cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MAFOSS: Multi-Agent Framework using Open-Source Software

This paper presents a new multi-agent framework using open-source software (MAFOSS). The proposed framework is a modular and cost-effective open-source hardware and software platform that is intended to help develop multiagent systems for research and education. Numerous multi-agent platforms have been developed in the literature to date that are used in various robotic applications, such as surveillance, target localization, cooperative estimation, among others. However, most of them are either tailored towards particular applications or driven by expensive software and hardware. The proposed MAFOSS system is developed for robotic applications, where a team of mobile agents (robots) is deployed to achieve a common goal. A major contribution of the MAFOSS system is the development of an open-hardware platform for differential-drive mobile robots (herein called “eduMOD” mobile robots). The software architecture of the current framework mostly relies on the robot operating system (ROS). Regardless of internal hardware and/or software architecture, appropriate actions can be applied to actuators of an individual or a team of mobile agents for controlling their motions. A few case studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of MAFOSS.
Summer Coding Camp as a Gateway to STEM

Just about everyone in the U.S., from the National Science Foundation down to local districts, has been pushing to introduce computer science concepts into K-12. Nevertheless, many students complete high school never having the chance to learn CS. We have created a summer coding camp for high-school students (including 8th graders entering 9th grade) and designed a multi-year study to assess its effectiveness as an informal learning environment, based on theories of human motivation such as Self-Determination Theory. The camp is a 1-week immersion experience, 9am to 5pm with food and activities, that introduces basic programming via MIT APP Inventor. Lecture material and in-class exercises draw upon meaningful applications, ones appealing to "social good." One unique aspect is the inclusion of professional and career development activities that engage students and broaden perspectives on CS and its applications. For example, the camp includes a college information session, alumni Skype and in-person talks, off-site visits to nearby companies, and research talks and demos by faculty. Using a pre-and-post survey design, the current study examines the effects of the camp on student self-efficacy and interest in computing, as well as general school engagement and motivation. Results confirm that participation in the summer camp increased students' self-efficacy and interest in computing, enhanced engagement in school on topics in general, and strengthened intrinsic motivation for completing schoolwork. The effects were similar for boys and girls.
Automatic Plant Counting and Location Based on a Few-Shot Learning Technique

Plant counting and location are essential for both plant breeding experiments and production agriculture. Stand count indicates the overall emergence of plants compared to the number of seeds that were planted, while location provides information on the associated variability within a plot or geographic area of a field. Deep learning has been successfully applied in various application domains, including plant phenotyping. This article proposes the use of deep learning techniques, more specifically, anchor-free detectors, to identify and count maize plants in RGB images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles. The results were obtained using a modified CenterNet architecture, with validation performed against manual human annotation. Experimental results demonstrated an overall precision $>$ 95% for examples where training and testing were performed on the same field. Few-shot learning was also explored, where the trained network was 1) directly applied to the fields in other geographic areas and 2) updated using small quantities of training data from the other locations.
A Cross-Correlation based Spectral Kurtosis RFI Detector

Accurate flagging of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is necessary to recover instrumental efficiency and avoid false astronomical detections. Spectral Kurtosis ($\widehat{SK}$) is a popular operator in RFI flagging for radio astronomy due to its detection sensitivity to non-Gaussian emissions and its competitive computational cost. Most $\widehat{SK}$ detection pipelines are applied to single antennas or autocorrelations products. This paper investigates the application of the SK to antennas cross-correlations, and demonstrates an improved detection performance compared to the auto-correlation-based approaches.
Voting Rights, Markov Chains, and Optimization by Short Bursts

Finding extreme outliers in probability distributions can be a hard problem. Taking a real example from Voting Rights Act enforcement, we consider the problem of maximizing the number of simultaneous majority-minority districts in a political districting plan. An unbiased random walk on districting plans is unlikely to find plans that approach this maximum. A common search approach is to use a biased random walk: preferentially select districting plans with more majority-minority districts. Here, we present a third option, called short bursts, in which an unbiased random walk is performed for a small number of steps (called the burst length), then re-started from the most extreme plan that was encountered in the last burst. We give empirical evidence that short-burst runs outperform biased random walks for the problem of maximizing the number of majority-minority districts. Abstracting from our use case, we also consider short bursts where the underlying state space is a line with various probability distributions, and then explore some features of more complicated state spaces and how these impact the effectiveness of short bursts. In all of these cases, we compare efficacy for various burst lengths.
Periodontal Grafting in Preparation for Orthodontic Treatment

