cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sector Behavior, Market Efficiency, and the Optimal Risky Portfolio

Stock sector investing has become increasingly popular since the creation of the Global Industry Classification System in 1999, yet little academic research has explored sector behavior. This study begins to fill the void by examining how each sector contributes to the optimal risky portfolio over time. Using a much longer time series than previous studies, a crisp definition of sectors, and the perspective of mean Markowitz optimization, this study provides evidence that investors mostly price return and risk information efficiently. But they find it difficult to price sector-level correlation information efficiently into the optimal risky portfolio. TOPICS:Fundamental equity analysis, portfolio theory, statistical methods
Falsehoods and the First Amendment

What is the constitutional status of falsehoods? From the standpoint of the First Amendment, does truth or falsity matter? These questions have become especially pressing with the increasing power of social media, the frequent contestation of established facts, and the current focus on “fake news,” disseminated by both foreign and domestic agents in an effort to drive U.S. politics in particular directions. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that intentional falsehoods are protected by the First Amendment, at least when they do not cause serious harm. But in important ways, 2012 seems like a generation ago, and the Court has yet to give an adequate explanation for its conclusion. Such an explanation must begin the risk of a “chilling effect,” by which an effort to punish or deter falsehoods might also and in the process chill truth. But that is hardly the only reason to protect falsehoods, intentional or otherwise; there are several others. Even so, these arguments suffer from abstraction and high-mindedness; they do not amount to decisive reasons to protect falsehoods. These propositions are applied to old questions involving defamation and to new questions involving fake news, deepfakes, and doctored videos. It emerges that New York Times v. Sullivan is an anachronism, and that it should be rethought in light of current technologies and new findings in behavioral science. Government should have authority to control deepfakes and doctored videos, and also certain kinds of “fake news,” when it threatens political processes. It also emerges that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms should do far more than they are now doing to control falsehoods, deepfakes, and doctored videos.
Proto-oncogene expression in proliferating and differentiating cardiac and skeletal muscle

We have examined the expression of 13 proto-oncogenes in proliferating and terminally differentiated cardiac and skeletal muscle. Total RNA was prepared from intact ventricular cardiac-muscle tissue and from purified ventricular cardiac-muscle cells of neonatal and adult rats and from cultured proliferating and terminally differentiated L6A1 rat skeletal-muscle cells. cDNA probes for histone H4, thymidine kinase, myosin heavy chain and M-creatine kinase were used to assess cellular proliferation and differentiation. Oncogenes c-myc, c-raf, c-erb-A, c-ras-H, c-ski, and c-sis were expressed in both proliferating and differentiated cardiac muscle tissue and cells, whereas c-myb expression was not observed in either. c-src was expressed only in neonatal cardiac muscle tissue and cells. c-fms, c-abl, and c-ras-K were expressed in tissue from both neonatal and adult animals but only in purified cells from neonatal animals. c-fes/fps was expressed only in neonatal cardiac muscles cells. c-fos expression was not observed in cardiac-muscle tissue from either neonatal or adult rats, but surprisingly was abundantly expressed in freshly isolated cardiac-muscle cells from animals of both ages. These results emphasize that biochemical analysis using intact cardiac-muscle tissue may not necessarily reflect muscle-specific cell processes. They also show that the expression of c-fos can be activated by the cell isolation procedure. c-myc, c-ski, c-ras-H, c-ras-K, c-abl, c-raf and c-erb-A were expressed in both proliferating and terminally differentiated skeletal-muscle cells, whereas c-myb, c-fos, c-src and c-fms transcripts were observed only in proliferating cells. c-fes/fps and c-sis were not expressed in dividing or fused skeletal-muscle cells. These results demonstrate unique tissue and cell-specific patterns of proto-oncogene expression and suggest that these genes may be involved with the regulation of cellular proliferation and terminal differentiation in striated muscle.
Productivity Pants

With thousands of books on the topic, productivity is a popular subject in the business world. Increase work output, reduce the bottom line, and stay competitive—those are some of the magic bullets that productivity promises.But with so many thoughts, schools, methods and gurus in the world, where do we begin? How do we find a productivity strategy that is right for our professional and personal goals? How do we know which voices to listen to? The short answer? “It depends.”In this lightning talk, we will discuss important considerations when we decide to embark on our own productivity journey. We will focus on sharpening our goals, understanding what we value and creating a space for improving the way we work (and live).
Don’t Even Look Once: Synthesizing Features for Zero-Shot Detection

Zero-shot detection, namely, localizing both seen and unseen objects, increasingly gains importance for large-scale applications, with large number of object classes, since, collecting sufficient annotated data with ground truth bounding boxes is simply not scalable. While vanilla deep neural networks deliver high performance for objects available during training, unseen object detection degrades significantly. At a fundamental level, while vanilla detectors are capable of proposing bounding boxes, which include unseen objects, they are often incapable of assigning high-confidence to unseen objects, due to the inherent precision/recall tradeoffs that requires rejecting background objects. We propose a novel detection algorithm “Don’t Even Look Once (DELO),” that synthesizes visual features for unseen objects and augments existing training algorithms to incorporate unseen object detection. Our proposed scheme is evaluated on Pascal VOC and MSCOCO, and we demonstrate significant improvements in test accuracy over vanilla and other state-of-art zero-shot detectors
2080-P: Lipid Profiles from Individual Cells of the Human Pancreatic Islet

