cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conservation Value of Clustered Housing Developments

Traditionally, exurban lands in Colorado have been subdivided into a grid of parcels ranging from 2 to 16 ha. From an ecological perspective, this dispersed pattern of development effectively maximizes the individual influence of each home on the land. Clustered housing developments, designed to maximize open space, are assumed to benefit plant and wildlife communities of conservation interest. They have become a popular alternative for rural development despite the lack of empirical evidence demonstrating their conservation benefits. To better inform rural land-use planning, we evaluated clustered housing developments by comparing their spatial pattern with that of dispersed housing developments and by comparing their conservation value with that of both dispersed housing developments and undeveloped areas in Boulder County, Colorado. We used four indicators to assess conservation value: (1) densities of songbirds, (2) nest density and survival of ground-nesting birds, (3) presence of mammals, and (4) percent cover and proportion of native and non-native plant species. Clustered and dispersed housing developments did not differ on the majority of variables we examined. Both types of housing development had significantly higher densities of non-native and human-commensal species and significantly lower densities of native and human-sensitive species than undeveloped areas. More rigorous ecological guidelines and planning on a regional scale may help create clustered developments with higher conservation value.
Spin entropy as the likely source of enhanced thermopower in Na x Co 2 O 4

In an electric field, the flow of electrons in a solid produces an entropy current in addition to the familiar charge current. This is the Peltier effect, and it underlies all thermoelectric refrigerators. The increased interest in thermoelectric cooling applications has led to a search for more efficient Peltier materials and to renewed theoretical investigation into how electron-electron interaction may enhance the thermopower of materials such as the transition-metal oxides. An important factor in this enhancement is the electronic spin entropy, which is predicted to dominate the entropy current. However, the crucial evidence for the spin-entropy term, namely its complete suppression in a longitudinal magnetic field, has not been reported until now. Here we report evidence for such suppression in the layered oxide Na(x)Co2O4, from thermopower and magnetization measurements in both longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields. The strong dependence of thermopower on magnetic field provides a rare, unambiguous example of how strong electron-electron interaction effects can qualitatively alter electronic behaviour in a solid. We discuss the implications of our finding--that spin-entropy dominates the enhancement of thermopower in transition-metal oxides--for the search for better Peltier materials.
Don't vote for ignorance

When the next US presidential debate airs, voters should take a dim view of any candidates who reject the science of evolution, says Lawrence Krauss
Semiclassical vibrational eigenvalues of triatomic molecules: Application of the FFT method to SO2, H2O, H+3, and CO2

We have applied a recently developed fast Fourier transform method for determining vibrational action variables to the calculation of semiclassical eigenvalues for SO2, H2O, H+3, and CO2 (all for zero rotational angular momenta). The results for SO2 and H2O are essentially equivalent in accuracy to results from previous semiclassical applications. H+3 and CO2, on the other hand, have not been studied previously by semiclassical methods, in part because of the 1:1 and 2:1 resonances respectively present in these molecules. The results of the present calculations are in reasonable agreement with quantum eigenvalues which have been calculated for H+3 and CO2, with errors which are consistent with those obtained for H2O and SO2.
Early appearance in neural crest and crest-derived cells of an antigenic determinant present in avian neurons.

A monoclonal antibody (“EC8”) against chicken dorsal root ganglion cells has been produced. The epitope (antigenic determinant) to which this antibody binds appears in neuronal cells—of both the peripheral and central nervous systems—and in a limited number of nonneuronal cell types in avian embryos. The epitope is intracellular and is probably part of a protein as judged by its susceptibility to proteases. This epitope appears very early in neuronal development. It may be detected in brain, spinal cord, and ventral root nerve fibers of Hamburger-Hamilton stage 16 chicken embryos (51–56 hr of incubation). At this same age, EC8-immunoreactive cells can be found in the neural crest migratory space between the neural tube and the somite about a day before dorsal root ganglia begin to coalesce. Since some cultured neural crest cells (but not somitic mesenchymal cells) also express this epitope, we propose that the EC8 monoclonal antibody identifies an early differentiating subpopulation of neural crest cells which express this putative neuronal trait soon after the time of cessation of migration in vivo.
Blastocysts don’t go it alone. Extrinsic signals fine-tune the intrinsic developmental program of trophoblast cells

