cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model checking real time java using java pathfinder

The Real Time Specification for Java (RTSJ) is an augmentation of Java for real time applications of various degrees of hardness. The central features of RTSJ are real time threads; user defined schedulers; asynchronous events, handlers, and control transfers; a priority inheritance based default scheduler; non-heap memory areas such as immortal and scoped, and non-heap real time threads whose execution is not impeded by garbage collection. The Robust Software Systems group at NASA Ames Research Center has Java PathFinder(JPF) under development, a Java model checker. JPF at its core is a state exploring JVM which can examine alternative paths in a Java program (e.g., via backtracking) by trying all nondeterministic choices, including thread scheduling order. This paper describes our implementation of an RTSJ profile (subset) in JPF, including requirements, design decisions, and current implementation status. Two examples are analyzed: jobs on a multiprogramming operating system, and a complex resource contention example involving autonomous vehicles crossing an intersection. The utility of JPF in finding logic and timing errors is illustrated, and the remaining challenges in supporting all of RTSJ are assessed.
Differential functions of two editosome exoUases in Trypanosoma brucei

Mitochondrial RNAs in trypanosomes are edited by the insertion and deletion of uridine (U) nucleotides to form translatable mRNAs. Editing is catalyzed by three distinct editosomes that contain two related U-specific exonucleases (exoUases), KREX1 and KREX2, with the former present exclusively in KREN1 editosomes and the latter present in all editosomes. We show here that repression of KREX1 expression leads to a concomitant reduction of KREN1 in approximately 20S editosomes, whereas KREX2 repression results in reductions of KREPA2 and KREL1 in approximately 20S editosomes. Knockdown of KREX1 results in reduced cell viability, reduction of some edited RNA in vivo, and a significant reduction in deletion but not insertion endonuclease activity in vitro. In contrast, KREX2 knockdown does not affect cell growth or editing in vivo but results in modest reductions of both insertion and deletion endonuclease activities and a significant reduction of U removal in vitro. Simultaneous knockdown of both proteins leads to a more severe inhibition of cell growth and editing in vivo and an additive effect on endonuclease cleavage in vitro. Taken together, these results indicate that both KREX1 and KREX2 are important for retention of other proteins in editosomes, and suggest that the reduction in cell viability upon KREX1 knockdown is likely a consequence of KREN1 loss. Furthermore, although KREX2 appears dispensable for cell growth, the increased inhibition of editing and parasite viability upon knockdown of both KREX1 and KREX2 together suggests that both proteins have roles in editing.
Jurisdiction Granting: Legislative Capacity and Ideology

Congressional power over the federal court system includes the constitutional power to define the jurisdiction of the federal district courts. Congress exercises its power by passing jurisdiction-granting legislation which confers on the district courts authority to address policy issues. Congress is therefore a participant in the process by which the district courts set their agendas. As Congress can determine who may sue, when they may sue, and which issues they may raise it influences the issues that appear before the courts. This paper explores the conditions under which Congress will grant jurisdiction, testing the relationship between grants of jurisdiction and legislative capacity and ideology.
An embedded system for agricultural monitoring of remote areas

Precision agriculture is a farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops. By collecting real-time data on weather, soil and air quality, crop maturity and other factors, predictive analytics can be used to make better decisions for the future. This paper proposes a low power, low cost, robust data collection system to generate and gather data autonomously in isolated or remote areas. The sensor module collects soil moisture and temperature data and air temperature and humidity data that is then gathered periodically by a line following robot that uploads the stored data from the sensor module via Bluetooth communication for further analysis.
In situ ion gun cleaning of surface adsorbates and its effect on electrostatic forces

To obtain precise measurements of the Casimir force, it is crucial to take into account the electrostatic interactions that exist between the two boundaries. Two otherwise grounded conductors will continue to have residual electrostatic effects from patch potentials existing on the surfaces. In this paper, we look at the effect of in situ cleaning of adsorbate patches, and the resultant effect on the net electrostatic potential difference between two surfaces. We find a significant reduction in the residual potential due to in situ Ar+ cleaning for the samples used.
Comparative Study of Effect of Sulfadiazine and Sulfathiazole on Staphylococcus aureus.