Lipids play multiple roles in normal and pathological functions of cells and organs including structural, energy balance, cell signaling and maintenance of homeostasis. In the pancreatic islets, lipids have been implicated in regulating aspects of membrane fusion and hence insulin (and other hormones) release. Imbalances in lipid metabolism, accumulation, and localization have been associated with T2D progression. Wide variety of lipid classes are observed in the pancreatic islets including glycerophospholipids, glycerophospholipids, and ceramides. Complex cellular organization of these structures suggests that lipid profiles of different cell types or even functional cell subtypes, may not be the same. In this work, high throughput single cell mass spectrometry (MS) was used to analyze cellular populations of isolated human individual pancreatic islets received from the Human Pancreas Analysis Program (UPenn). Besides lipids, peptide markers for the canonical islet cell types are observed in the same cells allowing us to associate specific lipid profiles with cell types. For example, beta cells exhibited larger signals matching to PC(34:1), SM(d34:2), and SM(d38:1). Epsilon cells, among others, have enriched SM(d42:2)- and SM(d42:1)-like signals. Alpha cells demonstrate the most complex lipid profile with 10 lipid species exhibiting higher relative intensities. Current work involves matching the single cell lipid peaks to specific lipids, and understanding how the high plasticity of lipid profiles in each cell type track disease progression. These observations create a base for further investigation of roles of lipids in normal and pathological functioning of the pancreatic islets. Disclosure S. Rubakhin: None. J.V. Sweedler: None. Funding American Diabetes Association/Pathway to Stop Diabetes (1-18-VSN-19 to J.V.S.)
Acceptable limits for publishing animal research

This article describes the regulatory, ethical and welfare aspects of COVID-19 vaccine testing and other research involving the use of animals.
Management of Pigmentary Disorders

Disorders of pigmentation, both hyper- and hypopigmentation, are common entities encountered in dermatology. They can be caused by a variety of underlying systemic diseases and infections, as well as present as primary cutaneous disorders and secondary to injury or trauma. Contributing factors leading to both types of pigmentary alterations include both an effect on melanocytes and the activity and rate of melanin production. The most common disorders of hypopigmentation that will be discussed in this chapter include post-inflammatory hypopigmentation, hypopigmented mycosis fungoides, pityriasis alba, tinea versicolor, progressive macular hypomelanosis, idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis, and vitiligo. Hyperpigmentation disorders to be discussed include post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma, lichen planus pigmentosus, erythema dyschromicum perstans, and drug-induced and metabolic conditions causing hyperpigmentation.
Speciation and element-selective detection by gas chromatography

Abstract Hyphenated plasma-based detectors for GC include both mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectrometry, which use plasma as their ionization sources or optical emission sources, respectively. The popular plasma sources are inductively coupled plasma (ICP), microwave-induced plasma (MIP), and glow discharge (GD). The hyphenated techniques of GC with ICP/MIP/GD inherit the merits of high-resolution separation from GC and excellent sensitivity from the atomic detections, which are essential for performing elemental speciation of volatile as well as semivolatile analytes. GC-ICPMS and other GC-plasma spectrometries have been commonly used in environmental and biological studies where ultratrace level (part per trillion or lower) detection is required. The emerging need for elemental speciation has been driving the development of new interfaces, new sample preparation procedures, and new methods for GC–plasma spectrometry. On the other hand, the newly developed capabilities have expanded advanced studies of elemental species in a variety of matrices, water, soil, and biological samples.
Immersed boundary thin shell analysis using 3D B-Spline background mesh

Abstract An immersed boundary shell element formulation based on Kirchhoff-Love shell theory is presented here that uses a background mesh consisting of uniform 3D B-spline elements within which the geometry and the boundaries are embedded. In this theory, rotation is assumed to be identical to slope which introduces second derivatives of deflection in the weak form. As a result, elements that provide tangent continuous approximation of the displacement are needed. A 3D shell element is formulated under small deformation assumptions that has three translational degrees of freedom (DOF) per node and uses quadratic B-Spline shape functions. The displacement field is transformed to a local coordinate system attached to the shell surface and defined such that the shell theory assumptions are satisfied. Essential boundary conditions are applied using the step boundary method where approximate step functions are utilized to construct trial and test solutions that satisfy the boundary conditions. Benchmark problems that are commonly used to test shell elements are used to validate the 3D B-spline thin shell element presented here.
Applications of artificial intelligence in oncologic 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging: a systematic review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a growing field of research that is emerging as a promising adjunct to assist physicians in detection and management of patients with cancer. 18F-FDG PET imaging helps physicians in detection and management of patients with cancer. In this study we discuss the possible applications of AI in 18F-FDG PET imaging based on the published studies. A systematic literature review was performed in PubMed on early August 2020 to find the relevant studies. A total of 65 studies were available for review against the inclusion criteria which included studies that developed an AI model based on 18F-FDG PET data in cancer to diagnose, differentiate, delineate, stage, assess response to therapy, determine prognosis, or improve image quality. Thirty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and are discussed in this review. The majority of studies are related to lung cancer. Other studied cancers included breast cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and sarcoma. All studies were based on human patients except for one which was performed on rats. According to the included studies, machine learning (ML) models can help in detection, differentiation from benign lesions, segmentation, staging, response assessment, and prognosis determination. Despite the potential benefits of AI in cancer imaging and management, the routine implementation of AI-based models and 18F-FDG PET-derived radiomics in clinical practice is limited at least partially due to lack of standardized, reproducible, generalizable, and precise techniques.
Alpha-arrestins Aly1/Art6 and Aly2/Art3 regulate trafficking of the glycerophosphoinositol transporter Git1 and impact phospholipid homeostasis.

