cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
You are what you eat: fatty acid profiles as a method to track the habitat movement of an insect

Tracking the movement of small organisms is of tremendous importance to understanding the ecology of populations, communities, and ecosystems. However, it remains one of the most difficult challenges facing the field of movement ecology. We developed an intrinsic marking technique for tracking small organisms using dietary fatty acid profiles as a biomarker as well as for clarifying source-sink dynamics between populations on a landscape level. Navel orangeworm moths (NOW), Amyelois transitella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), raised on two different host plants with significantly different fatty acid profiles, were used to develop a model that distinguishes NOW based on their larval host plant. Wild NOW from both known and unknown host plants were used to validate the model. NOW fatty acid profiles showed striking similarities to the fatty acid profile of their host plant demonstrating that fatty acids can act as an intrinsic marking technique for quantifying the movement of small organisms. We anticipate that given sufficient spatial variation in dietary fatty acids, this technique will be useful in studying the movement of arthropods and other invertebrates particularly when addressing questions of source-sink dynamics.
Teaching Spanish through Distance Education: Implications of a Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT At national and state levels, there is a current emphasis on expanding foreign language programs in order to enable ALL students to achieve high standards in linguistic and cultural competency. While school districts across the country attempt to begin language instruction in the elementary grades, many lack adequate resources to employ additional staffing. Distance education programs are increasingly being proposed as a means of compensating for a lack of district-level resources. This article 1) reviews research findings of studies dealing with distance education programs; 2) describes the results of a distance learning study implemented with elementary school students learning Spanish; and 3) identifies the questions that must be addressed as our profession attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of distance learning in current foreign language programs.
Effects of time and event uncertainty upon sequential information processing

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the psychological refractory period (PRP), a delay induced into the second of two reaction times (RT) when the interstimulus interval (ISI) is short. In Experiment1, time and event uncertainty were factorially varied by providing or not providing S with foreknowledge of the ISI and the order in which the two events would occur, respectively. ISIs of0, 50, 100, 200, and400 msec were used. Time and event uncertainty produced independent degradation of both RTs. Also, the second RT (RT2) was delayed at50 msec ISI when both time and event certainty were present. Experiment 2 attempted to replicate this latter finding using ISIs of0, 25, 50, 75, and100 msec. Delays in RT2 were found for the middle three values of ISI. These results were interpreted as supporting a modified single channel theory of the PRP.
Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of a transition-metal-modified ligand-receptor pair

The energetics of weak interactions (van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding) are difficult to quantify in biological ligand−receptor pairs. Insight into the biochemical role these forces play is critical to an understanding of signal transduction events and the drug discovery process. Ruthenium pentaammine and iron tetracyano complexes modified with either biotin or desthiobiotin have been synthesized and characterized. These modified biological ligands bind to the protein avidin in a manner similar to that of native biotin. Experiments using redox mediators show that the avidin-bound complexes are electrochemically accessible.
Isolation of monomeric human VHS by a phage selection

Human V(H) domains are promising molecules in applications involving antibodies, in particular, immunotherapy because of their human origin. However, they are, in general, prone to aggregation. Therefore, various strategies have been employed to acquire monomeric human V(H)s. We had previously discovered that filamentous phages displaying engineered monomeric V(H) domains gave rise to significantly larger plaques on bacterial lawns than phages displaying wild type V(H)s with aggregation tendencies. Using plaque size as the selection criterion and a phage-displayed naive human V(H) library we identified 15 V(H)s that were monomeric. Additionally, the V(H)s demonstrated good expression yields, good refolding properties following thermal denaturation, resistance to aggregation during long incubation at 37 degrees C, and to trypsin at 37 degrees C. These 15 V(H)s should serve as good scaffolds for developing immunotherapeutics, and the selection method employed here should have general utility for isolating proteins with desirable biophysical properties.
Cell-Dependent Role for the Poliovirus 3′ Noncoding Region in Positive-Strand RNA Synthesis

We previously reported the isolation of a mutant poliovirus lacking the entire genomic RNA 3' noncoding region. Infection of HeLa cell monolayers with this deletion mutant revealed only a minor defect in the levels of viral RNA replication. To further analyze the consequences of the genomic 3' noncoding region deletion, we examined viral RNA replication in a neuroblastoma cell line, SK-N-SH cells. The minor genomic RNA replication defect in HeLa cells was significantly exacerbated in the SK-N-SH cells, resulting in a decreased capacity for mutant virus growth. Analysis of the nature of the RNA replication deficiency revealed that deleting the poliovirus genomic 3' noncoding region resulted in a positive-strand RNA synthesis defect. The RNA replication deficiency in SK-N-SH cells was not due to a major defect in viral translation or viral protein processing. Neurovirulence of the mutant virus was determined in a transgenic mouse line expressing the human poliovirus receptor. Greater than 1,000 times more mutant virus was required to paralyze 50% of inoculated mice, compared to that with wild-type virus. These data suggest that, together with a cellular factor(s) that is limiting in neuronal cells, the poliovirus 3' noncoding region is involved in positive-strand synthesis during genome replication.
Molecular basis of auxin-regulated extension growth and role of dextranase.