ConclusionsSulfadiazine increases the bactericidal action of normal blood when added in vitro or when exhibited orally. Comparative tests show that sulfathiazole is somewhat superior to sulfadiazine in its effect on Staphylococcus aureus.
HPV Vaccines for Treatment and Prevention of Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a disease of viral etiology and is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Although it is a benign disease process, there are very serious sequelae because of its involvement in the tracheobronchial tree. While there are multiple treatment modalities, ranging from surgery to antivirals and immunomodulating chemotherapeutics, recent advances have focused on the prevention of HPV transmission with vaccines. Over the last 10 years, HPV vaccinations have been increasingly employed and the CDC currently recommends the use of the new nine-valent vaccine (Gardasil-9). The increasing use of a nine-valent vaccine offers hope for preventing the neonatal transmission of the HPV virus and significantly reducing the incidence and morbidity of RRP and other HPV-related diseases.
Acyl carrier protein is a bacterial cytoplasmic target of cationic antimicrobial peptide LL-37

In addition to membrane disruption, the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (AMP) LL-37 translocates through the bacterial inner membrane to target intracellular molecules. The present study aims to identify an alternate mechanism and a cytoplasmic target of LL-37 in Francisella . LL-37 binding proteins from Francisella novicida U112 bacterial lysates were precipitated by using biotinylated LL-37 (B-LL-37) and NeutrAvidin-agarose beads. Bound proteins were identified by LC–MS/MS, validated and characterized by bead pull-down assays and differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF). The cationic AMP (CAMP) LL-37 was able to interact with Francisella cytoplasmic acyl carrier protein (AcpP; FTN1340/FTT1376). Further study confirmed that LL-37 peptide could bind to AcpP and that the sheep cathelicidin SMAP-29 (Sheep Myeloid Antimicrobial Peptide 29) further increased LL-37 binding to AcpP, suggesting a synergistic effect of SMAP-29 on the binding. LL-37 could also bind to both AcpP of Escherichia coli and Bacillus anthracis , implying a mechanism of broad action of LL-37-AcpP binding. Overexpression of the acpP gene in F. novicida led to an increase in LL-37 susceptibility. LL-37 binding to AcpP changed the fatty acid composition profiles. Taken together, we identified a novel cytoplasmic target of LL-37 in Francisella , suggesting a mechanism of action of this peptide beyond membrane permeabilization. Our findings highlight a novel mechanism of antimicrobial activity of this peptide and document a previously unexplored target of α-helical CAMPs. * AcpP, : acyl carrier protein; ASB, : amidosulfobetaine-14; AMP, : antimicrobial peptide; CAMP, : cationic antimicrobial peptide; B-LL-37, : biotinylated LL-37; DSF, : differential scanning fluorimetry; FAME, : fatty acid methyl ester; HRP, : horseradish peroxidase; LPS, : lipopolysaccharide; MDR, : multi-drug resistant; NTA, : nitrilotriacetic acid; PNA, : peptide nucleic acid; PPMO, : peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer; SMAP 29, : Sheep Myeloid Antimicrobial Peptide 29; TBST, : TBS containing 0.05% Tween-20; TSBC, : tryptic soy broth supplemented with 0.1% cysteine; rAcp, : recombinant Acp; qRT PCR, : quantitative reverse phase PCR; WT, : wild-type
Abstract IA07: In search of racial disparities in HPV vaccination

Background: Racial disparities in cervical cancer deaths are longstanding, with African American and Latina women more likely to die from the disease. The advent of HPV vaccine created an opportunity to reduce or end these disparities, but only if uptake was either uniformly high across all females or higher among minority than non-minority females. Thus, interest in racial disparities in HPV vaccine coverage has been understandably high. Findings: Data from several sources show racial disparities and “reverse disparities” in HPV vaccination coverage. First, the most reliable national data are from the National Immunization Survey Teen, a national survey of parents of adolescents with vaccination doses confirmed by physician records. NIS-Teen data show, depending on the year, higher initiation among Black and Latina teen girls. HPV vaccine completion rates in some years have been lower among these groups. Second, several large studies of insured women have shown lower rates of HPV vaccine initiation among Black women. Finally, many national surveys using self-reported data have shown no reliable pattern with respect to disparities in HPV vaccine initiation. Another source of data is ecological analyses, comparing HPV vaccine coverage in states with lower and higher proportions of minority women. These analyses by Moss, Reiter and Brewer show that states with more African American residents had lower rates of HPV vaccine initiation among adolescent girls. However, we saw no disparities for completion or for proportion of Latina women. A last source of data are studies of awareness, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. These studies show a more regular pattern of lower awareness of and lower knowledge related to HPV vaccine among minority women compared to non-minority women. However, racial disparities are not universal across studies and not routinely present for other outcomes. Commentary: Despite our best efforts to find racial disparities in HPV vaccination coverage, data from various sources suggest no clear pattern of ethnic or racial disparities for outcomes other than 3-dose series completion. Future studies should emphasize HPV vaccine initiation, which likely has a larger public health impact than series completion. Citation Format: Noel T. Brewer, Jennifer L. Moss, Paul L. Reiter. In search of racial disparities in HPV vaccination. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA07.
Study on the Bio-film Cultivation and Start-up Process of Bio-fluidized Bed Using ATP/PVA Cellular Carrier