Background information Phosphatidylinositol (PI) is an essential phospholipid, critical to membrane bilayers. The complete deacylation of PI by B-type phospholipases produces intracellular and extracellular glycerophosphoinositol (GPI). Extracellular GPI is transported into the cell via Git1, a member of the Major Facilitator Superfamily of transporters at the yeast plasma membrane. Internalized GPI is degraded to produce inositol, phosphate and glycerol, thereby contributing to these pools. GIT1 gene expression is controlled by nutrient balance, with phosphate or inositol starvation increasing GIT1 expression to stimulate GPI uptake. However, less is known about control of Git1 protein levels or localization. Results We find that the α-arrestins, an important class of protein trafficking adaptor, regulate Git1 localization and this is dependent upon their interaction with the ubiquitin ligase Rsp5. Specifically, α-arrestin Aly2 stimulates Git1 trafficking to the vacuole under basal conditions, but in response to GPI-treatment, either Aly1 or Aly2 promote Git1 vacuole trafficking. Cell surface retention of Git1, as occurs in aly1∆ aly2∆ cells, is linked to impaired growth in the presence of exogenous GPI and results in increased uptake of radiolabeled GPI, suggesting that accumulation of GPI somehow causes cellular toxicity. Regulation of α-arrestin Aly1 by the protein phosphatase calcineurin improves steady-state and substrate-induced trafficking of Git1, however, calcineurin plays a larger role in Git1 trafficking beyond regulation of α-arrestins. Interestingly, loss of Aly1 and Aly2 increased phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate on the limiting membrane of the vacuole, and this was further exacerbated by GPI addition, suggesting that the effect is partially linked to Git1. Loss of Aly1 and Aly2 leads to increased incorporation of inositol label from [3 H]-inositol-labelled GPI into PI, confirming that internalized GPI influences PI balance and indicating a role for the a-arrestins in this regulation. Conclusions The α-arrestins Aly1 and Aly2 are novel regulators of Git1 trafficking with previously unanticipated roles in controlling phospholipid distribution and balance. Significance To our knowledge, this is the first example of α-arrestin regulation of phosphatidyliniositol-3-phosphate levels. In future studies it will be exciting to determine if other α-arrestins similarly alter PI and PIPs to change the cellular landscape.
Physical Theory of Plasticity

Publisher Summary A physical theory attempts to explain why things happen the way they do, but may not embody mathematical simplicity. The plastic stress-strain relationship of polycrystalline solids is derived from that of single crystals or subcrystals. This chapter discusses the development of the physical theory, its correlations with the basic hypotheses and assumptions of the mathematical theory are discussed. The derivations are completely general and rigorous for an aggregate of elastically isotropic homogeneous crystals. The method of calculation of the slip field satisfies the conditions of equilibrium, compatibility, and the given single crystal characteristics, and hence, is rigorous. It has been seen that there are many correlations between the physical theory and the mathematical theories of plasticity. It seems likely that in the not too distant future, the physical theory may be used to yield a more accurate stress-strain relationship in the analyses of structure.
Purification and properties of from boar seminal plasma

Abstract 1. 1. β-N- Acetyl- d -hexosaminidase has been purified ca. 190-fold to homogeneity from boar seminal plasma. 2. 2. It catalyzed the hydrolysis of the p-nitrophenyl-N-acetyl derivatives of both β- d -glucosaminide and β- d -galactosaminide but was inactive with the o- or p-nitrophenyl glycosides of other monosaccharides. 3. 3. Its pH optimum was 4.5 and its KM was 1.5 mM with p- nitrophenyl -N- acetyl -β- d - glucosamide as substrate. 4. 4. The enzyme was inhibited by mercuribenzoate compounds but not by iodoacetamide, 2,2′-dipyridyl disulfide, methylmethane thiosulfonate, nor N-ethylmaleimide. 5. 5. The active enzyme had mol. wt ca. 250,000 by Sephacryl S-300 chromatography. SDS electrophoresis showed single bands corresponding to subunit mol. wts ca. 62,000 and 107,000 depending on whether the enzyme had been denatured in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol or not. These data suggest that the enzyme is a tetramer of identical subunits, pairs of which are held together by disulfide bonds.
Hormonal Regulation of Rapidly Labeled Ribonucleic Acid in Mammary Cells in Vitro