Abstract The first step in the extension growth of the plant cell is a process in which the cell wall becomes ductile or plastic, after which the actual enlargement takes place passively under the influence of turgor. The nature of this process has not been explained, although much research has been carried out concerning it. In the present report, it is shown that a specific enzyme, which is identical or nearly so with dextranase (α-1,6-D-glucan 6-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.11) and is associated with the cell walls of growing coleoptiles, plays a prominent role in this process. The action of this enzyme is dependent on the level of growth hormone, auxin, in the tissue. Under its action, certain cell wall components are broken down to yield arabinose and glucose. These sugars are also released during autolysis of cell wall material. The molecular linkages broken in the process are probably the arabinogalactan crosslinks of the hemicellulose matrix, which are the main constituents of the wall containing arabinose. This is substantiated by the finding that dextranase can break down arabinan and compounds containing arabinose chains with the release of arabinose, just as in the action of the enzyme on the wall. The breaking of these crosslinks will impart the necessary plasticity to the wall for cell extension to occur.
The 5 principles of “Design for Safer Nanotechnology”

Abstract Nanoparticles have been incorporated in hundreds of different types of products, and the novel properties of nanomaterials offer great promise to provide new technological breakthroughs. However, nanotechnology is an emerging technology which has potential health and safety risks throughout its product life cycle. The health risk of a nanoparticle is a function of both its hazard to human health and its exposure potential. It is prudent for companies to try to mitigate the potential risks of nanoparticles during the design stage rather than downstream during manufacturing or customer use. The intent of this paper is to propose five design principles for product designers to use during the design stage for products that contain nanoparticles. By using these design principles, the health risk of the nanoparticle may be mitigated by potentially lowering the hazard and/or the exposure potential of the nanoparticle. These proposed design principles are largely untested and are offered as an initial framework that will require more testing, validation, and refinement.
Global Status, Intra-Institutional Stratification and Organizational Segmentation: A Time-Dynamic Tobit Analysis of ARWU Position Among U.S. Universities

Ranking systems such as The Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Rankings of World Universities simultaneously mark global status and stimulate global academic competition. As international ranking systems have become more prominent, researchers have begun to examine whether global rankings are creating increased inequality within and between universities. Using a panel Tobit regression analysis, this study assesses the extent to which markers of inter-institutional stratification and organizational segmentation predict global status among US research universities as measured by position in ARWU. Findings indicate some support that both inter-institutional stratification and organizational segmentation predict global status.
End-of-life care in HIV disease: let's talk.

The advent of protease inhibitor therapy has dramatically changed HIV care for both patients and physicians. Protease inhibitors have remarkable biological effects, increasing patients' CD4 counts and markedly reducing their viral loads, in some cases to undetectable levels.1–4 These biological effects have clinical correlates, including weight gain and improvements in functioning and vitality. These clinical benefits have been less clearly demonstrated by empirical studies, but powerful anecdotes abound, so much so that the disability industry has taken note (see Brudnoy D. I have learned to hope. Newsweek. 1996; 128:74. Sanford D. Back to a future: one man's AIDS tale shows how quickly epidemic has turned. Wall Street Journal. Nov 8, 1996:A1. Anders G. Lack of assurance: able to work again, AIDS patients worry about disability pay. Wall Street Journal. Nov. 6, 1996:A1). Evidence is beginning to emerge that patients are requiring fewer inpatient and more outpatient services.5,6 The most convincing data regarding the impact of protease inhibitors are the recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that deaths from AIDS fell 23% in 1996 compared with the previous year, an effect seen in virtually all risk groups and in all regions of the country.7
Evaluation of skiing and snowboarding injuries sustained in terrain parks versus traditional slopes.

This study compares skiing and snowboarding injuries in terrain parks versus slopes at two ski areas, 2000–05. A total of 3953 (26.7%) injuries occurred in terrain parks, predominantly among young male snowboarders. Terrain park injuries were more likely to be severe, involving head (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.48) or back (RR 1.96, 95% CI 1.67 to 2.29).
Primary Pulmonary Histiocytosis X