The Attapulgite(ATP)/Polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) cellular carrier prepared by PVA acetal reaction had good properties of specific surface area,abundant pore structure,fast bio-film colonization,high biomass attachment on the carrier,and a good organic wastewater treatment effect in a bio-fluidized bed reactor. The experimental results showed that the COD removal efficiency of above 90% could be achieved when the apparent volume of the ATP/PVA cellular carrier was 20% of the aeration zone,the influent COD concentration was between 1000 ~ 3000 mg/l,and the influent COD volume loading was under 8. 7kg·m-3·d-1. Results also showed that ATP/PVA cellular carrier fluidized bed bioreactor had a high NH 3-N removal capacity,and the removal rate of above 90% could be achieved,when the influent NH 3-N concentration was under 100 mg/l and the HRT was above 12h.
Microseparations and Microfluidic Studies

Microscale integrated chemical analysis systems have been fabricated which employ electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection. The microoptical systems utilize vertical cavity surface emitting diode lasers (VCSELs), diffractive lenses, microreflectors and diode detectors. The flow channels and diffractive optics have been fabricated in fused silica and the VCSELs are attached to the substrates using flip-chip bonding. The electrokinetic separations make use of micellar separations in open channels and reverse phase separations that use both bead-packed microchannels and lithographically-patterned stationary phase supports. The detailed flow characteristics of these systems is visualized using novel imaging methods.
The Influence of Psychosocial Immaturity, Age, and Mental State Beliefs on Culpability Judgments About Juvenile Offenders:

Juvenile offenders are treated harshly in that they receive adult-like punishment and are incarcerated when alternatives to incarceration are possible. Research on adolescent offenders suggests that they are less mature than their adult counterparts and that they suffer psychosocial setbacks as a result of incarceration. We examined the effect of psychosocial immaturity information on culpability judgments about juvenile offenders. In Study 1, we provided information about limitations in adolescents’ abilities to control their impulses, weigh risks and benefits, and consider the future consequences of their behavior. Compared with a control condition, those in the immaturity conditions attributed less responsibility to the offender. In Study 2, we manipulated both immaturity information and an actor’s mental state beliefs about the consequences of his action. We found that mental beliefs weighed more heavily in judgments about responsibility and guilt than information about immaturity. Discussion focuses ...
Use of siRNA and Antisense Knockdown to Study Regulation of PKA by PKI

Publisher Summary The protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) family consists of three proteins (PKIα, PKIβ, and PKIγ), all of which are potent and specific inhibitors of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). In response to a stimulus that increases the intracellular cAMP level, PKA-C is released from the regulatory subunit (PKA-R), translocates into the nucleus, and regulates gene expression by phosphorylating transcription factors such as CREB. PKI also translocates into the nucleus, inactivates PKA-C by binding to it, and then translocates PKA-C out of the nucleus. This translocation out of the nucleus is due to interactions between the nuclear export signal (NES) motif found in all three members of the PKI family and the leptomycin-sensitive nuclear export machinery. However, translocation out of the nucleus is not necessary for PKI to terminate PKA-C signaling in the nucleus, as binding to PKI is sufficient. It is important to note that PKI may also have important functions in regulating PKA-C activity in the cytoplasm of cells. Short-term knockdown of PKI, or other proteins, can be achieved by either siRNA or antisense approaches, either of which can be applied to cells as oligonucleotides or by expression of gene constructs. Activation of Gs-coupled receptors also induces a transient anti-apoptotic effect in osteoblasts that depends on PKA signaling. It demonstrates that endogenous levels of PKI are sufficient to terminate physiological effects of PKA-C in the nucleus following stimulation of cAMP levels by Gs-coupled receptors.
Dynamic Nature of presenilin1/γ-Secretase: Implication for Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis.

Presenilin 1 (PS1) is a catalytic component of the γ-secretase complex, responsible for the intramembraneous cleavage of more than 90 type I transmembrane proteins, including Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related amyloid precursor protein (APP). The γ-secretase-mediated cleavage of the APP C-terminal membrane stub leads to the production of various amyloid β (Aβ) species. The assembly of Aβ into neurotoxic oligomers, which causes synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration, is influenced by the relative ratio of the longer (Aβ42/43) to shorter Aβ (Aβ40) peptides. The ratio of Aβ42 to Aβ40 depends on the conformation and activity of the PS1/γ-secretase enzymatic complex. The latter exists in a dynamic equilibrium of the so called "closed" and "open" conformational states, as determined by the Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based PS1 conformation assay. Here we review several factors that can allosterically influence conformational status of the enzyme, and hence the production of Aβ peptides. These include genetic variations in PS1, APP and other γ-secretase components, environmental stressors implicated in AD pathogenesis and pharmacological agents. Since "closed" PS1 conformation is the common outcome of many AD-related insults, the novel assays monitoring PS1 conformation in live/intact cells in vivo and in vitro might be utilized for diagnostic purposes and for validation of the potential therapeutic approaches.
Weather and eared grebe winter migration near the Great Salt Lake, Utah