Abstract Insulin and prolactin stimulate the rate of incorporation of 3H-uridine into rapidly labeled nuclear RNA in mammary epithelial cells in organ culture. Since these hormones do not significantly alter the pool size and specific activity of uridine triphosphate, these effects appear to represent increased rates of RNA synthesis. These RNAs consist of 45 S and 32 S preribosomal RNA and heterogeneous, short lived RNA whose base composition is DNA-like. The hormonal stimulations result in an effective increase in the preribosomal RNA processed into 28 S and 18 S ribosomal RNA. The magnitude of prolactin's stimulation of RNA labeling is greater upon the ribosomal RNA than upon the preribosomal RNA, which suggests that prolactin may stimulate the ribosomal RNA-processing reactions. RNA synthesis was stimulated by prolactin only in daughter epithelial cells formed in vitro and previously treated with hydrocortisone, and this action of prolactin required the synergistic action of insulin. The stimulatory effect of prolactin on the synthesis of nuclear RNA was observed within 30 min, preceding the previously demonstrated increase in cytoplasmic ribosome concentration and the induction of specific milk proteins, and appears to represent an early effect of this hormone.
Integrated Flight/Propulsion Control Design for a STOVL Aircraft using H-Infinity Control Design Techniques

Results are presented from an application of H ? control design methodology to a centralized integrated flight/propulsion control (IFPC) system design for a supersonic Short Take?Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) fighter aircraft in transition flight. The emphasis is on formulating the H ? control design problem such that the resulting controller provides robustness to modelling uncertainties and model parameter variations with flight condition. Experience gained from a preliminary H ? based IFPC design study performed earlier is used as the basis to formulate the robust H ? control design problem and improve upon the previous design. Detailed evaluation results are presented for a reduced order controller obtained from the improved H ? control design showing that the control design meets the specified nominal performance objectives as well as provides stability robustness for variations in plant system dynamics with changes in aircraft trim speed within the transition flight envelope. A controller scheduling technique which accounts for changes in plant control effectiveness with variation in trim conditions is developed and off-design model performance results are presented with the scheduled controller.
Solute lifetime correlations in chemical transport through field soils.

One of the many soil physics problems that Eshel Bresler researched so well was the prediction of dissolved solute movement in unsaturated soil profiles. An especially interesting and fruitful approach was pioneered by Eshel and Gedeon Dagan a dozen years ago when they developed a physically based stochastic model of the vertical transport of nonreactive solutes in field soils that exhibit lateral spatial variability in their hydraulic properties. This seminal work, which has been reviewed by Bresler et al. (1982), Addiscott and Wagenet (1985), and Sposito et al. (1986), is the topic of Chapter 1 by Gedeon Dagan.
(Understanding, Optimizing, Using and Forecasting) Realized Volatility and Correlation *

We review and synthesize our recent work on realized volatility in financial markets. This includes (1) constructing and interpreting realized volatilities for a variety of asset returns ("understanding"), (2) determining underlying sampling frequencies high enough to produce precise estimates yet low enough to mitigate microstructure bias ("optimizing"), (3) putting realized volatilities to work in various contexts, such as the production of standardized returns series with desirable properties ("using"), and (4) using predictions of realized volatility for improved financial risk management ("forecasting").
Theory of nanoparticle-induced frequency shifts of whispering-gallery-mode resonances in spheroidal optical resonators

Nanoparticle-induced modifications of the spectrum of whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) of optical spheroidal resonators are studied theoretically. Combining an ab initio solution of a single-resonator problem with a dipole approximation for the particle, we derive simple analytical expressions for frequencies and widths of the particle-modified resonances, which are valid for resonators with moderate deviations from the spherical shape. The derived expressions are used to analyze spectral properties of the resonator-particle system as functions of the particle's position, the size of the resonators, and the characteristics of WGMs. The obtained results are shown to agree well with available experimental data. It is also demonstrated that the particle-induced spectral effects can be significantly enhanced by careful selection of the resonator's size, refractive index, and other experimental parameters. The results presented in the paper can be useful for applications of WGM resonators in biosensing, cavity QED, optomechanics, and other areas.
Persistence of lung CD8 T cell oligoclonal expansions upon smoking cessation in a mouse model of cigarette smoke-induced emphysema.