Data have been presented concerning seven patients with primary pulmonary histiocytosis X who have been seen at the Mayo Clinic, and 21 additional patients with this disease whose cases have been reported in the literature. Primary pulmonary histiocytosis X is a disease of unknown etiology. It occurs more frequently in men than in women and is characterized from the pathologic standpoint by interstitial histiocytic infiltration and destruction of the parenchyma of the lung. In general, the symptoms, physical signs, and laboratory data for these patients are rather nonspecific and of little diagnostic value. Nevertheless, roentgenograms of the thorax which show evidence of diffuse reticulonodular pulmonary fibrosis, particularly when associated with numerous small cystic areas (the "honeycomb lung"), should at least suggest the possibility of the disease. If, in addition to these x-ray findings, there is evidence of one of the known complications of the disease, such as spontaneous pneumothorax or diabetes insipidus, the possibility of primary pulmonary histiocytosis X should be strongly considered. However, a positive diagnosis can be established only by biopsy of a specimen from the lungs. The clinical course of primary pulmonary histiocytosis X is both variable and unpredictable. For this reason the prognosis should always be guarded. As a rule, the disease runs a mild and chronic course with a tendency toward remission. However, at times it may progress relentlessly to the point of severe pulmonary fibrosis, cor pulmonale, and congestive cardiac failure. At the time of this study, cortisone or cortisonelike preparations given early in the course of the disease would seem to be the treatment of choice for primary pulmonary histiocytosis X. Too few cases of primary pulmonary histiocytosis X have been reported and follow-up study in the cases that have already been reported has not been long enough to provide much knowledge about the natural history of the disease and the value of various forms of treatment, including that with cortisone.
Friction, Wear, and Surface Film Formation Characteristics of Diamond-Like Carbon Thin Coating in Valvetrain Application

The friction and wear characteristics of thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have been investigated extensively in recent years mostly in laboratory bench tests. These coatings are known to provide significant friction reduction in the absence of lubricants. In the presence of lubricants, the friction benefits of these coatings are not clearly demonstrated. The current investigation is focused on exploring the friction reduction potential of a DLC coating obtained from a supplier in laboratory bench tests and in a motored valve train test. The DLC coating was deposited on the bucket tappet. In laboratory bench tests, results showed significant friction reduction in the absence of any lubricant but not in the presence of engine oil. In motored valve train tests a significant reduction in friction torque was observed when compared against a slightly rougher uncoated bucket, but no reduction was observed when compared against uncoated bucket tappet with comparable surface finish. Under boundary lubricati...
Evaluation and Management of Parastomal Hernia in Association with Continent Urinary Diversion

AbstractPurpose: We discuss the incidence and diagnosis of parastomal hernias in association with continent urinary reservoirs. We also present a surgical technique appropriate for correction of this complication.Materials and Methods: We evaluated 21 patients with parastomal hernia after construction of a continent urinary reservoir. The hernia developed secondary to diversion with an ileocecal segment in 19 patients and a Kock procedure in 2. Subsequent to development of the parastomal hernia 13 patients (61.9%) had simultaneous urinary incontinence, 2 (9.5%) had difficulty catheterizing the reservoir and 4 (19.047%) had associated pain over the stomal area. Evaluation was primarily by physical examination. However, 2 patients (9.5%) required abdominal computerized tomography to confirm the diagnosis of parastomal hernia. Surgical repair was recommended for all patients, and 19 underwent repair with or without revision of the anti-incontinence segment. Reconstruction included transabdominal takedown of ...
Diagnosability of enhanced hypercubes

An enhanced hypercube is obtained by adding 2/sup n-1/ more links to a regular hypercube of 2/sup n/ processors. It has been shown that enhanced hypercubes have very good improvements over regular hypercubes in many measurements such as mean internode distance, diameter and traffic density. This paper proves that in the aspect of diagnosability, enhanced hypercubes also achieve improvements. Two diagnosis strategies, both using the well-known PMC diagnostic model, are studied: the precise (one-step) strategy proposed by Preparata, Metze and Chien (1967), and the pessimistic strategy proposed by Friedman (1975). Under the precise strategy, the diagnosability is shown to be increased to n+1 in enhanced hypercubes. (In regular hypercubes, the diagnosability is n under this strategy). Under the pessimistic strategy, the diagnosability is shown to be increased to 2n. (In regular hypercubes, the diagnosability under this strategy is 2n-2). Since the failure probability of one node is fairly low nowadays, so that the increase of diagnosability by one or two will considerably enhance the system's self-diagnostic capability, and considering the fact that diagnosability does not "easily" increase as the links in networks do, these improvements are noticeable. >
Grain Growth Orientation and Anisotropy in Cu6Sn5 Intermetallic: Nanoindentation and Electron Backscatter Diffraction Analysis