This study provides insight from the use of weather radar observations to understand the characteristics of the eared grebe migration near the Great Salt Lake (GSL) and provides unique information on weather conditions connected to these migration events. Doppler weather radar measurements from the Salt Lake City, Utah WSR-88D radar site (KMTX), along with meteorological surface and rawinsonde data, were used to identify and examine 281 eared grebe migration events across 15 winters from 1997/1998 through 2011/2012. An average of about 19 migration events occurred each winter with considerable interannual variability, as well as large variance in the spatial area and number of birds departing the GSL during each event. The migration events typically occurred during clear sky conditions in the presence of surface high pressure and colder than average surface temperatures. Migration events began 55 min after sunset, on average across the winter seasons, and in one case we demonstrate that an extended, nonstop flight was initiated of the departing eared grebes to northern Mexico. Eared grebes leaving the GSL largely flew above the freezing level with a mean northerly tailwind at flight altitude of 3.1 m s−1 and a westerly, cross-flight wind of 5.0 m s−1 while having an average flight speed at cruising altitude of 16.9 m s−1, or 61 km h−1. In addition to determining the variability of meteorological conditions during migration events across the 15 winters, atmospheric conditions during the largest migration event observed are presented and discussed.
Commentary: The positive impacts of public Pre-K fade quickly, and sometimes reverse: What does this portend for future research and policy?

Abstract Lipsey, Farran, and Durkin (2018) report the results from the third-grade follow-up of children who, as four-year-olds, were in the treatment and control groups of the Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (TVPK). Results include an intent-to-treat analysis of state test scores based on a randomized trial (RCT). TVPK produced substantive positive impacts on children during the pre-K year, but differences between treatment and control children faded to zero, and, for state test scores, turned negative as children moved through elementary school. The negative outcomes, although not without precedent, are surprising to many. The more general finding of very rapid fadeout of preschool impacts is consistent with a large number of studies. Researchers and policymakers can respond to the Lipsey et al. findings in several ways. These include dismissing the findings because of the assertion that TVPK is a low-quality program, or arguing that the research design was flawed, or claiming that the results of other strong studies of preschool interventions conflict with results reported for TVPK. Each of these lines of attack does not survive close inspection of their empirical entailments. Three paths forward are respectful of the findings: (1) continuing the priority of advancing public pre-K for four-year-olds, coupled with efforts to improve longer-term program effects by capitalizing on findings from research on heterogeneity of impacts; (2) reframing the purpose and metrics for success of pre-K away from affecting children’s achievement in later grades to providing positive and engaging experiences for children when they are enrolled; and (3) pursuing new models of policy that shift the focus from school readiness to family support. Significant additional investments in research and evaluation will be required to pursue the effectiveness of new policy frameworks for early care and learning.
Structural studies on centromeres in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, circular or linear plasmids containing a functional centromere (CEN) and a chromosomal replicator (ARS) are mitotically stable and segregate as ordinary yeast chromosomes in the first and second meiotic divisions. A centromere in S. cerevisiae consists of a region of DNA, approximately 150 bp in length, containing three important sequence elements, which are folded with proteins into a specific conformation in the chromatin (the yeast kinetochore). Each of the functional CEN sequences contains a high (91% to 95%) AT region (element II), 78 to 86 bp in length, flanked on one side by the common sequence PuTCACPuTG (element I), and on the other by the sequence TGTTT.TG.TTTCCGAAA…. AAA (element III). Deletions in the element II region partially inactivate mitotic function and cause precocious separation of the sister chromatids in meiosis I. Element III appears to be a protein binding site, as evidenced by the following observations. Various point mutations in element III inactivate centromere function, especially in the central CCG (17). One or more protein binding sites in the element III region can be demonstrated by an exonuclease III blocking assay. Wild-type CEN sequences compete strongly in this binding assay, whereas certain functionally inactive mutant CEN sequences do not. In addition, various DNA segments containing either CEN3 or the element III region strongly repress expression of the yeast GAL1 gene when inserted immediately upstream from the transcriptional start site. Helical DNA segments containing CEN3 or CEN14 are shown to be bent or distorted in shape in the high-AT element II region.
Automated defect analysis in electron microscopic images