The preimplantation embryo floats freely within the oviduct and is capable of developing into a blastocyst independently of the maternal reproductive tract. While establishment of the trophoblast lineage is dependent on expression of developmental regulatory genes, further differentiation leading to blastocyst implantation in the uterus requires external cues emanating from the microenvironment. Recent studies suggest that trophoblast differentiation requires intracellular signaling initiated by uterine-derived growth factors and integrin-binding components of the extracellular matrix. The progression of trophoblast development from the early blastocyst stage through the onset of implantation appears to be largely independent of new gene expression. Instead, extrinsic signals direct the sequential trafficking of cell surface receptors to orchestrate the developmental program that initiates blastocyst implantation. The dependence on external cues could coordinate embryonic activities with the developing uterine endometrium. Biochemical events that regulate trophoblast adhesion to fibronectin are presented to illustrate a developmental strategy employed by the peri-implantation blastocyst.
Anaerobic Accumulation of γ-Aminobutyric Acid and Alanine in Radish Leaves (Raphanus sativus, L.)

In leaves, the anaerobic accumulation of alanine was accompanied by a loss of aspartate, and these changes preceded gamma-aminobutyrate accumulation and glutamate loss. Changes in keto acid content did not appear to be the cause of amino acid changes. Accumulation of gamma-aminobutyrate was due to acceleration of glutamate decarboxylation and arrest of gamma-aminobutyrate transamination. Changes in enzyme content did not explain the changes in reaction rates in vivo. Most of the aspartate may be converted anaerobically to alanine via oxalacetate and pyruvate.
Lumped parameter models of acoustic filters using normal modes and bond graphs

Abstract The low-frequency behavior of shell and tube reactive filters can be predicted fairly well by representing the tubes as inertia elements and the volumes as capacitive elements. At higher frequencies, the wave length may become comparable to some tube or shell dimensions and the simple lumped parameter model is no longer valid. A simple method, based on dual formulations and normal modes, is presented for extending the frequency range of lumped parameter models. Bond graph representations are given for the models so that computer formulation of the equations by using the ENPORT program is possible. Experimental and computational results are shown for an example case.
An immunocytotoxic assay for Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract Trypanosoma cruzi culture forms grown for 8 days in LIT medium fortified with 14C-labeled amino acids will incorporate the isotope into membranous and soluble components of the parasite. On lysis, labeled cytoplasmic elements released into the surrounding medium can be measured and reflect the degree of destruction of the parasites. Materials released as a result of trypanosome destruction are not re-utilized by mouse spleen cells which supports the use of this assay for studies on lymphocyte mediated cytotoxicity in experimental Chagas' disease. Experiments on complement dependent antibody-mediated lysis of T. cruzi demonstrate utility of the assay in examining both agglutinating and cytotoxic capacities of immune and normal serums. It is suggested that this assay is applicable to other protozoan parasite systems and may have some utility in diagnosis.
The Arctic Eurekan orogen: A most unusual fold-and-thrust belt