Alveolar boundaries dictate the limitations of orthodontic tooth movement. Evaluation of the hard and soft tissues in terms of quality and quantity in conjunction with a sound orthodontic treatment plan that includes the amount and direction of desired tooth movement is essential. Prophylactic intervention may be required to support orthodontic goals and objectives without undesired iatrogenic periodontal consequences. The purpose of this article is to provide a review on current methods utilized for augmentation procedures prior to orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic treatment can have a significant impact on periodontal health. Increased demands by patients for non-extraction treatment and for camouflaged treatment of skeletal discrepancies to avoid orthognathic surgery can place challenges on orthodontists. Dental arch expansion and placing teeth beyond biologically acceptable limits can result in unfavorable periodontal outcomes, such as the development of fenestrations and dehiscences. Phenotype modification therapy via soft and/or hard tissue augmentation may expand the range of orthodontic movement without the risk of undesired periodontal outcomes during orthodontic treatment.
Microenvironment immune reconstitution patterns correlate with outcomes after autologous transplant in multiple myeloma

The immediate postautologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) period in multiple myeloma represents a unique opportunity for long-term disease control because many patients have eradicated most of their disease but also a challenge because it is characterized by the increase of immune subsets detrimental to tumor immunosurveillance. The impact of the tumor immune microenvironment (iTME) in post-ASCT outcomes is not known. In this study, we included 58 patients undergoing upfront ASCT and evaluated their cellular and humoral iTME with cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF) and luminex, respectively, at day +60 to 100 post-ASCT. We identified 2 cellular iTME patterns. Group 1 was enriched in T-cell subsets at the opposite ends of the spectrum of T-cell differentiation compared with the rest of the patients, that is, cells already terminally differentiated (immune senescent or exhausted) and naive T cells. This group had worse hematologic responses post-ASCT, inferior survival, and shorter time to hematologic progression independent of established risk factors. No differences in the humoral iTME were noted between the 2 groups. In addition, no differences in the cellular/humoral iTME were noted according to high-risk fluorescence in situ hybridization status, early or late relapse. Finally, males had higher levels of natural killer cells negative for CD16, a key receptor mediating antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, a major mechanism of antitumor efficacy by therapeutic antibodies such as elotuzumab. Our findings suggest that T-cell iTME dysfunction post-ASCT, some of which could be reversible (exhaustion), correlates with worse outcomes. These results could be used to guide rational selection of post-ASCT maintenance/consolidation approaches in these patients.
Death domain fold proteins in immune signaling and transcriptional regulation

Death domain fold (DDF) superfamily comprises of the death domain (DD), death effector domain (DED), caspase activation recruitment domain (CARD), and pyrin domain (PYD). By utilizing a conserved mode of interaction involving six distinct surfaces, a DDF serves as a building block that can densely pack into homomultimers or filaments. Studies of immune signaling components have revealed that DDF-mediated filament formation plays a central role in mediating signal transduction and amplification. The unique ability of DDFs to self-oligomerize upon external signals and induce oligomerization of partner molecules underlies key processes in many innate immune signaling pathways, as exemplified by RIG-I-like receptor signalosome and inflammasome assembly. Recent studies showed that DDFs are not only limited to immune signaling pathways, but also are involved with transcriptional regulation and other biological processes. Considering that DDF annotation still remains a challenge, the current list of DDFs and their functions may represent just the tip of the iceberg within the full spectrum of DDF biology. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of DDF functions, structures, and assembly architectures with a focus on CARD- and PYD-containing proteins. We also discuss areas of future research and the potential relationship of DDFs with biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS).
OIL PERFORMANCE IN A METHANOL-FUELED VEHICLE USED IN SEVERE SHORT-TRIP SERVICE

A methanol and a gasoline vehicle were each subjected to testing under severe short-trip driving conditions. Results show that the cool oil sump temperatures caused more fuel and water to collect in the oil of the methanol vehicle. Protective properties of both vehicles' oils degraded during short trips but rebounded somewhat during a subsequent long trip. Slightly warmer sump temperatures in longer short-trip driving resulted in no methanol dilution in the methanol vehicle's oil, and higher total volatiles contamination in the gasoline vehicle's oil. Freeway driving following the longer short trips promoted less rebound in the degraded oils' protective properties.
Mammalian Galactose Dehydrogenase I. IDENTIFICATION AND PURIFICATION IN RAT LIVER

Abstract A nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-requiring galactose dehydrogenase (d-galactose:NAD oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.48) has been identified in rat liver. The conditions for extraction of the enzyme from liver were studied and it was purified 100-fold. Liver galactose dehydrogenase activity is 7 times greater than glucose dehydrogenase, and, in contrast with the latter enzyme, 85% of the activity is present in the soluble cellular fraction. In crude preparations and under optimum conditions, its specific activity is similar to that of galactokinase (7 mµmoles per min per mg of protein). Galactose dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of the aldehyde group of galactose to produce galactonolactone which under the alkaline conditions of assay is spontaneously converted to galactonic acid. There is evidence that liver contains an enzyme which rapidly catalyzes the hydrolysis of the lactone to yield the free acid; this reaction appears to be irreversible. Liver is the only rat tissue with substantial galactose dehydrogenase activity, although some activity is detectable in preparations of testis, kidney, intestine, and mammary gland. Human red and white blood cells have no detectable activity. Galactose dehydrogenase activity is present in liver preparations of eight mammalian species, including man. Pigeon liver has very weak activity, and none is found in frog or fish liver.
A hardware lab for the computer organization course at small colleges

