley, California Using Airsar Data

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (JPL-AIRSAR) is used to collect full polarimetric measurements at P-, L-, and C-bands. These data are analyzed using the radar analysis and visualization environment (RAVEN). The AIRSAR data are calibrated using in-scene corner reflectors to allow for quantitative analysis of the radar backscatter. RAVEN is used to extract surface characteristics. Inversion models are used to calculate quantitative surface roughness values and fractal dimensions. These values are used to generate synthetic surface plots that represent the small-scale surface structure of areas in Death Valley. These procedures are applied to a playa, smooth salt-pan, and alluvial fan surfaces in Death Valley. Field measurements of surface roughness are used to verify the accuracy.
Block transmission over dispersive channels: transmit filter optimization and realization, and MMSE-DFE receiver performance

Optimal transmit filters for packet-based data transmission on dispersive Gaussian-noise linear time-invariant channels are derived by maximizing the mutual information, subject to a fixed input power budget. A quasi-stationary approximation to the optimal nonstationary input covariance process is derived and shown to exhibit negligible mutual information loss from the optimal case, for situations of most practical interest. Moreover, this quasi-stationary approximation results in efficiently computed lattice or pole-zero implementations of the transmit filter. By considering the popular finite-impulse-response minimum-mean-square-error decision-feedback equalizer (FIR MMSE-DFE) as a receiver structure, we show that transmitter optimization results in an appreciable improvement in the decision-point signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, we show that, as the output blocklength becomes infinite, the optimum finite-dimensional nonstationary input covariance process converges to a stationary process whose power spectrum obeys the well-known water-pouring distribution.
Solution structure of a cis-opened (10R)-N6-deoxyadenosine adduct of (9S,10R)-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene in a DNA duplex.

The solution structure of an 11-mer DNA duplex, d(CGGTCA*CGAGG)·d(CCTCGTGACCG), containing a 10R adduct at dA*that corresponds to the cis addition of the N6-amino group of dA6 to (+)-(9S,10R)-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene was studied by 2D NMR methods. The NOESY cross-peak patterns indicate that the hydrocarbon is intercalated on the 5‘-side of the modified base. This observation is the same as that observed for other oligonucleotides containing (10R)-dA adducts but opposite to that observed for the corresponding (10S)-dA adducts which are intercalated on the 3‘-side of the modified base. The hydrocarbon is intercalated from the major groove without significant disruption of either the anti glycosidic torsion angle of the modified residue or the base pairing of the modified residue with the complementary residue on the opposite strand. The ensemble of 10 structures determined exhibits relatively small variations (6−15°) in the characteristic hydrocarbon−base dihedral angles (α‘ and β‘) as w...
Stages of Change: A Critique

The stages of change proposed by Prochaska and DiClemente have been applied to change efforts within and outside of formal treatment and in relation to virtually any problem behavior. This model has gained widespread popularity in health psychology and addictions and is being used to guide interventions and allocate treatment resources in several fields. In this article, the authors review 87 studies on the stages of change across problem behaviors. Research findings suggest that the proposed stages are not mutually exclusive and that there is scant evidence of sequential movement through discrete stages in studies of specific problem behaviors, such as smoking and substance abuse. Although the stage model may have considerable heuristic value, its practical utility is limited by concerns about the validity of stage assessments. The model's underlying concepts and alternative views of readiness for change are considered, along with directions for future research.
Prognostic utility of myocardial blush grade after PCI in patients with NSTE-ACS: Analysis from the ACUITY trial.