The Tertiary Eurekan orogen of northernmost North America differs from a standard fold-and-thrust belt in several respects. It lacks a metamorphic-plutonic hinterland and wedge-shaped profile; instead, 2-km-high mountains of southeast Ellesmere Island face the frontal thrust, whereas halotectonic polygons, gentle warps, and subdued topography extend from Axel Heiberg Island in the center of the system back to the Sverdrup Rim at its rear. Clastic deposits are not located in a single flexural foredeep but are distributed in topographic lows amid several thrust sheets. The age of the stratigraphy, amount of displacement, and intensity of strain all increase cratonward, and the system9s width-to-length ratio is anomalously high. The orogen is attributed to Greenland9s pivotal movement relative to North America, which formed a braided Cenozoic plate boundary in Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, not a single transform in Nares Strait as previously proposed. The three major strands of this braided system are the Parrish Glacier, Vesle Fiord, and Stolz thrusts. They die out toward a structural pole of rotation in the south, whereas to the north, movement is accommodated by a dextral transpression zone extending from Lake Hazen to northern Greenland. Field studies on Ellesmere Island combined with a regional synthesis of previous work show that Eurekan deformation style is indicative of pivotal tectonism, that the contraction necessary to accommodate Greenland9s displacement is similar in magnitude to that documented by Eurekan structures, and that the ages of continental structures are compatible with the paleomagnetic record of seafloor spreading in Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay. Previously proposed sinistral strike-slip displacement is not confirmed; rather, eastvergent thrusts and dextral wrench faults typify the system. We propose that the Eurekan orogeny marked a change from tip propagation to pivotal tectonism as the North Atlantic rift system penetrated the entire width of the Laurasian continent.
Measurement of bulk residual stresses in molybdenum disilicide/stainless steel joints using neutron scattering

Abstract Neutron diffraction was used to measure the bulk residual strains in molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2)–316L stainless steel joints. The joints were produced by brazing disks of MoSi2 and 316L stainless steel along with an interlayer, using CusilTM as the braze. This study explored the physical parameters of the interlayer on the average phase strains in the MoSi2 and 316L stainless steel. The effect of the coefficient of thermal expansion was explored by using three different interlayer materials; niobium, nickel, and nickel–iron. The residual strains in MoSi2 decreased significantly in both radial and axial directions with increasing niobium interlayer thickness. Residual strains were relatively insensitive to changes in the 500 μm thick interlayer material. Finite element modeling results were corroborated by the neutron measurements on the joints allowing inferences to be drawn concerning the preference of the interlayer material. The results illustrate the importance of the ductile interlayer in the successful fabrication of MoSi2-316L stainless steel joints.
Correlation of morphologic brain lesions with physiologic alterations and blood-brain barrier impairment in 3-intropropionic acid toxicity in rats

3-Nitropropionic acid (NPA), a toxin which irreversibly inhibits the Krebs cycle enzyme succinate dehydrogenase, causes severe neurologic disease and a specific pattern of morphologic brain damage when given subcutaneously to rats. To determine whether hypotension or hypoxemia were necessary for development of morphologic brain lesions in NPA neurotoxicity, systemic blood pressure and arterial blood gases were measured in NPA-intoxicated rats. The extent and distribution of albumin extravasation was examined by immunohistochemistry, and was compared to the extent and severity of morphological injury in the caudate-putamen. Neither hypotension nor hypoxemia were necessary for the development of morphologic injury in the brains of NPA-intoxicated rats. In fact, intoxicated rats had significantly higher systolic blood pressure and arterial blood oxygen than did controls. Arterial bicarbonate and pH were significantly lower in intoxicated rats than controls, however, suggesting that acidosis may be involved in the pathogenesis of NPA toxicity. When morphologic injury was severe, albumin extravasation was extensive occupying approximately 30%–80% of the lesion area in the caudate-putamen of NPA-intoxicated rats. When morphologic injury was mild, albumin extravasation was absent, or limited to small cuffs around individual capillaries (<1% of the lesion area). There was no leakage of albumin in the cerebral cortex, which was resistant to morphologic injury. It was concluded that leakage of protein-rich fluid into cerebral parenchyma from blood-brain barrier impairment is not responsible for the initiation of morphologic injury in NPA toxicity, but may contribute to the severity of injury later in the evolution of brain lesions.
An Architecture for Visualization and User Interaction in Parallel Environments.