Electron microscopy and defect analysis are a cornerstone of materials science, as they offer detailed insights on the microstructure and performance of a wide range of materials and material systems. Building a robust and flexible platform for automated defect recognition and classification in electron microscopy will result in the completion of analysis orders of magnitude faster after images are recorded, or even online during image acquisition. Automated analysis has the potential to be significantly more efficient, accurate, and repeatable than human analysis, and it can scale with the increasingly important methods of automated data generation. Herein, an automated recognition tool is developed based on a computer vison–based approach; it sequentially applies a cascade object detector, convolutional neural network, and local image analysis methods. We demonstrate that the automated tool performs as well as or better than manual human detection in terms of recall and precision and achieves quantitative image/defect analysis metrics close to the human average. The proposed approach works for images of varying contrast, brightness, and magnification. These promising results suggest that this and similar approaches are worth exploring for detecting multiple defect types and have the potential to locate, classify, and measure quantitative features for a range of defect types, materials, and electron microscopic techniques. An automatic tool is able to identify defects from several electron microscopy images. Electron microscopy is widely used to study defects like grain boundaries and impurities in a wide range of materials. However, a large number of images are needed to extract statistically significant information, while identification is still done manually which is not only time-consuming but also inconsistent, depending on the identifier. Now, a team from University of Wisconsin and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA combine machine learning, computer vision, and image analysis techniques to obtain information about the defects size and type. The program’s performance is comparable to manual analysis in terms of quality. Further improvement can lead to real-time analysis from large data sets.
Robust Joining and Assembly of Ceramic Matrix Composites for High Temperature Applications

Advanced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are under active consideration for use in a wide variety of high temperature applications within the aerospace, energy, and nuclear industries. The engineering designs of CMC components require fabrication and manufacturing of large and complex shaped parts of various thicknesses. In many instances, it is more economical to build up complex shapes by joining simple geometrical shapes. Thus, joining and attachment have been recognized as enabling technologies for successful utilization of ceramic components in various demanding applications. In this presentation, various challenges and opportunities in design, fabrication, and testing of high temperature joints in ceramic matrix composites will be presented. A wide variety of ceramic composites, in different shapes and sizes, have been joined using an affordable, robust ceramic joining technology (ARCJoinT). Microstructure and mechanical properties of joints in melt infiltrated and CVI Sic matrix composites will be reported. Various joint design philosophies and design issues in joining of composites will be discussed.
Echocardiographic variables in healthy North American Salukis.

Abstract Introduction To report normal echocardiographic variables from a population of healthy Salukis in North America. Animals The study included 83 healthy adult Salukis from North America with structurally normal hearts. Methods All animals underwent a full physical examination and two-dimensional, M-mode, and Doppler echocardiography using the right parasternal and left apical views with the left ventricular volumes calculated using the Simpson's method of discs. Echocardiographic variables were compared among sex, body surface area, and body weight (BW) using linear regression. The 95% predictive intervals were calculated for both unadjusted and BW-adjusted data. Results No relationship between sex and the echocardiographic variables was noted. Predictive intervals for echocardiographic variables are presented for 22 echocardiographic variables. Linear regression suggested that 16 of those variables were associated with BW. The 95% predictive intervals of echocardiographic variables adjusted for BW are reported. Conclusions The data from this study provide breed-specific echocardiographic reference values for Salukis.
Magnetization Measurements of CORC TM and Roebel Type YBCO Cables for Accelerators Using a ±3-T Dipole Magnetometer

We present measurements on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) superconducting cables using a NbTi-wound, 3-T dipole ac magnetometer. Our goal is to measure the magnetization properties of the cables for use in accelerator magnet field error calculations. YBCO-wound CORCTM and Roebel cables were measured in pool boiling helium with no epoxy impregnation. The Roebel cable was a 9–5.6 style, while the CORCTM sample had 16 tapes, and was 3.21 mm OD. For measurement, the samples were inserted in a G-10 holder with pickup and compensation coils, and subjected to a ramping dipole field. The signals were read from a set of nanovoltmeters using data aquisition (DAQ) to monitor the pickup coils, and the data were imported into a LabVIEW software program. The Roebel and CORCTM cable measurements were compared to one another and to the tapes they were made with. Maximum cable magnetization was 1000 kA/m for the CORC and 2200 kA/m for the Roebel when normalizing to total cable volume. These values increased to 2860 and 2640 kA/m, respectively, when normalizing to tape volume.
Lower Pulmonary Artery Pulsatility Index after Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation is Associated with Worse Heart Failure Free Survival

Purpose Pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi) before left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is associated with postoperative right ventricular failure . This study aimed to investigate the implication of post LVAD PAPi on clinical outcomes. Methods Following LVAD implantation, invasive hemodynamic tests were performed. PAPi was calculated as (systolic pulmonary artery pressure - diastolic pulmonary artery pressure)/mean right atrial pressure . One-year mortality, gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB), heart failure (HF), pump thrombosis (PT), and stroke event rates were compared between low PAPi group and high PAPi group based on the established ROC cut-off value. Results 97 LVAD patients received hemodynamic tests at 598 ± 668 days following LVAD implantation. The mean age was 60 years old and 60 (62%) were male. Mean PAPi was 2.9 ± 2.6. We divided the subjects into a low PAPi group (PAPi ventricular tachyarrhythmia prior to LVAD implantation (p 0.05 for all). Conclusion Lower PAPi post LVAD implantation is associated with reduced survival free from HF hospitalization. PAPi may serve as a marker of right ventricular failure in this population.
Fluctuating hydrodynamics of multispecies nonreactive mixtures.