This paper deals with the issues of adding a hardware lab component to a typical undergraduate Computer Organization course at a small college. We present a sequence of lab exercises, linked to the material presented during lectures, and discuss the advantages, challenges and pitfalls of implementing such a lab as a part of a liberal-arts Computer Science program.
IPO Vintage and the Rise of Idiosyncratic Risk

This paper presents empirical evidence that the recent rise in idiosyncratic risk is driven by the increasing propensity of firms to issue public equity at an earlier stage in their life cycle. We find that the age of the typical firm at its IPO date has fallen dramatically from nearly 40 years old in the early 1960s to less than 5 years old by the late 1990s. Since younger firms tend to be riskier, this systematic decline in the average age of IPOs, combined with the increasing number of firms going public over the last 30 years, has caused a significant increase in idiosyncratic risk. We show that after controlling for the proportion of young firms in the market, there is no trend in the time series of idiosyncratic risk. Moreover, we find a negative trend in idiosyncratic risk after controlling for other measures of firm maturity.
A Simple Method for Adhesion Measurements

An indentation method for determining the adhesion of interfaces between thin films and substrates has been developed. The method provides a quantitative measure of the interface fracture resistance and has the advantage of simplicity and reproducibility The method has been demonstrated for a range of ZnO/Si systems and the adherence has been correlated with acoustic properties.
Rapidly acquired multisensory association in the olfactory cortex

The formation of an odor percept in humans is strongly associated with visual information. However, much less is known about the roles of learning and memory in shaping the multisensory nature of odor representations in the brain.The dynamics of odor and visual association in olfaction was investigated using three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms. In two paradigms, a visual cue was paired with an odor. In the third, the same visual cue was never paired with an odor. In this experimental design, if the visual cue was not influenced by odor-visual pairing, then the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal elicited by subsequent visual cues should be similar across all three paradigms. Additionally, intensity, a major dimension of odor perception, was used as a modulator of associative learning which was characterized in terms of the spatiotemporal behavior of the BOLD signal in olfactory structures.A single odor-visual pairing cue could subsequently induce primary olfactory cortex activity when only the visual cue was presented. This activity was intensity dependent and was also detected in secondary olfactory structures and hippocampus.This study provides evidence for a rapid learning response in the olfactory system by a visual cue following odor and visual cue pairing. The novel data and paradigms suggest new avenues to explore the dynamics of odor learning and multisensory representations that contribute to the construction of a unified odor percept in the human brain.
MIMO optical wireless at the nanoscale

In recent years, the rise of the field of optical nanoantennas has been largely impacting the way we control and engineer light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, translating and exploiting relevant antenna concepts from radiofrequencies to the optical domain. By efficiently coupling localized, or guided, optical fields to free-space radiation, and vice versa, optical nanoantennas find application in many different scenarios, e.g., sensing, photovoltaics, enhancement of weak non-linearities and quantum effects, local scattering control for wave-shaping metasurfaces, etc. Interestingly, pairs of plasmonic nanoantennas have also been proposed to realize optical wireless broadcasting links, which may allow sending nanoscale optical signals between two points on a chip, with lower attenuation than in conventional plasmonic waveguides (A. Alu and N. Engheta, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 213902, 2010). In a different context, it has been shown that subwavelength plasmonic nanostructures and nanoantennas can be designed to maximize the scattering/radiation contributions from several multipolar channels at the same time (dipolar radiation, quadrupolar, etc.), realizing “superscatterers” with, in principle, unbounded scattering cross section (Z. Ruan and S. Fan, Phys. Rev. Lett., 105, 013901, 2010). Here, by combining these concepts, we will show that it is possible to increase the capacity of optical wireless interconnects by using different multipolar radiation channels (i.e., orthogonal spherical harmonics) to simultaneously carry multiple optical signals (with identical frequency and polarization), effectively realizing a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) optical wireless link at the nanoscale.
Encapsulating Coordination in the Context of Distributed Systems