Abstract An application-independent visualization interaction system is proposed, with potential for application-binding at any stage of the modeling process. Advantages of this approach include ease of use, flexibility, code reuse, and modularity. Our design ideas are manifest in the DISplay system, a graphical user interaction and display library which can be used with any parallel software. We outline its use in the dynamic display of results from computations in queueing simulations, exemplifying synchronization of multiple remote display requests, and the potential for enhanced parallel simulations. We also describe how it may be used to define customized user interaction dialogs for input from an application, and bidirectional interaction between a user and an application.
The Diagnostic Value of the Sleep EEG With and Without Sleep Deprivation in Patients With Atypical Absences

Hitherto it has not been known whether or not the sleep EEG after sleep deprivation is more effective than the simple or drug-induced sleep EEG. To investigate this, we recorded for 32 patients both sleep EEGs without sleep deprivation and, on the following day, sleep EEGs after 24 h of sleep deprivation. All the patients had atypical absences which were almost exclusively combined with generalized seizures or some other seizure types. All patients were receiving antiepileptic therapy. Sleep without sleep deprivation was induced by oral administration of 2 mg/kg body weight Protactyl (promazine hydrochloride). In patients showing no epileptic activity in the routine EEG, epileptic discharges could be provoked in 78% without sleep deprivation and in 72% after sleep deprivation. Epileptic activity was already seen in 28.1% of the cases in the awake EEG without sleep deprivation, recorded immediately before the sleep EEG, and in 50% of the cases in the awake EEG after sleep deprivation. It is unlikely that promazine hydrochloride in the dose used here has an additional inherent provocative effect. Generalized spike-and-wave complexes or sharp slow wave complexes which were combined twice with foci and runs of rapid spikes were recorded. In the sleep EEG without sleep deprivation, epileptic discharges were seen in the somewhat shallower stages (C leads to A leads to B leads to D) and, in the sleep EEG after sleep deprivation, in the somewhat deeper stages (D leads to C leads to B leads to A). Fewer epileptic discharges were elicited in patients who were older at the time of their first seizure. The illness was mild in patients whose sleep EEGs showed no epileptic activity. It is concluded that, as a rule, it is not necessary to record an EEG after sleep deprivation in patients with atypical absences whose routine EEGs show no epileptic activity; the drug-induced sleep EEG shows the same provocative effect.
Infusions of anti-sense oligonucleotides for DARPP-32 to the ventral tegmental area reduce effects of progesterone- and a dopamine type 1-like receptor agonist to facilitate lordosis

Abstract Manipulating dopamine and/or adenosine 3′,5′ monophosphate regulated phosphoprotein of 32 kDa (DARPP-32) can influence sexual behavior of rodents. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is an important brain site for progestogens to facilitate sexual behavior of rodents. We hypothesized that, in the VTA, dopamine type 1-like receptor (D 1 )-mediated increases in progesterone (P 4 )-facilitated lordosis involve DARPP-32. To investigate this, ovariectomized hamsters and rats, primed with estradiol (E 2 ; 10 μg), received infusions to the VTA of saline vehicle or sense or anti-sense oligonucleotides targeted against DARPP-32 (4 nM). Subjects were then administered P 4 via subcutaneous injection (hamsters: 200 μg; rats: 0 or 100 μg). Hamsters and rats were pre-tested for lordosis 3.5 h post-P 4 injections, and then infused with the D 1 agonist SKF38393 (100 ng) or vehicle to the VTA, and re-tested for sexual behavior 30 min later. Anti-sense oligonucleotides targeted against DARPP-32, but not infusions of sense oligonucleotides, to the VTA blocked the ability of systemic P 4 to enhance receptive behavior of hamsters and rats. Similarly, SKF38393-mediated increases in P 4 -facilitated sexual behaviors were blocked by DARPP-32 anti-sense oligonucleotides to the VTA. The same pattern of effects was not observed in rats that were primed with E 2 -alone. Together, these findings suggest that, in the midbrain VTA, P 4 's actions to facilitate sexual behavior of female rodents, involving D 1 receptors, may require DARPP-32.
Metabolic and perceptual responses during arm and leg ergometry in water and air