The role of adaptive immunity in the development or progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains undefined. Recently, the presence of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells has been demonstrated in COPD patients. In addition, oligoclonal expansions of lung T cells have been observed in COPD patients, but the overlapping incidence of infections, tumors, and cigarette smoke exposure obscures the antigenic stimulus. We analyzed the TCR Vβ repertoire of CD4 and CD8 T cells purified from the lungs and spleens of mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke. In a mouse model of COPD, we demonstrate that chronic cigarette smoke exposure causes oligoclonal expansions of T cells isolated from the lungs, but not spleens. TCR Vβ repertoire analyses revealed oligoclonal expansions predominantly occurred in lung CD8 T cells, with preferential usage of Vβ7, Vβ9, Vβ13, and Vβ14. Using nucleotide sequence analysis based on Jβ analyses, we demonstrate selection of CDR3 amino acid motifs, which strongly suggests Ag-driven oligoclonal T cell expansion. Analysis of the lung TCR Vβ repertoire of mice with cigarette smoke-induced emphysema, which had undergone smoking cessation for 6 mo, revealed that oligoclonal expansions persisted. This study formally demonstrates that chronic cigarette smoke exposure, alone, causes a persistent adaptive T cell immune response. These findings have important implications for therapeutic approaches in the treatment of COPD, and provide insight into potential mechanisms involved in disease pathogenesis.
2.5 W CW X-band heterojunction bipolar transistor

A 2.43-W CW (continuous wave) output power was obtained with AlGaAs-GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors at 10 GHz with 5.8-dB gain and 30% power-added efficiency using 2- mu m minimum-geometry devices. The device design and fabrication techniques were improved to maintain high power density (>3 W/mm of emitter length) operation as the device size is increased. Accurate device models were developed both for common-emitter and common-base devices to aid in this size scaling. >
DAOmap: a depth-optimal area optimization mapping algorithm for FPGA designs

In This work we study the technology mapping problem for FPGA architectures to minimize chip area, or the total number of lookup tables (LUTs) of the mapped design, under the chip performance constraint. This is a well-studied topic and a very difficult task (NP-hard). The contributions of This work are as follows: (i) we consider the potential node duplications during the cut enumeration/generation procedure so the mapping costs encoded in the cuts drive the area-optimization objective more effectively; (ii) after the timing constraint is determined, we will relax the non-critical paths by searching the solution space considering both local and global optimality information to minimize mapping area; (iii) an iterative cut selection procedure is carried out that further explores and perturbs the solution space to improve solution quality. We guarantee optimal mapping depth under the unit delay model. Experimental results show that our mapping algorithm, named DAOmap, produces significant quality and runtime improvements. Compared to the state-of-the-art depth-optimal, area minimization mapping algorithm CutMap (Cong and Hwan, 1995), DAOmap is 16.02% better on area and runs 24.2X faster on average when both algorithms are mapping to FPGAs using LUTs of five inputs. LUTs of other inputs are also used for comparisons.
Effect of the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor α,α-difluoromethylornithine on phorbol diester-induced inhibition of murine B lymphocyte differentiation

Abstract The tumor-promoting agent 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) inhibits the differentiation of murine B lymphocytes to antibody-producing plasma cells, in unfractionated spleen cell cultures or enriched B lymphocyte cultures. To determine the role of polyamines in TPA-induced inhibition, unfractionated splenic lymphocytes, in culture with antigen, were incubated with α,α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, 0.10 mM), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). DFMO prevented the TPA-induced inhibition of antibody forming cell number in a 5-day in vitro immunization procedure as measured by a hemolytic plaque assay. In enriched B lymphocyte cultures, however, DFMO had no comparable effect. DFMO did not prevent TPA-induced inhibition of antibody production in unfractionated spleen cell cultures but itself inhibited the amount of antibody produced. Putrescine (0.1 mM), added on day 4 of immunization, reversed DFMO inhibition of antibody production but did not enable DFMO to prevent the TPA-induced inhibition. These findings suggest that TPA-induced inhibition of plasma cell number can be mediated indirectly through effects on T lymphocytes and/or macrophages or directly through effect on B lymphocytes.
Transfer of Patients Dependent on an Intra-aortic Balloon Pump Using Critical Care Services

Abstract Introduction The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a hemodynamic support device that provides circulatory enhancement to patients whose cardiac output is compromised. Special clinical skills are required for management of the patient with an IABP in place. Few studies have discussed the transport of the IABP-dependent patient. The current study was designed to describe the transport of IABP-dependent patients, with a focus on pretransport interventions, transport interventions, quality improvement, and complications. Methods A review of all transports from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2005, performed by a critical care transport program with a nurse/paramedic crew offering mobile intensive care unit (ICU), rotor-wing, and fixed-wing service was conducted. All patients who were maintained on an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) were eligible for inclusion. A certified perfusionist was available for consultation on all transports. Information about the IABP, including the pump timing, confirmation of balloon location, and inflation/deflation timing parameters, was collected. Proper balloon placement was verified and recorded at the sending hospital. Data were collected regarding interventions required before and during transport and complications during transport. Descriptive statistics were used. Results During the study period, 173 transports involving an IABP were performed. The average age was 60.8 years, and 67.8% were men. Forty-one percent were flown by rotor-wing, 36.4% were transported by the mobile ICU, and 21.4% were flown by the fixed-wing transport. In 1.2% of cases, there was a change in transport mode. Twelve percent of patients required some increase in oxygen supplementation, but only one patient required intubation before transport by the transport crew. The most common pretransport medications were heparin (69%), inotropes (55%), and other infusions (46.8%). Twenty-two percent had no written confirmation of the correct balloon placement. There were no significant complications found during transport, including hemorrhage, loss of trigger signals, or cardiac arrest. Twelve percent had some abnormalities in timing of balloon inflation or deflation. Conclusion IABP transports can be safely performed by a nurse/paramedic critical care transport team with perfusionist consultation. Few patients require significant intervention before transport. Attention must be paid to balloon inflation and deflation timing despite the existence of timing algorithms. Significant complications during transport were not seen. Future studies should explore the overall outcome of IABP-dependent patients and the role of transport mode on outcome.
Sol-gel based synthesis of complex oxide nanofibers