It has been widely agreed that writing programs for heterogeneous distributed computing is complex and difficult. Programmers are required to deal with the low-level details of synchronization, heterogeneity, and communication. The primary goal of this research is to simplify the programming by making these complexities hidden from the programmers. Thus, the programmers can focus on the computational logic. To achieve this goal, we present a coordination model where coordination plays a central role in the development of distributed systems. The model encapsulates the details of coordination, computation, and communication into layers. Each of the layers provides a set of layer interfaces to its above layer. Programmers can focus on the computation of the programs without concerning about the low-level details of synchronization and communication encapsulated in its lower layers. The model supports the development of distributed systems using a traditional high-level programming language such as C/C++ or Java on Windows and Linux.
Rat Granulosa Cell Differentiation: An in Vitro Model*

An in vitro model of granulosa cell differentiation has been established. When FSH is added in vitro to granulosa cells from preantral follicles of diethylstilbestrol (DES)-primed rats, the LH/hCG receptor content increases from 0.725 pg hCG bound (50 cpm)/μg granulosa cell DNA to over 75 pg hCG bound (5000 cpm)/μg DNA. The animal model and the cell culture conditions are described. Briefly, in comparison with ovaries from DES-primed, hypophysectomized rats, ovaries from primed intact rats provided more granulosa cells per ovary. These cells from intact rats had less LH/hCG receptor at the initiation of culture and showed a greater LH/hCG receptor increase in vitro in response to FSH. Priming rats with a 3-cm DES capsule for 3 days was found to be optimal and superior to priming with a 1-cm capsule for 5 days in minimizing atresia in vivo and in maximizing LH/hCG receptor increase in vitro. LH/hCG receptor induction by FSH occurs in granulosa cells cultured in several types of plastic or glass tubes. Grea...
Stroke prevention in women: Challenges and opportunities

Women have a 20% lifetime risk of stroke. In addition, the majority of stroke-related deaths occur in women. Reducing the burden of stroke in women through prevention would positively affect public health. Unfortunately, most of the data used to develop specific evidence-based guidelines for stroke prevention in women were derived from coronary heart disease studies. Stroke was a secondary and less common outcome, if it was included at all. In addition, women have traditionally been underrepresented in stroke prevention trial cohorts. Stroke prevention in women offers many challenges, not only related to data extrapolated from clinical trials primarily composed of men, but also because physicians may underestimate cardiovascular risk in women, and therefore prevention strategies may not be appropriately undertaken. The opportunities to improve stroke prevention in women include increasing patient and physician awareness of risk and optimizing management of key modifiable risk factors (eg, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes).
Production of petites by cell cycle mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective in DNA synthesis

Mutations in two genes (cdc8 and cdc21) required for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae result in a 6- to 11-fold increase in the rate of mitotic segregation of petites at the permissive temperature. The defect in DNA replication and the increased rate of petite production result from the same mutation since the two phenotypes cosegregate and corevert. Most of the petites isolated from strains carrying mutations in cdc8 and cdc21 contain mtDNA. Therefore, the petites do not result simply from an underreplication of mitochondrial DNA. The mutation rates for nuclear and mitochondrial genes are the same in cdc8, cdc21 and their wild-type parent. Therefore the petites are unlikely to result from an increase in the rate of base pair substitution.
Using GPU Convolutions to Correct Optical Distortion in Closed-Loop Real-Time Missile Simulations

U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has long been a leader in in-band high fidelity scientific scene generation. Recent efforts to harness and exploit the parallel power of the Graphics Processor Unit (GPU), for both graphics and general purpose processing, have been paramount. The emergence of sophisticated image generation software packages, such as the Common Scene Generator (CSG) and the Joint Signature Image Generator (JSIG), have lead to a sharp increase in the performance of digital simulations and signal injection and projection systems in both tactical and strategic programs. One area of missile simulations that benefits from this technology is real-time modeling of optical effects, such as seeker dome distortion, glint, blurring effects, and correcting for facility misalignment and distortion. This paper discusses the on-going research of applying convolution filters to the GPU multi-pass rendering process to compensate for spatial distortion in the optical projection path for synthetic environments.
An overview of the legal and cultural issues for migrant Muslim women of the European union: A focus on domestic violence and Italy

The migration of Muslims into European nations and the intolerance exhibited towards them has been a growing challenge for the members of the European Union. The differences between the religion and cultures from which the Muslim women migrate and the receiving countries of the European Union may hamper the provision of social services to them when they experience domestic violence from their intimate partners. This article examines the potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding by examining domestic abuse in Italy in the context of both the social mores and the legal framework of that country. A comparison is made to the traditional perception of the role of women in Islamic culture. The research available on domestic violence in this context is examined as it relates to Italy and its Muslim migrants. The article suggests that what is needed are multidisciplinary cross-cultural solutions to provide services and meet the needs of Muslim victims of domestic violence in Italy.
The chemistry of polyacetylene doping