OBJECTIVE We evaluated the ability of post-procedural myocardial blush grade (MBG) to stratify outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). BACKGROUND MBG strongly correlates with survival after reperfusion therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS Of 13,819 NSTE-ACS patients randomized in the ACUITY trial, 3,115 patients underwent PCI and had MBG analyzed by an independent angiographic core laboratory. We examined net adverse clinical events (NACE; composite ischemia or bleeding), composite ischemia (death, MI or ischemia-driven revascularization) and non-CABG major bleeding according to final MBG. RESULTS At 30 days, patients with MBG-0/1 had higher rates of NACE (25.1% vs. 13.9%, P = 0.002) and composite ischemia (19.1% vs. 9.4%, P = 0.002) than patients with MBG-2/3. At 1-year follow-up, MBG-0/1 patients had significantly higher rates of composite ischemia compared to other patients (27.8% vs. 19.8%, P = 0.02). By multivariable analysis, MBG-0/1 was an independent predictor of 30-day ischemia-driven revascularization (OR 5.74 [2.63, 12.54], P < 0.0001) in the total population and among patients with normal post-PCI epicardial TIMI-3 flow (OR 6.39 [2.06, 19.78], P = 0.001). However, 1-year outcomes were similar between patients with and without normal myocardial perfusion. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, MBG is a predictor of 30-day revascularization in the overall population and in patients with normal epicardial flow but fails to stratify 1-year outcomes. Thus, unlike in STEMI patients, the prognostic value of MBG in NSTE-ACS patients appears to be limited to the short-term. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Short‐term nonpressor angiotensin II infusion stimulates sodium transporters in proximal tubule and distal nephron

In Sprague Dawley rats, 2-week angiotensin II (AngII) infusion increases Na+ transporter abundance and activation from cortical thick ascending loop of Henle (TALH) to medullary collecting duct (CD) and raises blood pressure associated with a pressure natriuresis, accompanied by depressed Na+ transporter abundance and activation from proximal tubule (PT) through medullary TALH. This study tests the hypothesis that early during AngII infusion, before blood pressure raises, Na+ transporters’ abundance and activation increase all along the nephron. Male Sprague Dawley rats were infused via osmotic minipumps with a subpressor dose of AngII (200 ng/kg/min) or vehicle for 3 days. Overnight urine was collected in metabolic cages and sodium transporters’ abundance and phosphorylation were determined by immunoblotting homogenates of renal cortex and medulla. There were no significant differences in body weight gain, overnight urine volume, urinary Na+ and K+ excretion, or rate of excretion of a saline challenge between AngII and vehicle infused rats. The 3-day nonpressor AngII infusion significantly increased the abundance of PT Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3), cortical TALH Na-K-2Cl cotransporter 2 (NKCC2), distal convoluted tubule (DCT) Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC), and cortical CD ENaC subunits. Additionally, phosphorylation of cortical NKCC2, NCC, and STE20/SPS1-related proline–alanine-rich kinase (SPAK) were increased; medullary NKCC2 and SPAK were not altered. In conclusion, 3-day AngII infusion provokes PT NHE3 accumulation as well as NKCC2, NCC, and SPAK accumulation and activation in a prehypertensive phase before evidence for intrarenal angiotensinogen accumulation.
The Dynamics of Convenience and the Brazilian Soybean Boom

U.S. and Brazilian soybeans are harvested on an alternating semiannual cycle that generates predictable dynamic behavior in the soybean futures market. Because corn and soybeans are storage substitutes, their physical storage costs move together and can be isolated separately from crop-specific marginal convenience yields along the futures price profile. The Kaldor-Working convenience yield hypothesis is tested for the international soybean market and storage risk is measured.
Analysis-ready multiwavelets (armlets) for processing scalar-valued signals

The notion of armlets is introduced in this letter as a precise formulation of orthonormal multiwavelets that guarantee wavelet decomposition with highpass output not being effected by polynomial perturbation of the input. A mathematical scheme for constructing armlets is given, and it is shown that the notions of armlets and balanced multiwavelets are different. In particular, while balanced wavelets are armlets, the converse is false in general. One advantage of armlets is that the weaker assumption provides flexibility to facilitate wavelet and filter construction.
Der Effekt von Herzleistung und Blutdruck auf die Hämodynamik der spinalen Durchblutung

Bestimmte Phanomene der klinischen Symptomatologie bei spinalen Durchblutungsstorungen sind nicht allein aus den Besonderheiten der anatomischen Gefasanlage am Ruckenmark zu erklaren (1, 2, 16). Es ist fur die Pathogenese von wesentlicher Bedeutung, neben der Morphologie des Gefassystems, die funktionellen Zusammenhange im Bereich der spinalen Hamodynamik zu berucksichtigen (4, 5, 13, 25, 27). Die Hamodynamik unterliegt physikalischen Gesetzmasigkeiten. Sie kann auserdem von Veranderungen der Blutzusammensetzung beeinflust werden.
Water Chains Guide the Growth of Monoatomic Copper Wires on Cu(110)