Electrospinning is a versatile and straight forward process for synthesizing one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures of diverse materials. Recently, a large variety of oxide ceramics have been synthesized in combination with conventional sol-gel processing. Here, the synthesis of BaTiO3 nanofibers via electrospinning is reported. The structural evolution from amorphous to crystalline is presented under various heat treatment conditions. Nanofibers with well-defined perovskite tetragonal phase were achieved with an average crystallite size of about 20 nm. Furthermore, single crystalline BaTiO3 nanofibers with 50 nm in diameter and lengths up to 1 μm were found, which is a novelty in electrospinning of ferroelectrics. XRD peak splitting confirmed the tetragonal perovskite structure, and this was fully supported by further evidence from selected area electron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.
4H-SiC N-Channel JFET for Operation in High-Temperature Environments

Lateral depletion-mode 4H-SiC n-channel junction field-effect transistors (JFETs) are demonstrated to operate with well-behaved electrical characteristics at temperatures up to 600 °C in air. Ti/Ni/TiW metal stacks are used to form ohmic contacts to n-type 4H-SiC with specific contact resistance of \(1.14 \times 10^{-3}~{\boldsymbol{\Omega }}\) cm \(^{2 }\) at 600 °C. The on/off drain saturation current ratio and intrinsic gain at 600 °C are \(1.53 \times 10^{3}\) and 57.2, respectively. These results indicate that 4H-SiC JFETs can be used for extremely-high-temperature electronics applications.
Investigation of context, soft spatial, and spatial frequency domain features for buried explosive hazard detection in FL-LWIR

It is well-known that a pattern recognition system is only as good as the features it is built upon. In the fields of image processing and computer vision, we have numerous spatial domain and spatial-frequency domain features to extract characteristics of imagery according to its color, shape and texture. However, these approaches extract information across a local neighborhood, or region of interest, which for target detection contains both object(s) of interest and background (surrounding context). A goal of this research is to filter out as much task irrelevant information as possible, e.g., tire tracks, surface texture, etc., to allow a system to place more emphasis on image features in spatial regions that likely belong to the object(s) of interest. Herein, we outline a procedure coined soft feature extraction to refine the focus of spatial domain features. This idea is demonstrated in the context of an explosive hazards detection system using forward looking infrared imagery. We also investigate different ways to spatially contextualize and calculate mathematical features from shearlet filtered candidate image chips. Furthermore, we investigate localization strategies in relation to different ways of grouping image features to reduce the false alarm rate. Performance is explored in the context of receiver operating characteristic curves on data from a U.S. Army test site that contains multiple target and clutter types, burial depths, and times of day.
A multiperiod nonlinear programming approach for operation of air separation plants with variable power pricing

Cryogenic air separation processes consume a large amount of electricity producing significant quantities of high purity gases. Rather than operating at a fixed steady state, it may be profitable to switch among different operating conditions because of variability of electrical prices and product demands. This article addresses the problem of determining the optimal daily multiperiod operating conditions for an air separation process under variable electricity pricing and uncertain product demands. The multiperiod nonlinear programming formulation includes a rigorous nonlinear model of the highly-coupled process, and decision variables include the operating conditions within each period, as well as the transition times. Demand uncertainty is treated using the loss function included in the objective function and constraints on customer satisfaction levels. Solutions are obtained with high computational efficiency, allowing management to make informed decisions regarding operating strategies while considering the trade off between profitability and customer satisfaction levels. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011
Physical-Chemical Properties of TiO2 Membranes Controlled By Sol-Gel Processing

Particulate TiO2 membranes have been prepared by sol-gel techniques from alkoxide precursors. The degree of aggregation, which is controlled by physical chemical processes during sol preparation influences the gelling volume and gel structure. While three types of gel structures have been proposed, the porosity of the final membrane seems to be little affected by these hydrogel structures. Firing temperature is a much more critical parameter. It is concluded that the primary particle size determines the final membrane porosity in this TiO2 system.
Brown adipose tissue derived VEGF-A modulates cold tolerance and energy expenditure

We recently reported that local overexpression of VEGF-A in white adipose tissue (WAT) protects against diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunction. The observation that VEGF-A induces a “brown adipose tissue (BAT)-like” phenotype in WAT prompted us to further explore the direct function of VEGF-A in BAT. We utilized a doxycycline (Dox)-inducible, brown adipocyte-specific VEGF-A transgenic overexpression model to assess direct effects of VEGF-A in BAT in vivo. We observed that BAT-specific VEGF-A expression increases vascularization and up-regulates expression of both UCP1 and PGC-1α in BAT. As a result, the transgenic mice show increased thermogenesis during chronic cold exposure. In diet-induced obese mice, introducing VEGF-A locally in BAT rescues capillary rarefaction, ameliorates brown adipocyte dysfunction, and improves deleterious effects on glucose and lipid metabolism caused by a high-fat diet challenge. These results demonstrate a direct positive role of VEGF-A in the activation and expansion of BAT.
Angiotensin II-induced hypertension in mice caused an increase in insulin secretion