Author(s): Balakrishnan, Kaushik; Garcia, Alejandro L; Donev, Aleksandar; Bell, John B | Abstract: In this paper we discuss the formulation of the fuctuating Navier-Stokes (FNS) equations for multi-species, non-reactive fluids. In particular, we establish a form suitable for numerical solution of the resulting stochastic partial differential equations. An accurate and efficient numerical scheme, based on our previous methods for single species and binary mixtures, is presented and tested at equilibrium as well as for a variety of non-equilibrium problems. These include the study of giant nonequilibrium concentration fluctuations in a ternary mixture in the presence of a diffusion barrier, the triggering of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability by diffusion in a four-species mixture, as well as reverse diffusion in a ternary mixture. Good agreement with theory and experiment demonstrates that the formulation is robust and can serve as a useful tool in the study of thermal fluctuations for multi-species fluids. The extension to include chemical reactions will be treated in a sequel paper.
Burning postharvest sugarcane residue for control of surface-deposited divine nightshade (Solanum nigrescens) and itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis) seed

Burning postharvest sugarcane residue is a standard practice to remove extraneous leaf material before spring regrowth. Live-fires were simulated from field-collected postharvest sugarcane residue and seeds of divine nightshade and itchgrass were exposed to dry and moistened postharvest residue (PHR) at four densities (6.1, 12.1, 18.2, and 24.2 Mg ha–1) and a nonburned control. The moisture content of residue exposed to simulated rainfall was 14% more in Experiment 2 than Experiment 1; however, burning PHR with 44% moisture when wind speeds were lower allowed the fire to continue and created a smoldering effect that reduced weed emergence by 23% when compared with burning PHR with 30% moisture during breezy conditions. The moistened 6.1 Mg ha–1 PHR treatment resulted in 53% more divine nightshade and itchgrass emergence when compared with dry 6.1 Mg ha–1 PHR after burning, and greater emergence was attributed to more seed survival for divine nightshade than itchgrass. The PHR moisture condition failed to influence the burn duration; however, the burn duration increased 103% and 56% as the amount of PHR increased from 6.1 to 12.1 Mg ha–1 and 12.1 to 18.2 Mg ha–1, respectively. The combination of high wind speeds and moistened PHR did not enhance the maximum burn temperature near the soil surface, but surface-deposited divine nightshade and itchgrass seeds were susceptible to prolonged exposure times at 100 C. Burning PHR from fields with poor stands or older ratoon, especially when PHR is abundantly wet, will not produce temperatures lethal to divine nightshade and itchgrass seeds. The fluid-filled and fleshy content that comprises divine nightshade fruit protected seed from short durations of high temperatures, but may not insulate seeds long enough when exposed to a smoldering fire.Nomenclature: Divine nightshade, Solanum nigrescens M. Martens & Galeotti; itchgrass, Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton; sugarcane, Saccharum spp. interspecific hybrids
Sound Localization in Toddlers with Normal Hearing and with Bilateral Cochlear Implants Revealed Through a Novel "Reaching for Sound" Task.

Spatial hearing abilities in children with bilateral cochlear implants (BiCIs) are typically improved when two implants are used compared with a single implant. However, even with BiCIs, spatial hearing is still worse compared to normal-hearing (NH) age-matched children. Here, we focused on children who were younger than three years, hence in their toddler years. Prior research with this age focused on measuring discrimination of sounds from the right versus left. This study measured both discrimination and sound location identification in a nine-alternative forced-choice paradigm using the “reaching for sound” method, whereby children reached for sounding objects as a means of capturing their spatial hearing abilities. Discrimination was measured with sounds randomly presented to the left versus right, and loudspeakers at fixed angles ranging from ±60° to ±15°. On a separate task, sound location identification was measured for locations ranging from ±60° in 15° increments. Thirteen children with BiCIs (27–42 months old) and fifteen age-matched (NH). Discrimination and sound localization were completed for all subjects. For the left–right discrimination task, participants were required to reach a criterion of 4/5 correct trials (80%) at each angular separation prior to beginning the localization task. For sound localization, data was analyzed in two ways. First, percent correct scores were tallied for each participant. Second, for each participant, the root-mean-square-error was calculated to determine the average distance between the response and stimulus, indicative of localization accuracy. All BiCI users were able to discriminate left versus right at angles as small as ±15° when listening with two implants; however, performance was significantly worse when listening with a single implant. All NH toddlers also had >80% correct at ±15°. Sound localization results revealed root-mean-square errors averaging 11.15° in NH toddlers. Children in the BiCI group were generally unable to identify source location on this complex task (average error 37.03°). Although some toddlers with BiCIs are able to localize sound in a manner consistent with NH toddlers, for the majority of toddlers with BiCIs, sound localization abilities are still emerging.
Procedural Apheresis Instrumentation Algorithm Minimizes Platelets Loss during Peripheral Blood Stem Cells Collection.