As the size of joints in micro/nano-electronics diminishes, the role of intermetallic (IMC) layers becomes more significant. It was shown that solder joint strength is controlled largely by IMC strength at higher strain rates. Additionally, there is a possibility that very small joints are completely composed of IMCs. Further miniaturization of joints may result in statistical grain size effects. Therefore, it is essential to characterize IMC materials and understand their anisotropic mechanical properties. One of the most common types of IMCs in microelectronic joints is Cu6Sn5, which is formed in a variety of bonding materials with different compositions of Sn, Cu, and Ag. This work studies through nanoindentation elastic–plastic properties of a single grain of Cu6Sn5 IMC in a Sn-3.5Ag/Cu system with reflow soldering. Elastic properties such as elastic modulus and hardness were determined from the nanoindentation load–depth curve. The reverse analysis model described by Dao et al. was used to extract plastic properties such as yield strength and strain hardening exponent from nanoindentation data. Care was taken to achieve indentation of single grains with sufficient accuracy and repeatability. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping was used to determine orientation of Cu6Sn5 grains and to relate the orientation with the load–depth curve results of nanoindentation and the corresponding elastic and plastic properties. The EBSD results indicated that the Cu6Sn5 crystal structure is hexagonal. Columnar growth of the Cu6Sn5 grains was observed as the grains mostly grew along the c-axis of the crystal. Indentation of different grains parallel to the basal plane showed no significant difference in mechanical properties.
Is the Government Keeping the Peace or Acting Like Our Parents? Rationales for the Legal Prohibitions of GHB and MDMA:

Various concerns and rationales have been the driving force for drug regulation in the United States. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA) set up a comprehensive list of schedules and criteria that were intended to guide how all drugs were to be regulated, based on abuse liability and medical utility. This law was also supposed to eliminate the hodgepodge efforts of Congress in determining which drugs were legal to use and which ones were not, often based on utilitarian rationales. A comparative content analysis of the witness testimony at scheduling hearings, regarding two controlled substances, suggests that rationales for the scheduling of gammahydroxybutyric acid (GHB) typically were based on J. S. Mill's "harm to others" utilitarian approach, whereas the scheduling of methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) was typically based on the utilitarian approach of legal paternalism. Language: en
A comprehensive speed control model for human drivers with application to intersection left turns

This paper presents analysis and modeling of vehicle speed control as demonstrated by human drivers making left turns at intersections. The analysis is based on detailed measurements taken under naturalistic driving conditions. An important application is in the design of future driver assistance systems aimed to reduce intersection collision risk. The model uses the driver's assumed prior estimate of vehicle acceleration based on visual preview information, and unifies estimates of longitudinal acceleration (for braking to rest) and lateral acceleration for negotiating the turn. The relationship between prior acceleration estimates and resulting vehicle accelerations are studied for both stopping and turning events. Closed-loop implementation adopts a nonlinear controller with mode switching functionality. Example simulations show that the model is capable of accurately reproducing measured speed profiles.
Temperature-sensitive transforming mutants of the v-rel oncogene.

Abstract By making site-directed mutations in the avian retroviral oncogene v-rel, we created two temperature-sensitive (ts) transforming mutants; these changes were analogous to mutations previously shown to confer a ts function onto the Dorsal protein of Drosophila melanogaster. Chicken spleen cells infected with the ts v-rel mutants formed colonies in agar at 36.5 degrees C but not at 41.5 degrees C. In addition, spleen cells derived from the ts v-rel-transformed colonies could be propagated in liquid culture at 36.5 degrees C but rapidly senesced at 41.5 degrees C. Both mutant v-Rel proteins were also ts for DNA binding in vitro. These mutants may be valuable for identifying genes directly regulated by v-rel.
Choosing White-Collar Crime

In Western countries such as the United States, crime is viewed as chosen behavior. This assumption emerged as the dominant theoretical underpinning of crime control policy-making in the decades en ...
GLSVM: Integrating Structured Feature Selection and Large Margin Classification

High dimensional data challenges current feature selection methods. For many real world problems we often have prior knowledge about the relationship of features. For example in microarray data analysis, genes from the same biological pathways are expected to have similar relationship to the outcome that we target to predict. Recent regularization methods on Support Vector Machine (SVM) have achieved great success to perform feature selection and model selection simultaneously for high dimensional data, but neglect such relationship among features. To build interpretable SVM models, the structure information of features should be incorporated. In this paper, we propose an algorithm GLSVM that automatically perform model selection and feature selection in SVMs. To incorporate the prior knowledge of feature relationship, we extend standard 2 norm SVM and use a penalty function that employs a L2 norm regularization term including the normalized Laplacian of the graph and L1 penalty. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of our methods and compare them to the state-of-the-art using two real-world benchmarks.
Cytologic features of müllerian papilloma of the cervix: Mimic of malignancy

Mullerian papilloma is a rare benign tumor of the cervix and/or vagina that occurs predominantly in young children. The cytologic features of benign mullerian papilloma have never been described. We report for the first time, to our knowledge, the cytologic findings of a benign mullerian papilloma from the vaginal fluid specimen of a 15-mo-old girl using touch prep, ThinPrep, and cell block preparations. The deceptive cytologic features of a cellular specimen with complex papillary fronds composed of overlapping and crowded small hyperchromatic cells, with a high nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio, and feathering in this case resembled a malignant neoplasm. The clinical findings and cytomorphology of a benign mullerian papilloma can mimic those of malignant lesions of the female lower genital tract such as sarcoma botryoides and adenocarcinoma. An awareness of this entity and its potential to mimic these more aggressive neoplasms is essential for accurate diagnosis and to avoid over-treatment.
Promoter and leader regions involved in the expression of the Arabidopsis ferredoxin A gene