Abstract Objective and design Insulin action was determined in a mouse model of human hypertension via chronic angiotensin II administration followed by a glucose tolerance test. Methods Angiotensin II or saline was infused systemically into mice via osmotic pump for 2 or 4 weeks. In angiotensin II-treated mice versus saline controls we compared blood pressure, blood glucose, and serum insulin concentrations during an intravenous glucose tolerance test and assessed glucose transport and insulin signaling in muscle. Results Blood pressure increased at 2 and 4 weeks following angiotensin II treatment. Mice treated with angiotensin II for 4 weeks cleared a glucose bolus faster than mice treated with saline despite similar basal serum insulin concentrations. Upon glucose administration, the increase in serum insulin was greater in angiotensin II-treated mice, 38.8±6.5 pmol/l, compared to saline-treated mice, 21.8±2.9 pmol/l, but only at 4 weeks of angiotensin II treatment while no difference was observed at 2 weeks of angiotensin II administration. At 4 weeks of angiotensin II treatment, insulin signaling in the liver and in the skeletal muscle was not affected, since both the number of insulin receptors and phosphorylation of Akt were unchanged. Also at 4 weeks of angiotensin II treatment, ex vivo soleus muscle did not exhibit any change in basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Conclusions This study suggests that long-term angiotensin II treatment for 4 weeks enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mice. Angiotensin II-induced hyperinsulinemia may play a role in the development of insulin resistance in patients with hypertension.
Optimizing Safety and Outcomes in Spinal Deformity Surgery: Early-Onset Scoliosis

Abstract Several interventions can improve the natural history of progressive Early-Onset Scoliosis (EOS); however, each has its own specific indications and limitations. The treating surgeon should be aware of the risks and benefits of each intervention. The objective of the study was to review the current management of EOS and how to improve the safety and outcomes of different treatment methods. Pulmonary function correlates with the height of the thoracic spine (T1–T12). The growth of the thoracic spine to 18 Cm at the age of 5 and 22 Cm at the age of 10 will minimize the risk of pulmonary complications. Growing Rods (GR) technique has a wide application in EOS with different etiologies. Index GR surgery at an older age and using submuscular, dual growing rod, have reduced the rate of complications. Patients with abnormal thoracic kyphosis, and also with syndromic and neuromuscular EOS are at higher risk for development of complications. Aside from its original indication, thoracic insufficiency syndrome (TIS), Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR) can address different types of spinal deformity. Morbidity of the rib cradles is the main reason for revisions. Meticulous soft tissue coverage and surgical technique are of utmost importance for an effective and safe management. The goal of growth-guided techniques (eg, Shilla), a single time procedure, is to allow continuing growth with fewer returns to surgery. In selected cases, it can serve as an interim procedure before definitive treatment. Treatment of EOS is a long-term commitment for both the patient and treating surgeon. Careful and individualized treatment planning maximizes the safety and efficacy of the treatment for EOS. Knowledge of indications, capabilities, and drawbacks of each technique is the key to optimize the outcomes. Extensive research is underway to introduce less-invasive techniques to enhance the safety and reduce complications.
The CRAC Motif Nearest to the N-End of Slo1 Cytosolic C-Tail is the Main Determinant of BK Channel Sensitivity to Membrane Cholesterol

Increased membrane cholesterol (CLR) decreases BK channel activity (Po) (reviewed by Levitan et al., 2010). Electrophysiological data from a recent structure-activity study of CLR and several analogs on BK channel-forming slo1 proteins (cbv1) reconstituted into phospholipid bilayers led us to hypothesize that CLR action resulted from CLR selective and direct recognition by a site(s) in cbv1 (Bukiya et al., 2011).We identified ten Cholesterol Recognition/Interacting Amino acid Consensus (CRAC) domains in cbv1: CRACs 1-3 in the transmembrane core (S0-S6), and CRACs 4-10 in the cytosolic C tail (CTD). Bilayer electrophysiology demonstrated that construct trcbv1S6, which lacked CTD, failed to respond to CLR. However, an extended construct that included CRAC4 (trcbv1-CRAC4) was CLR-sensitive, indicating that a major determinant of CLR sensitivity lies in CRAC4 and/or the linker between this motif and S6. We next removed two CRACs at a time: immediately distal to CRAC6 (trcbv1-CRAC6) and to CRAC8 (trcbv1-CRAC8). Trcbv1-CRAC6 and trcbv1-CRAC8 were CLR-sensitive, further supporting the hypothesis that the S6-CRAC4 linker and/or CRAC4 itself is essential for CLR action. However, elimination of CRACs 7-10 or CRACs 9-10 somewhat decreased CLR action. To determine whether CTD CRACs themselves contributed to CLR responses, we introduced progressive Phe substitutions of signature tyrosines in CTD CRACs. The most drastic reduction of CLR action occurred with Y450F in CRAC4. However, cumulative Tyr to Phe substitutions in CRACs 5-10 gradually reduced CLR action. In conclusion: 1) CRAC4 in BK CTD is the main region contributing to CLR action; 2) the signature CRAC residue Y450 is essential for CLR sensitivity; 3) tyrosines in CRACs distal to CRAC4 also contribute to overall CLR sensitivity of BK channels. Support: R01-HL104631;R37-AA011560 (AMD); UTHSC NI Fellowship (AKS).
A simple model for predicting the effect of substituents on the rates of thermal pericyclic reactions