Introduction: Peripheral blood hematopoietic progenitor cell collection is a more popular source of stem cells for transplantation than bone marrow harvest. A number of automated cell separators exist which can be used to perform mononuclear cell collections. These separators collect varying amounts of other cells during the collection process, including them in the mononuclear cell product. Because of this, collection of mononuclear cells can result in significant reductions in platelet count and loss of red blood cells during the procedure. In order to minimize platelet transfusion support, we developed an algorithm to optimize mononuclear cell collections while minimizing platelet losses using the Gambro COBE Spectra and the Baxter Amicus Methods: Previously, patients were assigned randomly to any available apheresis machine. Starting August 2 nd 2002, patients with a WBC count higher than 35×10 (9)/L were preferably assigned to Amicus for 5 hour collection with processing 1000 ml/cycle or as second choice Spectra for 5 hours run with maximum draw rate 65 ml/Min., for both instruments. If the WBC was lower than 35×10 (9)/L, the preferred machine would be Amicus for 5 hours run at 1400 ml/cycle with maximum draw rate 90ml/Min. or Spectra for 5 hours run with maximum draw 100 ml/Min. We reviewed the difference of pre and post procedure platelet counts of non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients undergoing stem cells collection for 6 months before and after the implementation of the above protocol from February 2002 till February 2003. All CBC were performed on the same Coulter analyzer. Results: 14 patients (2 on Amicus and 12 on Spectra) underwent stem cells collection before August 2 nd , 2002. 13 patients (8 on Amicus and 5 on Spectra) were collected after this date. The Fisher’s exact test was used for this study. The median and mean differences in the first group were 141.5 ×10(9)/L and 135 ×10 (9)/L respectively (95% CI, p 0.0183). The second group had a median and mean of 45 ×10 (9)/L and 51 × 10(9)/L (95% I, p 0.0183). The minimum and maximum differences were 36 × 10(9)/L and 200 × 10(9)/L respectively in the first group and −19 ×10(9)/L and 121×10(9)/L for the second group. There was no difference in the numbers of the collections days in both groups in regard to the type of automated cell collector. Discussion: The implemented algorithm showed a net advantage. Even though none of the patients required blood transfusions, there was lesser drop of platelets counts with the new settings.
A Quasi-Orthogonal Matching Pursuit Algorithm for Compressive Sensing.

In this paper, we propose a new orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm called quasi-OMP algorithm which greatly enhances the performance of classical orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm, at some cost of computational complexity. We are able to show that under some sufficient conditions of mutual coherence of the sensing matrix, the QOMP Algorithm succeeds in recovering the s-sparse signal vector x within s iterations where a total number of 2s columns are selected under the both noiseless and noisy settings. In addition, we show that for Gaussian sensing matrix, the norm of the residual of each iteration will go to zero linearly depends on the size of the matrix with high probability. The numerical experiments are demonstrated to show the effectiveness of QOMP algorithm in recovering sparse solutions which outperforms the classic OMP and GOMP algorithm.
Influence of sex on heightened vasoconstrictor mechanisms in the non-Hispanic black population

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects individuals of all races and ethnicities; however, its prevalence is highest in non-Hispanic black individuals (BL) relative to other populations. While previous research has provided valuable insight into elevated CVD risk in the BL population, this work has been almost exclusively conducted in men. This is alarming given that BL women suffer from CVD at an equivalent rate to BL men and each has a greater prevalence when compared to all other ethnicities, regardless of sex. The importance of investigating sex differences in mechanisms of cardiovascular function is highlighted by the National Institute of Health requiring sex to be considered as a biological variable in research studies to better our "understanding of key sex influences on health processes and outcomes." The mechanism(s) responsible for the elevated CVD risk in BL women remains unclear and is likely multifactorial. Limited studies in BL women suggest that, while impaired vasodilator capacity is involved, heightened vasoconstrictor tone and/or responsiveness may also contribute. Within this mini-review, we will discuss potential mechanisms of elevated rates of hypertension and other CVDs in BL individuals with a particular focus on young, otherwise healthy, college-aged women. To stimulate academic thought and future research, we will also discuss potential mechanisms for impaired vascular function in BL women, as well as possible divergent mechanisms between BL men and women based on either preliminary data or plausible speculation extending from findings in the existing literature. Last, we will conclude with potential future research directions aimed at better understanding the elevated risk for hypertension and CVD in BL women.
Solving the Puzzle of the Bivalve Shell Fragment: Inferring the Original Abundance and Size Frequency from the Fragmented Record