Abstract Natural abundance 13C NMR experiments using cross polarization and magic angle spinning provide a unique method for monitoring the doping of polyacetylene. In contrast with previous authors we find that the doping of cis-polyacetylene with AsF5 leads, even at low doping levels, to a new signal characteristic of the doped regions of the polymer. Similar measurements on trans-polyacetylene indicate that the doping of the trans isomer proceeds considerably more uniformly than that of the cis isomer. Comparisons with appropriate model compounds suggest that the observed shift of the 13C NMR signal on doping is primarily a chemical shift rather than a Knight shift. Finally we discuss recent results on the nature of proton acid doping of polyacetylene, a process which shows remarkable similarities to oxidative doping.
So who won?: dynamic max discovery with the crowd

We consider a crowdsourcing database system that may cleanse, populate, or filter its data by using human workers. Just like a conventional DB system, such a crowdsourcing DB system requires data manipulation functions such as select, aggregate, maximum, average, and so on, except that now it must rely on human operators (that for example compare two objects) with very different latency, cost and accuracy characteristics. In this paper, we focus on one such function, maximum, that finds the highest ranked object or tuple in a set. In particularm we study two problems: given a set of votes (pairwise comparisons among objects), how do we select the maximum? And how do we improve our estimate by requesting additional votes? We show that in a crowdsourcing DB system, the optimal solution to both problems is NP-Hard. We then provide heuristic functions to select the maximum given evidence, and to select additional votes. We experimentally evaluate our functions to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.
Guyanese remittance motivations: altruistic?

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the remittance behavior of Guyanese immigrants living in three communities of New York City, USA to assess their remittance behavior and if these are motivated by altruism or the intent to return to live in Guyana. Over the last two decades, remittances accounted for approximately 17 percent of the GDP of the Guyanese economy and continue to grow. The bulk of these remittances are significant from its native sons and daughters residing in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – This case study uses non-experimental survey research design with survey data collected from 300 participants living in New York, with 236 selected for analysis. Findings – Guyanese living in New York City remit monies to Guyana because of a pure altruistic motive as well as believing that their contributions have a positive impact on the economic development of their nations regardless of their intention to return to Guyana. These findings support the altruistic model on remittance motivation. R...
HIV-1 Infection in Individuals With the CCR5-Δ32/Δ32 Genotype: Acquisition of Syncytium-Inducing Virus at Seroconversion

Homozygosity for the 32 base-pair deletion (Delta32/Delta32) in the CCR5 coreceptor gene is associated with incomplete HIV-1 resistance. Six HIV-1-infected Delta32/Delta32 patients have been reported. We report 2 additional Delta32/Delta32-infected individuals, among 106 seroconverters in a vaccine preparedness study. Like the previous 6, these individuals experienced rapid CD4 decline. However, taken together, the 8 patients have neither uniformly high virus load nor rapid progression to AIDS. We obtained five virus isolates from 1 patient at 5, 6, 7, 10, and 12 months after the estimated time of infection. The earliest isolate exhibits the syncytium-inducing (SI) phenotype and exclusive use of the CXCR4 coreceptor, suggesting acquisition of HIV-1 through this coreceptor. Of the remaining 104 seroconverters, 8 were CCR5-Delta32/+ and 96 were CCR5-+/+. Three CCR5-+/+ seroconverters who showed the uncommon pattern of early SI virus and rapid CD4 decline had uniformly high viral load and more heterogeneous coreceptor usage. These results further support the conclusion that Delta32-mediated resistance is incomplete and is associated with acquisition of exclusively-X4 variants of HIV-1. The pathogenic potential of these viruses may be different from late-stage X4 virus or early X4 virus acquired by individuals with other CCR5 genotypes.
Towards predicting coiled-coil protein interactions

Protein-protein interactions play a central role in many cellular functions, and as whole-genome data accumulates, computational methods for predicting these interactions become increasingly important. Computational methods have already proven to be a useful first step for rapid genome-wide identification of putative protein structure and function, but research on the problem of computationally determining biologically relevant partners for given protein sequences is just beginning. In this paper, we approach the problem of predicting protein-protein interactions by focusing on the 2- stranded coiled-coil motif. We introduce a computational method for predicting coiled-coil protein interactions, and give a novel framework that is able to use both genomic sequence data and experimental data in making these predictions. Cross-validation tests show that the method is able to predict many aspects of protein-protein interactions mediated by the coiled-coil motif, and suggest that this methodology can be used as the basis for genome-wide prediction of coiled-coil protein interactions.
Activation of heparin cofactor II by heparin oligosaccharides