This article reports the formation of monatomic copper wires on Cu(110) following reaction with adsorbed water in the temperature range of 180–340 K. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) revealed that the wires grow out of the step edges and extend into the lower terraces along [110] directions. The density and length of the monatomic wires correlate with the extent of the dissociation reaction of water leading to formation of one-dimensional mixed H2O–OH chains. The chains decorate and guide the growth of the copper wires.
Trophic Relationships of Small Mammals in a Chilean Temperate Rainforest

Food habits were determined from analysis of stomach contents of nine species of small mammals that inhabit primary-growth temperate rainforest in southern Chile. Species included rodents ( Akodon olivaceus, A. longipilis, A. sanborni , putative A. longipilis × sanborni hybrids, Oryzomys longicaudatus, Geoxus valdivianus, Irenomys tarsalis , and Auliscomys mi-cropus ) and marsupials ( Rhyncholestes raphanurus and Dromiciops australis ). Diets throughout the year were determined for the first three species, but primarily during summer (December-March) for the remaining species. Species of Akodon generally were omnivorous, with the stomach contents of A. olivaceus containing smaller proportions of vegetation and fungi than those of other species in most periods. A. olivaceus also had seasonally greater, but approximately equal overall proportions of arthropods, seeds, and fruits in the diet. O. longicaudatus, I. tarsalis , and A. micropus were broadly granivorous-frugivorous with plant material, but not fungi, comprising significant proportions of the diet. Invertebrates, primarily arthropods and annelids, dominated diets of G. valdivianus and R. raphanurus , but significant amounts of nonepidermal plant material and fungi also were present. D. australis fed on arthropods, but also ate some seeds and vegetation. Overall, diets of these small mammals were relatively omnivorous; because this contrasts with patterns of trophic specialization for many of the same species elsewhere, resource availability rather than evolutionary specialization may contribute more in determining patterns of use of local food resources.
Determination of O2 and N2 vibrational state distributions in CO laser-sustained plasmas

Spontaneous Raman scattering is used to experimentally determine the Vibrational Distribution Function (VDF) of diatomic species in CO laser-sustained non-equilibrium plasmas in the pressure range 200 740 torr. In NJCO plasmas, as many as 40 vibrational levels of CO’are observed, in addition to 7 levels of N2. The CO VDF is highly non-Boltzmann. exhibiting the well-known Treanor plateau. In N&O/O2 plasmas, 9 vibrational levels of O2 are observed, which also show a non-Boltzmann distribution. Experimental data are compared to predictions from a kinetic master equation model, which incorporates effects of non-uniform pump laser distribution, molecular energy transfer, and species and thermal diffusion.
CD3+, CD56+ aggressive variant of large granular lymphocyte leukemia [see comments]

Clonal expansions of CD3+ large granular lymphocytes (LGL) have been classified as T-LGL leukemia. The majority of patients with T-LGL leukemia have a chronic disease (years) manifested often by severe neutropenia, rheumatoid arthritis, and mild-to-moderate splenomegaly. The characteristic phenotype of the leukemic LGL is CD3+, CD8+, CD16+, CD57+, and CD56-. In this report we describe an aggressive variant of T- LGL leukemia in which leukemic LGL also expressed CD56, as identified by two-color flow-cytometry analysis. In contrast to the chronic nature typical of T-LGL leukemia, these patients presented with a severe systemic illness that was rapidly progressive and resistant to treatment. Atypical clinical features included rapidly increasing spleen size to massive proportions, extensive lymphadenopathy, and the presence of B symptoms (fever, nightsweats, weight loss). Hematologic and pathologic features were also unusual for T-LGL leukemia. These patients had very high LGL counts at diagnosis (range 11,692 to 26,312 microL), which increased rapidly despite treatment. Histopathologic examination of splenic sections showed extensive infiltration of red pulp cords and sinuses by leukemic cells with atrophy of the white pulp. These clinicopathologic features are similar to those described for patients with natural killer cell (NK)-LGL leukemia, whose cells are also CD56+. However, unlike NK-LGL leukemia, we could not show a direct pathogenic role for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as Southern-blot analyses using an EBV-joined termini probe were negative in these patients. Our findings suggest that CD3+, CD56+ LGL leukemia is a distinct clinicopathologic entity separate from the usual CD3+, CD56- T- LGL leukemia. The expression on leukemic LGL of CD56, an adhesion molecule, may determine the aggressive biologic nature of this newly described disease.
Abstract 4600: Regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by Wnt co-receptor LRP6 in colorectal cancer cells