Summary Ferredoxin is a nuclear-encoded protein that is involved in a variety of electron transfer reactions in both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic plastids. We show here that the expression of the ferredoxin A gene (FedA) in Arabidopsis thaliana is light-regulated, with its mRNA level increased 4.5-fold by transfer of dark-grown seedlings to white light for 3 h. A portion of this light regulation is mediated by phytochrome through a very low fluence type of response. In addition, it is likely that another photoreceptor(s) is also involved. The FedA promoter confers a light- and tissue-regulated expression pattern when fused to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) and luciferase reporter genes, indicating that the gene is transcriptionally regulated. No evidence of cis-acting light-regulatory elements within the 5′ untranslated leader region of the gene was detected. Nevertheless, elements within this leader are required for full activity since its deletion reduces expression both in the light and dark by 25-fold. This region includes a sequence, ACAAAA, which is also present in the 5′ untranslated leader of the other three ferredoxin leaders that have been sequenced and in the leaders of 31 other plant genes or about 8% of all plant genes in the GenBank database. In addition to mediating light regulation, the FedA promoter also directs GUS expression in aerial tissues at 70-fold higher levels than in roots. GUS activity staining in aerial tissues is observed in both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic cells. These data indicate that the FedA promoter also carries the information for expression of this gene in a highly tissue- and cell-specific manner.
Building Block Converter Module for Universal (AC-DC, DC-AC, DC-DC) Fully Modular Power Conversion Architecture

This paper presents the configuration and control methods for a building block module suitable for application in a fully modular, AC-DC, DC-AC and DC-DC power conversion architecture, where the modules can be connected in any combination of series and parallel connections and support bidirectional power flow. The advantages of the proposed configuration, which is a combination of AC PWM full bridge stage and a dual active bridge based isolated DC-DC stage, are explained. The control implementations and average models of the building block module are discussed in detail. Analytical, simulation and experimental results are presented that confirm the feasibility of the fully modular power conversion approach with the proposed building block module.
Visualizing calcium responses to acetylcholine convection along endothelium of arteriolar networks in Cx40BAC-GCaMP2 transgenic mice

Acetylcholine evokes endothelium-dependent vasodilation subsequent to a rise in intracellular calcium. Despite widespread application in human and animal studies, calcium responses to intravascular...
Today I'm Grieving a Physician Suicide

An estimated 250 physicians will commit suicide this year. In this essay, the author shares her grief and guilt over the suicide of a colleague while reflecting on both the scale of this largely unacknowledged problem and the stigma that prevents our profession from adequately addressing it. Physicians are as vulnerable to depression as is the general population, but they seek care at lower rates and commit suicide at higher rates. Fears regarding loss of professional stature and respect often prevent depressed physicians from accessing needed mental health services. This same stigma can also compound the mourning process of the colleagues and family of those physicians who complete suicide. As a profession, physicians must strengthen existing resources for impaired colleagues and work collaboratively to destigmatize treatment for mental illnesses.
A Fault Tolerance Aware Synthesis Methodology for Threshold Logic Gate Networks

Threshold logic technology is conceived as the crucial alternate emerging technology to CMOS implementation in nanoelectronic era. The gate that is implemented with threshold logic is called a threshold logic gate (TLG). Threshold gates are very fast and implement complex functionalities thus reducing the logic levels in the circuit implementation. Extensive research has been done in the development of suitable synthesis methodologies in the past, predominantly greedy. In this work, a synthesis methodology is proposed for increased fault tolerance. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method both in terms of resulting TLG count in the network implementation and reliability.
Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on copper substrates for applications as thermal interface materials: From synthesis to assembly