Much of the contribution of bivalves to paleoecology is based on the fraction preserved whole. The use of fragments has been limited by the inability to reconstruct the whole shell. For this study, shells of selected species were broken, metrics obtained for shell reconstruction, and a stepwise model developed and tested to evaluate the potential of reconstructing whole shells from fragments. The model is based on the facts that shell thickness is well correlated with shell length, width, and weight, that fragments can be assigned to shell areas, and that each shell area can be matched to a potential donor shell by combinations of length, width, and weight. Simulations using the model show that shell reconstructions are feasible and that the size frequency can be reconstructed more accurately than the number of shells. If all fragments are preserved, shell number tends to be modestly overestimated. Assuming fragment loss, the shell number estimated will be a conservative estimate of original abundance. Reconstructed size frequencies did not differ significantly from the original size frequencies of the whole shells even if 40% of the fragments were not preserved. Biovolume, consequently, may also be estimable. Standardly, bivalve fragments are enumerated by counting intact umbos. If all fragments are preserved, this approach is preferable, as shell model reconstructions overestimate abundance under that circumstance. However, the expectation that fragments with intact umbos are uniquely well preserved is unrealistic and if fragment loss has occurred, relying on all fragments may provide an improved estimate of the original abundance and, in addition, an estimate of the size frequency and the latter proves to be robust even with 40% of the fragments lost.
AutoSpec: Detecting Exiguous Frequency Changes in Time Series

Most established techniques that search for structural breaks in time series may not be able to identify slight changes in the process, especially when looking for frequency changes. The problem is that many of the techniques assume very smooth local spectra and tend to produce overly smooth estimates. The problem of over-smoothing tends to produce spectral estimates that miss slight frequency changes because frequencies that are close together will be lumped into one frequency. The goal of this work is to develop techniques that concentrate on detecting slight frequency changes by requiring a high degree of resolution in the frequency domain.
Relapsed Babesia microti Infection Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in a Patient With B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Case Report and Review of the Literature

A patient with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed babesiosis before allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation while on atovaquone for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis. Despite receiving a prolonged course of atovaquone and azithromycin until whole-blood Babesia microti DNA was no longer detected by polymerase chain reaction, her post-transplant course was complicated by relapsed babesiosis. We investigate the potential host and parasite characteristics causing relapsing/persistent infection.
Semiconductor for 5G

In this speech, I will first cover the 5G market trends and technology requirement; then talk about the anticipated semiconductor innovation to meet the 5G requirement; and finally I will spend most of my time talking about the silicon content increase in 5G that drives accelerated technology migration in leading edge silicon technology, increasing use of specialty technology to address power integrity and connectivity needs, and the ever more important integration with advanced packaging.
Appearance of microtubules at the cytokinesis to interphase transition in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Microtubule arrays drastically reorganize during the cell cycle to facilitate specific events. Many cells contain a centrosome that dictates the assembly and organization microtubule arrays. However, plant cells and many others do not contain centrosomes or discrete microtubule organizing centers. In plants, microtubules nucleate and polymerize from gamma-tubulin containing complexes in the interphase cell cortex. During plant cell division, microtubules nucleate near nuclei to form the mitotic spindle and plant-specific phragmoplast required for cytokinesis. Therefore, during the plant cell cycle, microtubule nucleation shifts from cell cortex to the perinuclear region. While it is unclear how this shift occurs, previous studies observed microtubules that appeared to extend from nuclei into the cortex as cells transitioned into interphase in small cells (Ambrose & Wasteneys, 2014; Kumagai et al., 2003). These data led to the hypothesis that microtubule nucleation complexes move from the nuclear surface to the cortex at the transition from cytokinesis into interphase (Ambrose & Wasteneys, 2014; Kumagai et al., 2003). Here we document GFP labeled microtubules in living plant cells during the transition from cytokinesis to interphase. We observed apparent groups of microtubules spanning between the nucleus and cell cortex in large, vacuolated epidermal leaf cells. We also observed microtubules in the cell cortex that appeared separate from perinuclear-associated microtubules. While these cortical microtubules were not always seen, when present they were apparent before cytokinesis was complete and/or before nuclear-associated microtubules were obvious. These data add to and deepen the knowledge of microtubule reorganization at this cell cycle transition. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.