Mutations of APC and CTNNB1 are two major factors for Wnt/β-catenin signaling over-activation in colorectal cancer, however recent studies indicate that the levels of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer cells could be modulated on the cell surface. The low-density lipoprotein-related protein 6 (LRP6) is an essential Wnt co-receptor for the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Herein, we reported that LRP6 expression is up-regulated in colorectal cancer. Moreover, LRP6 silencing significantly reduced Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer HCT116 cells (harboring a CTNNB1 mutation) and DLD-1 cells (harboring an APC mutation) and inhibited cancer cell viability. In addition, treatment of HCT116 cells with Wnt3A resulted in LRP6 phosphorylation and activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which was blocked by LRP6 antagonist Mesd. Finally, we found that salinomycin, a potent small molecule inhibitor of LRP6, suppressed LRP6 expression and phosphorylation, inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer HCT116 and DLD-1 cells, and repressed cancer cell viability and colony formation within the same concentration range. Together, these results indicate that LRP6 plays an important role in over-activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer cells, and that LRP6 is a potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer. Citation Format: Yonghe Li, Wenyan Lu, Taj D. King. Regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by Wnt co-receptor LRP6 in colorectal cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4600.
Establishing and using study criteria to ensure the rigor and robustness of survival compliance testing at hydroelectric dams

An elaborate set of criteria have been developed by fish managers and regulators to assure the accuracy, precision, representativeness, and robustness of survival compliance studies coordinated within the Federal Columbia River Power System in the northwestern USA. Dam passage survival, defined as survival from the dam face to the tailrace mixing zone, must be ≥96 % for spring out migrating juvenile salmonids [i.e., yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss)] and ≥93 % for summer outmigrants (i.e., subyearling Chinook salmon). Survival must be estimated with a standard error ≤1.5 %. However, these quantitative benchmarks are only part of a multifaceted set of criteria, including representative dam operations, river discharge levels, and fish selection, along with tests of model validity that must be satisfied. These criteria are illustrated using acoustic-tag survival compliance studies conducted at The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, 2010–2012. The results suggest evaluation criteria for survival compliance tests must balance the needs for rigor and robustness with the ability to reasonably perform the tests in naturally varying riverine systems.
Arctic shrub growth trajectories differ across soil moisture levels

The circumpolar expansion of woody deciduous shrubs in arctic tundra alters key ecosystem properties including carbon balance and hydrology. However, landscape-scale patterns and drivers of shrub expansion remain poorly understood, inhibiting accurate incorporation of shrub effects into climate models. Here, we use dendroecology to elucidate the role of soil moisture in modifying the relationship between climate and growth for a dominant deciduous shrub, Salix pulchra, on the North Slope of Alaska, USA. We improve upon previous modeling approaches by using ecological theory to guide model selection for the relationship between climate and shrub growth. Finally, we present novel dendroecology-based estimates of shrub biomass change under a future climate regime, made possible by recently developed shrub allometry models. We find that S. pulchra growth has responded positively to mean June temperature over the past 2.5 decades at both a dry upland tundra site and an adjacent mesic riparian site. For the upland site, including a negative second-order term in the climate-growth model significantly improved explanatory power, matching theoretical predictions of diminishing growth returns to increasing temperature. A first-order linear model fit best at the riparian site, indicating consistent growth increases in response to sustained warming, possibly due to lack of temperature-induced moisture limitation in mesic habitats. These contrasting results indicate that S. pulchra in mesic habitats may respond positively to a wider range of temperature increase than S. pulchra in dry habitats. Lastly, we estimate that a 2°C increase in current mean June temperature will yield a 19% increase in aboveground S. pulchra biomass at the upland site and a 36% increase at the riparian site. Our method of biomass estimation provides an important link toward incorporating dendroecology data into coupled vegetation and climate models.
Effect of Plant Growth, Isolation and Purification Conditions on Barley Protoplast Yield

Summary Yields of barley leaf protoplasts were found to vary widely depending on plant growth and isolation conditions. The effect of such conditions was studied in detail in an attempt to optimize protoplast yields. Conditions involving low light intensities and short days lengthen the time plants can be used for protoplast isolation and allow high yields (3–4 × 106 per gram of leaf tissue) to be reproducibly obtained. Discontinuous gradient centrifugation techniques are described that give good protoplast recoveries with selective removal of cellular debris as well as damaged (nonspherical) protoplasts.
Current Knowledge of Obesity Treatment Guidelines by Health Care Professionals