One promising application of CNTs in microelectronics is to use vertically aligned CNT (VACNT) arrays as novel thermal interface materials (TIMs). No doubt that the vertical alignment makes the best of the extremely high longitudinal thermal conductivity of individual CNTs; however, it is the CNT/substrate interface that exerts the main restriction on phonon transport through a TIM layer. There are two VACNT TIM/substrate interfaces in a typical TIM assembly: the VACNT/growth substrate interface and the VACNT/mating substrate interface. In terms of the growth substrate, given the high temperature required (≫700 °C) for VACNT syntheses, e.g. by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), direct synthesis of a VACNT TIM layer on the backside of a silicon chip is not compatible with current electronic packaging systems. Instead, VACNT synthesis on the copper lid surface is preferred. Researchers have reported successful VACNT syntheses on some metal surfaces, however, with very limited success on copper substrates, especially based on common thermal CVD processes. In this study, we deliver a remarkable progress on fast synthesis of high-quality VACNTs on copper substrates, based on a common thermal CVD process, by introducing a well-controlled conformal alumina layer as the support layer on the bulk copper substrate. It is the fundamental understanding of the role by the support layer that leads to the successful synthesis of VACNT on the bulk copper in our study. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy showed well aligned CNTs of high quality. The key role of the support layer was discussed. As for reducing the contact thermal resistance at the VACNT/growth substrate interface, i.e. chip backside, chemical anchoring was proposed and developed. A right chemical compound was chosen to covalently bond the VACNTs to the Si substrate surface and, more importantly, to serve as “molecular phonon couplers” at the contact interface to enhance interfacial thermal transport. Experimental results indicated that such an interface modification improved the effective thermal diffusivity of the carbon nanotube-mediated thermal interface by an order of magnitude and conductivity by two orders of magnitude. The interfacial adhesion was dramatically enhanced as well, which is significant for reliability improvement of the TIMs. This remarkable breakthrough undoubtedly provides a viable commercial VACNT application for thermal management in microelectronic and photonic packaging, and opens up a new field in the design of CNT/substrate interfaces.
Order-Compactifications of Totally Ordered Spaces: Revisited

Order-compactifications of totally ordered spaces were described by Blatter (J Approx Theory 13:56–65, 1975) and by Kent and Richmond (J Math Math Sci 11(4):683–694, 1988). Their results generalize a similar characterization of order-compactifications of linearly ordered spaces, obtained independently by Fedorcuk (Soviet Math Dokl 7:1011–1014, 1966; Sib Math J 10:124–132, 1969) and Kaufman (Colloq Math 17:35–39, 1967). In this note we give a simple characterization of the topology of a totally ordered space, as well as give a new simplified proof of the main results of Blatter (J Approx Theory 13:56–65, 1975) and Kent and Richmond (J Math Math Sci 11(4):683–694, 1988). Our main tool will be an order-topological modification of the Dedekind-MacNeille completion. In addition, for a zero-dimensional totally ordered space X, we determine which order-compactifications of X are Priestley order-compactifications.
Causes and Consequences of Stress

Stress involves real or perceived changes within an organism in the environment that activate an organism's attempts to cope by means of evolutionarily ancient neural and endocrine mechanisms. Responses to acute stressors involve catecholamines released in varying proportion at different sites in the sympathetic and central nervous systems. These responses may interact with and be complemented by intrinsic rythms and responses to chronic or intermittent stressors involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Varying patterns of responses to stressors are also affected by an animal's assessment of their prospects for successful coping. Subsequent central and systemic consequences of the stress response include apparent changes in affect, motivation, and cognition that can result in an altered relationship to environmental and social stimuli. This review will summarize recent developments in our understanding of the causes and consequences of stress. Special problems that need to be explored involve the manner in which ensembles of adaptive responses are assembled, how autonomic and neurohormonal reflexes of the stress response come under the influence of environmental stimuli, and how some specific aspects of the stress response may be integrated into the life history of a species.
Molecular cloning and transcriptional analysis of the cpeBA operon of the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena species PCC 7409

Summary The cpeBA operon of the Group III chromatically adapting cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena species PCC 7409 was cloned, sequenced and characterized. The cpeBA genes are transcribed in green-light-grown cells as an abundant 1400-nucleotide mRNA which initiates 69 nucleotides upstream from the cpeB translation start. Extensive sequence identity, extending 70 nucleotides 5′ to the transcription start, occurs among cpeBA promoters of Group II and III chromatic adapters. Cell extracts of green-light-grown Calothrix species PCC 7601 contain an activity which specifically binds a restriction fragment containing the Pseudanabanea species PCC 7409 cpeBA promoter. Green-light-dependent cpeBA transcription in Group II and III chromatically adapting cyanobacteria is suggested to be similarly controlled by a transcriptional activator.
Studies of MEMS Acoustic Sensors as Implantable Microphones for Totally Implantable Hearing-Aid Systems

There is a need for high-quality implantable microphones for existing semiimplantable middle-ear hearing systems and cochlear prosthesis to make them totally implantable, thus overcoming discomfort, inconvenience, and social stigma. This paper summarizes and compares the results of an in-vitro study on three design approaches and the feasibility of using microelectromechanical system acoustic sensors as implantable microphones to convert the umbo vibration directly into a high-quality sound signal. The requirements of sensors were selected including the ability to withstand large body shocks or sudden changes of air pressure. Umbo vibration characteristics were extracted from literature and laboratory measurement data. A piezoelectric vibration source was built and calibrated to simulate the umbo vibration. Two laboratory models of the acoustic sensor were studied. The model-A device, using electrets-microphone as the sensor, was designed and tested in the laboratory and on temporal bones. The results verify that the laboratory measurement is consistent with the temporal bone characterization and achieves a near flat frequency response with a minimum detectable signal of a 65-dB sound-pressure-level (SPL) at 1 kHz. The model-B sensor was then designed to increase the sensitivity and provide an easy mounting on umbo. The model-B device can detect 40-dB SPL sound in the 1-2 kHz region, with 100-Hz channel bandwidth. The results of model-A and model-B displacement sensors and the acceleration sensor are summarized and compared. A preliminary design of the implantable displacement sensor for totally implantable hearing-aid systems is also presented.
Proteinase Produced by Chlamydia psittaci in L Cells