Heparin was partially depolymerized with heparinase or nitrous acid. The resulting oligosaccharides were fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and tested for the ability to stimulate inhibition of thrombin by purified heparin cofactor II or antithrombin. Oligosaccharides containing ≥ 18 monosaccharide units were active with antithrombin, while larger oligosaccharides were required for activity with heparin cofactor II. Intact heparin molecules fractionated on a column of immobilized antithrombin were also tested for activity with both inhibitors. The relative specific activities of the unbound heparin molecules were 0.06 with antithrombin and 0.76 with heparin cofactor II in comparison to unfractionated heparin (specific activity = 1.00). We conclude that heparin moleculeauthor8 monosaccharide units in length are required for activity with heparin cofactor II and that the high-affinity antithrombin-binding structure of heparin is not required.
Smooth current mappings for the Generalized Method of Moments

Past implementations of the Generalized Method of Moments utilized nonsmooth functions in current approximation bases that were difficult to integrate accurately. Herein we devise a method for defining arbitrarily smooth functions on polygonal GMM subdomains using Schwarz-Christoffel conformal mapping. The resulting functions are much smoother, and can be integrated more accurately using numerical quadrature.
Transglutaminase and its use for food processing

Some characteristics and applications of a transglutaminase, derived from a variant of Streptoverticillium mobaraense, namely microbial transglutaminase (MTGase), are considered. MTGase, mass-produced at low cost by fermentation, catalyses the crosslinking of most food proteins through the formation of an e-(γ-glutamyl)lysine bond, in the same way as well-known mammalian enzymes. However, MTGase is remarkable because it is calcium independent and its molecular weight is smaller than that of other known enzymes. The results of many studies suggest that MTGase, as well as other transglutaminases, has many potential applications in food processing and in other areas.
TIME-ZERO: The integrated modeling environment

Abstract TIME-ZERO is a system of software tools that provides an environment for constructing, running, and analyzing simulation models. Models can include first-order diffrential and difference equations, age-specific population dynamics, and a Markov transition matrix. TIME-ZERO helps one write models in either Basic or Fortran by providing an interactive code generator. The code generator uses menus and explicit prompts to guide one through the process of building a model. TIME-ZERO minimizes the amount of code that one needs to write to create a simulation model, yet allows one to build complex models. The system also has an extensive set of menus to help run models, examine graphical or tabular output from models, perform sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, and select parameters using numerical optimization. This paper describes the basic features of TIME-ZERO.
DTI-based segmentation and quantification of human brain lateral ventricular CSF volumetry and mean diffusivity: Validation, age, gender effects and biophysical implications

The human brain lateral ventricular (LV) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume has been used as a neuroimaging marker of brain changes in health and disease. The LV CSF diffusivity may offer a useful quality assurance measure and become a potential noninvasive marker of deep brain temperature. In this work we sought to validate a method for human brain lateral ventricular (LV) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) contrast to provide LV volume and corresponding DTI metrics. We compared LV volume obtained using DTI with that obtained using validated segmentations of the LV on T1-weighted data. DTI and T1-weighted data were acquired at 3T on 49 healthy males and 56 age-matched females aged 18-59 years. We showed histogram distributions of LV DTI metrics to establish quality assurance measures. We also analyzed the age and gender effects of LV volume and diffusivity. LV volumes estimated using both T1-weighted and DTI correlated strongly in males and females (ICC=0.99; median Dice index ~80%). The LV-to-intracranial volume percentage increased significantly with age only in males, using the DTI-based approach (r=0.39; p=0.005). LV CSF Mean diffusivity was greater in males than females ((~1.2%; p=0.03). Mean diffusivity of lateral ventricular CSF decreased significantly with age in healthy adults (r=-0.30; p=0.02). Our results highlight the importance of age and gender-based analyses and the potential of LV diffusivity measures as a quantitative marker.
Silence that reflects: Butoh, Ma, and a crosscultural gaze

This is the first of what TPQ hopes will be an annual look at contemporary performance art practices, focusing on aesthetic considerations. The author has had extensive experience as a reviewer of such performances.
Electrostatic charging and levitation of Helium II drops

Liquid Helium II drops, of diameter 1 mm or less, are charged with positive helium ions and subsequently levitated by static electric fields. Stable levitation was achieved for drops of order 100–150 micrometers in diameter. The suspended drops could be translated to arbitrary positions within the levitator using additional superimposed DC electric fields, and also could be made to oscillate stably about their average positions by means of an applied time-varying electric field. A weak corona discharge was used to produce the necessary ions for levitation. A novel superfluid film flow device, developed for the controlled deployment of large charged drops, is described. Also discussed is an adjustable electric fountain that requires only a field emission tip operating at modest potentials, and works in both Helium I and Helium II.
MAIN CHAMBER INJECTORS FOR ADVANCED HYDROCARBON BOOSTER ENGINES