Objective The objective of this study was to assess health care professionals' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the nonsurgical treatment of obesity. Methods A nationally representative sample of internists, family practitioners, obstetricians/gynecologists, and nurse practitioners completed a web-based survey between June 9 and July 1, 2016 (n = 1,506). Results Only 16% of respondents indicated that obesity counseling should be provided approximately twice monthly in an individual or group setting for at least 6 months, in accordance with United States Preventive Services Task Force and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines. Only 15% of respondents identified BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with an obesity-associated comorbid condition as the appropriate indication to prescribe pharmacotherapy for patients. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that it is appropriate to continue long-term pharmacotherapy under conditions inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines, with nearly one-quarter indicating that obesity medications should never be prescribed beyond 3 months regardless of weight loss. Conclusions These findings suggest that provider understanding of appropriate clinical care for obesity is inconsistent with evidence-based recommendations. As coverage for behavioral counseling services and pharmacotherapy expands, it is imperative that health care professionals understand how to effectively leverage these treatment modalities to optimize health outcomes for patients with obesity.
Den kapitalistiska staten och möjligheten till socialism

[The capitalist state and the possibility of socialism] As part of The Real Utopias Project, Erik Olin Wright has since 1991 explored various models of radical social change through a variety of anthologies and monographs, including Envisioning real utopias (from 2010). In this article, Wright examines how Goran Therborn’s book What does the ruling class do when it rules? from 1978 can be used to draft a possible socialist alternative to capitalism that is relevant to the anti-capitalist struggle today. Therborn’s book deals with how we are to understand the state and its role in reproducing prevailing class relations. This was a key issue for the labour movement of the 20th century when it – through democratic elections or revolutions – tried to transform society through the capturing of state power. Wright shows how Therborn’s analysis is still relevant to those who, in the light of the failures and acts of cruelty of “real socialism” and the global expansion of capitalism with rampant environmental destruction and inequality in tow, try to formulate a concept of true democratic socialism and develop possible strategies to challenge and transcend the predominant economic system. Publication history: Translation of the chapter “The capitalist state and the possibility of socialism” from Gunnar Olofsson & Sven Hort (eds.), Class, sex and revolutions. Goran Therborn – a critical appraisal , Arkiv forlag/Arkiv Academic Press 2016. (Published 23 May 2017) Citation: Wright, Erik Olin (2017) “Den kapitalistiska staten och mojligheten till socialism”, in Arkiv. Tidskrift for samhallsanalys , issue 8, pp. 47–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.8.2
Passive coherent location matched filter alternative

This paper introduces an alternative method to traditional matched filtering for PCL applications. The developed method adapts the filter structure rather than the underlying signal of the surveillance channel. This allows for minimization of interference or noise present in the surveillance channel that are correlated or uncorrelated with the reference channel. The difference between the current matched filter and the traditional approach is that idealized correlation peak for the signal is used to update the filter weights in the error chain. The method shows improvement over traditional matched filtering.
Making Interracial Humor Together

The presence of thwarted intentionality in humor makes the Incongruity Theory of Humor preferable over the Superiority and Relief Theories. Humor, while involving the thwarting of expectations that has less than serious consequences and that at least inclines an interlocutor to laugh, also depends on an epoche, that is, a formulaic introduction or the humorist’s mischievous smile, and involves a transformation of statements or actions, which might seem only aggressive, for example, in everyday life. A comic exchange with an African-American friend of the author illustrates the features of humor, particularly the “leaping together” into the humorous province of meaning, at a distance from everyday life, and opening the way to the theoretical province of meaning while differing from it. Humor is intersubjective since humorous styles are learned, since humor thrives in the encounter between persons from different cultures, and since it often involves a leap together. Racist humor, often not conducted in face-to-face relationships can be analyzed in terms of the linguistic concepts of “semantics/syntactics” and “pragmatics,” and the author shows why his friend’s humor, which focuses on race, is not racist insofar as in the pragmatic dimension it asserts cultural/racial differences and yet reaches across the racial divide. This friend’s humor reveals the healing potential in freedom that can reconcile oneself to one’s frailty and difference from another and establish a unique intimacy between interlocutors.
Communication apprehension and willingness to listen in nursing education.