Abstract An operationally useful model is proposed for predicting the qualitative effect of substituents on the rates of thermal pericyclic reactions. The method provides a unified interpretation of several previously unrelated experimental observations. It also enables the prediction of substituent effects in pericyclic reactions for which experimental data are not yet available.
Syncope and ventricular tachycardia in patients with ventricular preexcitation

Abstract Four patients with ventricular preexcitation whose syncope initially was attributed to an arrhythmia utilizing the accessory pathway are presented. At electrophysiologic study, the electrophysiologic characteristics of the accessory pathways were considered unlikely to support a tachycardia of a rate sufficient to result in syncope. Programmed Stimulation of the right ventricle, however, reproducibly induced ventricular tachycardia to which the syncope was subsequently attributed in 3 patients. The importance of identifying ventricular tachycardia as the cause of syncope in these patients is emphasized.
Effects of stimulation mode on threshold and loudness growth in multielectrode cochlear implants

The effect of increasing the separation between the two members of a stimulating electrode pair was studied in four users of the Nucleus-22 cochlear implant. Two experiments were performed. In experiment 1, detection threshold for a 200-ms, 500-pulses/s biphasic pulse train was measured as the spatial separation between the active and return electrodes was increased. In experiment 2, loudness-growth functions were measured as the electrode separation was increased. The results of experiment 1 indicate that (a) threshold decreases monotonically toward an asymptote (monopolar threshold) as the electrode separation is increased and (b) the threshold versus electrode separation function is similar across subjects and electrode location. The results of experiment 2 indicate that loudness L is related to the current amplitude I by a simple exponential function: L=eβI, where β, the exponent of the loudness function, is, to a first approximation, linearly related to the separation between the electrodes of the stimulating pair. Thus, dynamic range and the shape of loudness growth can be directly linked to the spatial separation between active and return electrodes.The effect of increasing the separation between the two members of a stimulating electrode pair was studied in four users of the Nucleus-22 cochlear implant. Two experiments were performed. In experiment 1, detection threshold for a 200-ms, 500-pulses/s biphasic pulse train was measured as the spatial separation between the active and return electrodes was increased. In experiment 2, loudness-growth functions were measured as the electrode separation was increased. The results of experiment 1 indicate that (a) threshold decreases monotonically toward an asymptote (monopolar threshold) as the electrode separation is increased and (b) the threshold versus electrode separation function is similar across subjects and electrode location. The results of experiment 2 indicate that loudness L is related to the current amplitude I by a simple exponential function: L=eβI, where β, the exponent of the loudness function, is, to a first approximation, linearly related to the separation between the electrodes of the st...
Several novel N-donor tridentate ligands formed in chemical studies of new fac-Re(CO)3 complexes relevant to fac-99mTc(CO)3 radiopharmaceuticals: attack of a terminal amine on coordinated acetonitrile.

To evaluate syntheses of fac-[Re(CO)3L]+ complexes in organic solvents, we treated fac-[Re(CO)3(CH3CN)3]PF6/BF4 in acetonitrile with triamine ligands (L). When L had two primary or two tertiary terminal amine groups, the expected fac-[Re(CO)3L]+ complexes formed. In contrast, N,N-dimethyldiethylenetriamine (N,N-Me2dien) formed an unusual compound, fac-[Re(CO)3(DAE)]BF4 {DAE = (Z)-N′-(2-(2-(dimethylamino)ethylamino)ethyl)acetimidamide = (Me2NCH2CH2)NH(CH2CH2N═C(NH2)Me)}. DAE is formed by addition of acetonitrile to the N,N-Me2dien terminal primary amine, converting this sp3 nitrogen to an sp2 nitrogen with a double bond to the original acetonitrile sp carbon. The three Ns bound to Re derive from N,N-Me2dien. The pathway to fac-[Re(CO)3(DAE)]BF4 is suggested by a second unusual compound, fac-[Re(CO)3(MAE)]PF6 {MAE = N-methyl-N-(2-(methyl-(2-(methylamino)ethyl)amino)ethyl)acetimidamide = MeN(H)—CH2CH2—N(Me)—CH2CH2—N(Me)—C(Me)═NH}, isolated after treating fac-[Re(CO)3(CH3CN)3]PF6 with N,N′,N′′-trimethyldiethy...