L cells (mouse fibroblasts) infected with Chlamydia psittaci (strain meningopneumonitis) produced a proteinase differing in solubility in ammonium sulfate from the proteinase of uninfected L cells. Synthesis of the enzyme was inhibited by chloramphenicol but not by cycloheximide, indicating that the new proteinase in infected L cells was synthesized by Chlamydia psittaci. The chlamydial proteinase had no demonstrable ion requirements and was not inhibited by a variety of inhibitors of proteinase activity. Gel filtration experiments suggested a molecular weight of approximately 250,000. The proteinase appeared in infected L cells at the time host cells began to die and the large chlamydial cells began to reorganize into small ones. Some possible functions for the chlamydial proteinase were proposed.
Interannual Variability of the Global Radiation Budget

Interannual variability of the global radiation budget, regions that contribute to its variability, and what limits albedo variability are investigated using Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data taken from March 2000 through February 2004. Area-weighted mean top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflected shortwave, longwave, and net irradiance standard deviations computed from monthly anomalies over a 1 83 18 region are 9.6, 7.6, and 7.6 W m 22 , respectively. When standard deviations are computed from global monthly anomalies, they drop to 0.5, 0.4, and 0.4 W m 22 , respectively. Clouds are mostly responsible for the variation. Regions with a large standard deviation of TOA shortwave and longwave irradiance at TOA are
Mining for Color: New Blues, Yellows, and Translucent Paint

In the sixteenth century, the Erzgebirge mountains were mined for mineral ores of cobalt and antimony that were used to make the blue pigment smalt, a potash glass, and yellow pigments based on lead-antimony oxides, respectively. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, these pigments had found a permanent place on the easel painter’s palette, smalt used in place of ultramarine and the antimonial compounds enlivening the yellows of the spectrum. Mining efforts also located sources for naphtha, and improvements in distillation would have allowed it (and other solvents) to be fractioned and purified for use as a solvent and diluent for oil paint. The mention of naphtha in treatises and color-sellers’ inventories attests to its use in color making. Thinning paint allowed artists to use glazes of paint to lively, luminous, coloristic effect and made blending easier. These three discoveries contributed to the saturated colors characteristic of seventeenth-century painting and offered artists latitude in the ways they pursued their goal of imitative painting.
POPULATION STRUCTURE, FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT SELECTION, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.

Recently, Williams (1975), Williams and Mitton (1973), and Maynard Smith (1971, 1976, 1978) have shown that it is difficult to explain the evolution and maintenance of sexual reproduction through an immediate selective advantage to individual organisms, because of costs incurred by sexually-reproducing individuals. One cost is a reduction in the number of daughters or amount of female sexual function which can be produced when resources are diverted into production of sons in dioecious species or into male function in hermaphrodites (see Treisman and Dawkins, 1976; Maynard Smith, 1978). This "fecundity cost" is usually considered to be 1/2, but will be lower if sex ratio or sex allocation is biased toward females or female function (cf. Hamilton, 1967; Charnov, 1979). A second cost, called the "cost of meiosis" by Williams (1975), involves relative genetic contributions to offspring by sexual and asexual individuals. Specifically, there is an advantage to a rare hermaphrodite that suppresses meiosis in producing eggs but retains haploid male gametes with which to fertilize conspecifics; or an analogous advantage to a rare female that produces daughters asexually and sons sexually. Fitness of such meiosis-suppressing mutants relative to sexual forms is 312 when they are rare but declines to one as they increase in frequency (this illustration was provided by E. L. Charnov). Most models for maintenance of sexual reproduction assume that offspring disperse randomly and that their survival depends on inheriting genes suited to environmental conditions where they settle. Under these assumptions, sexuality is favored in environments which are spatially coarse-grained (Williams and Mitton, 1973; Williams, 1975; Maynard Smith, 1976, 1978) and/or which fluctuate in a coarse-grained fashion through time (Maynard Smith, 1976, 1978; Treisman, 1976). Because of inherent costs of sexuality, however, each offspring's chance of survival must be low and environmental fluctuations intense for sexuality to spread or persist. Such conditions are likely to obtain only for high-fecundity organisms inhabiting strongly seasonal or unpredictable environments. Hence, these models do not predict satisfactorily the widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction among low-fecundity plants and animals inhabiting seemingly stable environments (see also Glesener and Tilman, 1978; Maynard Smith, 1978). We offer here a simple island model (Wright, 1969) for a population occupying a homogeneous, constant environment. The organisms colonize sites, or patches, at random. Only one colonist survives to adulthood at each patch. The only fitness differences between colonists are caused by frequency-dependent selection, with fitness (probability of survival) of each genotype a declining function of its frequency within a patch. Under these conditions, an allele programming sexual reproduction can increase in the population if dispersal of individuals among patches is sufficiently restricted and frequencydependence is sufficiently strong.
Clinical judgment is not passé when it comes to identifying patients with acute myocardial infarction