Achieving the highest possible specific impulse has long been a key driver for space launch systems. Recently, more importance has been placed on the need for increased reliability and streamlined launch operations. These general factors along with more specific mission requirements have provided a new focus that is centered on the oxidizer rich staged combustion (ORSC) cycle. Despite a history of use in Russia that extends back to the 1960's, a proven design methodology for ORSC cycle engines does not exist in the West. This lack of design expertise extends to the main chamber injector, a critical subcomponent that largely determines the engine performance and main chamber life. The goals of the effort described here are to establish an empirical knowledge base to provide a fundamental understanding of main chamber injectors and for verification of an injector design methodology for the ORSC cycle. The design of a baseline injector element, derived from information on Russian engines in the open literature, is presented. The baseline injector comprises a gaseous oxidizer core flow and an annular swirling fuel flow. Sets of equations describing the steady-state and the dynamic characteristics of the injector are presented; these equations, which form the basis of the design analysis methodology, will be verified in tests later this year. On-going cold flow studies, using nitrogen and water as simulants, are described which indicate highly atomized and symmetric sprays.
Growth Convergence and Spillovers Among Indian States: What Matters? What Does Not?

Convergence and spillovers across countries and within countries are old, but recurrent policy concerns, and India is no exception to this rule. This paper examines convergence and spillovers across Indian states using non-stationary panel data techniques. Results on convergence among Indian states are generally found to be similar, but more nuanced, than previous studies. Generally speaking, there is evidence of divergence over the entire sample period, convergence during sub-periods corresponding to structural breaks, and club convergence. There is strong evidence of club convergence among the high- and low-income states; the evidence for middle-income states is mixed. Dynamic spillover effects among states are small.
Quantitation of leukotriene B4 in human serum by negative ion gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Abstract Leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4 ) is a potent chemotactic agent formed via the 5-lipoxygenase pathway from arachidonic acid. To understand the role LTB 4 plays in several pathological processes it is essential that endogenous concentrations of LTB 4 be accurately quantitated. We have developed a method based on electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry for the analysis of LTB 4 in serum at low picogram per milliliter concentrations. Blood is collected into the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) to suppress ex vivo formation. Serum is isolated, equilibrated with the internal standard [ 2 H 4 ]LTB 4 , and extracted using octadecyl-silica (C-18) cartridges. After conversion of the carboxylic acids to their pentafluorobenzyl esters the extract is purified by straight-phase HPLC. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis is accomplished on the tert -butyldimethylsilyl ether derivatives using dual-selected ion monitoring of m z 431 and 435. These ions correspond to loss of tert -butyldimethylsilanol from the (M-PFB) − ion of endogenous and [ 2 H 4 ]LTB 4 , respectively. The concentration of LTB 4 in human serum samples was 10.0 ± 4.0 pg/ml ( n = 5). The assay exhibited satisfactory precision, with an intraassay coefficient of variation of 17% and a high degree of accuracy. The concentration of LTB 4 in serum collected with (NDGA) was less than 10% of that observed in blood collected without the lipoxygenase inhibitor. Ex vivo formation can therefore be a major obstacle in assessing circulating levels of LTB 4 .
Economic Development, Poorly Managed Political Conflict and Terrorism in India

Terrorism is frequently argued to be the product of poverty and poor levels of economic development in countries. Examining the distribution of terrorist attacks and casualties due to terrorism across the states of India, this article demonstrates that the phenomenon of terrorism is not a clear product of poor economic development but rather exacerbated by unresolved and poorly managed political conflict. Poorer states in India are not necessarily more prone to terrorism, but states that have outstanding and poorly addressed political disputes do experience a disproportionately high level of terrorist activity. This study examines six sources of political conflict that contribute to terrorism in India—separatist movements, ethnic conflict, communal conflict, the presence of scheduled castes and tribes, high population growth, and the phenomenon of stateless areas—and makes several observations on the successes and failures of Indian counterterrorism policy.
Design and Analysis of Direct Liquid Multi-Jet Impingement Schemes for Electronics Applications

The meteoric rise in cooling requirements of commercial computer products mandates the development of extremely aggressive thermal management techniques. Direct liquid jet impingement cooling is one such method, especially if water is the coolant. While the use of water would require advanced chip packaging, it is necessary to investigate, design, and optimize systems using direct water cooling, to meet the cooling needs of the future. The thermal performance of two direct liquid jet impingement configurations, are characterized and studied, via CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models constructed using a commercial numerical solver. The hydraulic performance is analytically estimated using a basic loss coefficient based model. In the first scheme, the coolant is collected at the periphery of the chip, while the second design incorporated fluid return for each jet within the vicinity of the jet itself. A square 10×10×0.75 mm3 chip, dissipating 400W, and cooled by water at 32°C, is considered as the representative example for the analysis. The effect on thermal performance of jet density, in the range of 1–36 jets/cm2 , for both schemes, is investigated, for several feasible flow parameters, i.e. inlet jet velocity and volumetric flow rate. The peripheral return configuration was found to outperform the parallel return for all of the cases investigated. Barring one case, the peripheral return data from this study, for the effective heat transfer coefficient, compared with Martin’s correlation to within 17% (average) with a standard deviation of 8%. The convective thermal resistance was found to constitute an important part of the total junction-to-ambient thermal resistance.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Thermodynamics of the In|In+3 Electrode in HCl + InCl3 Solutions