• Communication apprehension and willingness to listen can affect safe effective patient care.
Racial and Ethnic Heterogeneity in the Effect of MESA on AP STEM Coursework and College STEM Major Aspirations

Previous research suggests that racial and ethnic disparities in postsecondary STEM outcomes are rooted much earlier in the educational pipeline. One possible remedy to these disparities is participation in early STEM enrichment programs. We examine the impact of MESA, which is an early program that targets socioeconomically disadvantaged students, on outcomes that may lead students down the path to STEM. We analyze three waves of restricted nationally-representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study that trace the STEM progress of more than 25,000 students throughout high school and into their postsecondary careers. Propensity score matching models reveal that MESA participation increases students’ odds of taking AP STEM courses in high school and their aspirations for declaring a STEM major in college. However, these effects are driven primarily by black and white students, respectively. Latino and Asian students remain largely unaffected. A formal sensitivity analysis concludes that these findings are moderately robust to unobserved confounding. The results are also robust to alternative matching schemes. Collectively, the findings suggest that MESA may improve black students’ high school STEM engagement but may have little impact on black and Latino students’ STEM outcomes in college.
Evolution's amazing arms race

Biologist One Pagan introduces readers to a variety of creatures with unusual survival strategies, from cone snails and jellyfish to poison toads and spitting spiders in Strange Survivors.
Active Field Cancellation to Prevent Saturation in Ferromagnetic-Core Loop Antennas

Ferromagnetic-core loop antennas with high-permeability core materials are typically used in size-constrained applications requiring the detection and reception of weak very low frequency and extremely low frequency signals. However, high-permeability materials are susceptible to saturation in the presence of strong magnetic fields such as those generated by power lines, in research laboratories, or through natural phenomena. Here, a system is presented that actively controls the magnetic flux in the core of the antenna by applying a control signal to an independent set of windings on the same core. This control signal is phase locked to the offending signal and the two signals destructively combine in the core. Our results show that it is possible to actively cancel the fundamental component of a strong interferer in the core of a high sensitivity ferromagnetic-core loop antenna and prevent core saturation. This approach eliminates signal distortion caused by magnetic saturation that passive signal cancellation or signal processing in the receiver do not. Thus, high-sensitivity ferromagnetic-core antennas can be used in applications where they were previously thought unsuitable.
Effect of pressure on electric-resistance strain gages

A simple theory is developed to explain the effect of hydrostatic pressure on electric-resistance strain gages. For relatively incompressible materials,pressure effect, the algebraic difference between true and observed strain, is (α/GF +βG) where α is pressure coefficient of resistance,βG is the linear compressibility, andGF the gage factor of the gage material. For Constantan foil gages, pressure effect should be about +0.70×10−7 bar−1, which is approximately what is observed by Milligan and Gardeen and in experiments described here on materials under pressure of up to 10,000 bars.
El problema mundial de la deuda

Varios deudores latinoamericanos, Filipinas y algunos paises africanos se encuentran en una situacion de iliquidez o incluso insolvencia en cuan to a sus deudas externas. Estos paises carecen de recursos cambiarios para el servicio oportuno de su deuda en lo que respecta al principal y a los intereses. Los acreedores no estan dispuestos a prestar recursos adiciona les para la consolidacion automatica de intereses y principal. Los gobier nos de los paises industrializados y las instituciones internacionales estan administrando un sistema de servicio involuntario de la deuda y de pres tamos involuntarios. Los prestamos se mantienen al corriente e incluso productivos mediante severos programas de ajuste y limitadas contribu ciones de "dinero nuevo" de los bancos comerciales. El mayor peso en la solucion ha sido hasta ahora una masiva intervencion politica de los acree dores para obligar al servicio de la deuda. El sistema se mantiene a flote por la decision de los acreedores de evitar el derrumbe proporcionando financiamiento creativo y abundante cuando es esencial, como ocurrio en la ultima restructuracion mexicana. En consecuencia se ha evitado la mora total. Pero la reciente moratoria brasilena, que tuvo un precedente hace exactamente cincuenta anos, en 1937, abre la puerta a un enfrenta miento grave entre deudores y acreedores.