Commentary on : Carlton EW, Than M, Cullen L, et al. ‘Chest pain typicality’ in suspected acute coronary syndromes and the impact of clinical experience. Am J Med 2015;128:1109–16.e2.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Chest pain is the second most common reason patients visit emergency departments (EDs), and substantial healthcare resources are expended in its evaluation and management.1 Accurately identifying patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an ongoing diagnostic challenge, and much past and ongoing research is being conducted in this area. Several contemporary risk scores have been developed to predict ACS risk in ED patients with undifferentiated chest pain, and the field is rapidly evolving as new cardiac biomarkers are developed to address the diagnostic challenge. It is in this context—identifying patients at risk for ACS in a cohort of ED patients with non-traumatic chest pain—that … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAm%2BJ%2BMed%26rft.volume%253D128%26rft.spage%253D1109%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1016%252Fj.amjmed.2015.04.012%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F25912206%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.04.012&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=25912206&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F21%2F3%2F117.atom
90 NATURAL HISTORY OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS IN PRIMARY CARE PATIENTS

Background The association between changes in menopausal status and vasomotor, psychological and somatic symptoms reporting over the course of the menopause transition is not well understood. Objectives 1) Determine the prevalence and the natural history of menopause symptoms among primary care patients approaching or at menopause; and 2) examine the relationships between self-reported symptoms, sociodemographic variables and menopausal status. Study Design Cross-sectional self-report survey of 342 women aged 40 to 55 years (31.6% African American) were recruited from eight family practice centers in 2000-2001. Results Among 251 women without surgical menopause, 133 (53.0%) were pre-menopausal; 72 (28.7%) were peri-menopausal and 46 (18.3%) were post-menopausal. Vasomotor symptoms were less common in pre-menopause compared to peri- and post- menopause (p Conclusions Symptoms are not uncommon among pre-menopausal women and become more prevalent as the transition to menopause occurs. The prevalence of vasomotor symptoms in pre-menopausal women may be an under-recognized aspect of the natural history of the menopause transition.
Mappings versus Set-Valued Functions

Inverse limits with upper semicontinuous bonding functions exhibit fundamental differences from inverse limits with mappings in the sense that the theorems that hold when the bonding functions in an inverse limit sequence are mappings almost always fail if the bonding functions are set-valued. This chapter is devoted to examining some of those differences. Of course, these differences provide a source for research questions.
Sojourning With the Homogeneous Poisson Process

ABSTRACTIn this pedagogical article, distributional properties, some surprising, pertaining to the homogeneous Poisson process (HPP), when observed over a possibly random window, are presented. Properties of the gap-time that covered the termination time and the correlations among gap-times of the observed events are obtained. Inference procedures, such as estimation and model validation, based on event occurrence data over the observation window, are also presented. We envision that through the results in this article, a better appreciation of the subtleties involved in the modeling and analysis of recurrent events data will ensue, since the HPP is arguably one of the simplest among recurrent event models. In addition, the use of the theorem of total probability, Bayes’ theorem, the iterated rules of expectation, variance and covariance, and the renewal equation could be illustrative when teaching distribution theory, mathematical statistics, and stochastic processes at both the undergraduate and graduat...
Climate consequences of low-carbon fuels: The United States Renewable Fuel Standard

Abstract A common strategy for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy use is to increase the supply of low-carbon alternatives. However, increasing supply tends to lower energy prices, which encourages additional fuel consumption. This “fuel market rebound effect” can undermine climate change mitigation strategies, even to the point where efforts to reduce GHG emissions by increasing the supply of low-carbon fuels may actually result in increased GHG emissions. Here, we explore how policies that encourage the production of low-carbon fuels may result in increased GHG emissions because the resulting increase in energy use overwhelms the benefits of reduced carbon intensity. We describe how climate change mitigation strategies should follow a simple rule: a low-carbon fuel with a carbon intensity of X% that of a fossil fuel must displace at least X% of that fossil fuel to reduce overall GHG emissions. We apply this rule to the United States Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). We show that absent consideration of the fuel market rebound effect, RFS2 appears to reduce GHG emissions, but once the fuel market rebound effect is factored in, RFS2 actually increases GHG emissions when all fuel GHG intensity targets are met.