Electromotive force measurements have been made using the cell $$\mbox{In(s)}|\mbox{HCl }(m_{\mathrm{A}}),\mbox{InCl}_{3}(m_{\mathrm{B}}),\mbox{H}_{2}\mbox{O}|\mbox{AgCl, Ag}$$ in the ionic strength range of I=0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mol⋅kg−1 at 25 °C. The value of E o, the standard potential of the In/In3+ electrode, has been determined at 25 °C. Our value of E o (−0.3371 V) at 25 °C obtained from our measurements is in good agreement with −0.336 (Hakomori, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 52: 2372–2376, 1930) and −0.3382 V (Covington et al., J. Chem. Soc. 4394–4401, 1963). The activity coefficients of InCl3 as well as Harned interaction coefficients have been determined at 25 °C for each of the experimental ionic strengths at ionic strength fractions of 0.1, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 of HCl. Harned’s rule for the salt is obeyed at I=0.05,0.1 and 0.25 mol⋅kg−1 but the quadratic terms are needed for higher ionic strengths. These data, together with others for the activity coefficient of HCl in the same solutions, have been treated by the ion-interaction (Pitzer, Activity Coefficients in Electrolyte Solutions, CRC Press, 1991) equations in a previous publication.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage After Thrombolytic Therapy for Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Case Report

Intracranial hemorrhage is the most feared complication of thrombolytic therapy. This report describes a 42-year-old diabetic woman who presented with an acute myocardial infarction and sufferred a subarachnoid hemorrhage after receiving recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. This report discusses this important but very rare complication of thrombolytic therapy.
Defining Treatment Response in Pediatric Tic Disorders: A Signal Detection Analysis of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale

Abstract Objective: To examine the optimal Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) percent reduction and raw cutoffs for predicting treatment response among children and adolescents with tic disorders. Method: Youth with a tic disorder (N=108; range=5–17 years) participated in several clinical trials involving varied medications or psychosocial treatment, or received naturalistic care. Assessments were conducted before and after treatment and included the YGTSS and response status on the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale (CGI-I). Results: A 35% reduction on the YGTSS total tic severity score or a YGTSS raw total tic severity score change of 6 or 7 points were the best indicators of clinical treatment response in youth with tic disorders. Conclusions: A YGTSS total tic severity score reduction of 35% or a raw total tic severity score change of 6 or 7 appears optimal for determining treatment response. A consistent definition of treatment response on the YGTSS may facilitate cross-study comparabi...
Sodium and potassium citrate salts for the treatment of digitalis toxicity

Abstract Sixty per cent of a control series of the dogs died from a standard toxic dose of digitalis. In a series rendered toxic by a similar dose of digitalis, only 10 per cent died when they were treated with the combination of sodium-potassium citrate salts. A combination of sodium and potassium citrate salts administered intravenously is effective for the treatment of digitalis-induced arrhythmias.
Silicon nanocrystals in silicon nitride structures: Towards efficient light emission under optical and electrical pumping

In this paper, we will discuss light emission, Er sensitization and electroluminescence from small (2 nm-diameter) Si nanoclusters embedded in silicon nitride/Si superlattice structures fabricated by direct co-sputtering on Si substrates. In particular, we will show efficient Er emission sensitization via controllable non-radiative energy transfer and we will demonstrate enhanced electroluminescence from superlattice-based electrical devices. Our results demonstrate that small Si clusters embedded in silicon nitride-based matrices provide alternative routes towards the fabrication of Si-compatible optical devices based on Er sensitization.
The Garden and the Sea: U.S. Latino Environmental Discourses and Mainstream Environmentalism

The “environment” is a cultural construct which is shaped by shared life experiences and which differs with ethnicity. Environmental justice requires attention to divergent environmental constructions. U.S. Latino environmental discourse differs from mainstream discourses, but is rarely heard. This paper sheds light on U.S. Latino environmental discourses by examining ideal landscapes, explanations for decline, and the relationship of the environment to ethnic identity. Latino discourses suggest the need to reexamine the environment/technology relationship, the importance of social class in shaping environmental consciousness, and the limits of impact assessment as a tool for achieving social justice. Sociological tools for retrieving Latino environmental discourse include literary criticism and analysis of Latino environmental social movements. The former helps to identify the cultural content of different environmentalisms and to clarify relationships between culture and environment; the latter indicates the political potency of different elements of Latino environmental discourse.