This investigation determined metabolic (i.e., kcal.min-1) responses and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) for varying pedal-crank rates (PCR) and power outputs (PO) during arm and leg exercise in thermoneutral air (TA) and water (TW). Nine males (age 28.2 yr; leg cycle VO2peak 3.4 l.min-1) undertook the 24 exercise trials. During the TW trials kcal.min-1 were less (P < 0.05): at 50 W for 40 (X +/- SE; 10.9 +/- 0.8) than 50 (8.2 +/- 0.2), 60 (8.2 +/- 0.6), or 70 (7.4 +/- 0.3) rev.min-1 and at 100 W for 40 (15.2 +/- 0.7), 50 (14.0 +/- 1.1), and 60 (13.8 +/- 0.7) than 70 (12.1 +/- 0.5) rev.min-1. All other comparisons of kcal.min-1 between PCR at the three PO were not significant. During the TA trials kcal.min-1 were less (P < 0.05): at 50 W for 40 (11.4 +/- 0.3) than 60 (9.7 +/- 0.4) and 70 (9.1 +/- 0.4) rev.min-1 and for 50 (11.0 +/- 0.5) than 70 rev.min-1. During the TW trials: RPE-Arms and RPE-Overall at 50 W were lower (P < 0.05) for 40 (8.1 +/- 0.5; 8.3 +/- 0.4) than 60 (9.6 +/- 0.5; 9.8 +/- 0.6) and 70 (9.3 +/- 0.5; 9.9 +/- 0.7) rev.min-1, RPE-Legs at 50 W was lower (P < 0.05) for 40 (8.3 +/- 0.4) than 70 (9.9 +/- 0.7) rev.min-1. All other comparisons of RPE between PCR at the three PO were not significant.
Evaluation of the shell vial technique for detection of ocular adenovirus

Abstract Purpose The shell vial technique is a cell culture method that uses centrifugation and immunofluorescence to decrease the time required for a positive test. The authors evaluated the shell vial technique as a diagnostic test to detect adenovirus in conjunctival specimens of patients with adenoviral conjunctivitis. Design Retrospective and prospective case series. Participants Forty-six patients with adenoviral culture-positive ocular infection. Methods The minimum time of incubation (days) that was required for testing clinical isolates with the shell vial was determined with adenovirus serotypes 5 and 8. In a masked retrospective study, 25 true-positive (frozen clinical samples) and 25 true-negative specimens were tested for the presence of adenovirus using the shell vial technique. The 25 true-negative samples included herpes simplex virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae , and Staphylococcus aureus . In a prospective study, 21 patients who later tested positive in cell culture for adenovirus were concurrently tested with shell vial. Main outcome measures The time of incubation was determined in days, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the efficacy of the shell vial test were determined. Results The minimal time of incubation for testing ocular samples by shell vial was 3 days. In the retrospective study, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and efficacy were 92%, 100%, 100%, 93%, and 96%, respectively. Comparably ( P = 0.99), in the prospective study the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and efficacy were 95%, 100%, 100%, 96%, and 97%, respectively. The shell vial (93%, 43 of 46) was equivalent ( P = 0.42) to cell culture (100%, 46 of 46) for detecting adenovirus, but a positive result was obtained in significantly less time (3 days versus 9.41 ± 6.23 days) ( P = 0.00001). Conclusions The shell vial technique was found to be a definitive method for identifying adenovirus from ocular specimens. A clear benefit for the ophthalmologist is that the test can provide a faster positive result (3 days) compared with conventional cell culture, which can take 1 to 3 weeks for adenovirus isolation.
Exploiting domain knowledge to optimize parallel computational mechanics codes

An important emerging problem domain in computational science and engineering is the development of multi-scale computational methods for complex problems in mechanics that span multiple spatial and temporal scales. An attractive approach to solving these problems is recursive decomposition: the problem is broken up into a tree of loosely coupled sub-problems which can be solved independently and then coupled back together to obtain the desired solution. However, a particular problem can be solved in myriad ways by coupling the sub-problems together in different tree orders. As we argue in this paper, the space of possible orders is vast, the performance gap between an arbitrary order and the best order is potentially quite large, and the likelihood that a domain scientist can find the best order to solve a problem on a particular machine is vanishingly small. In this paper, we present a system that uses domain-specific knowledge captured in computational libraries to optimize code written in a conventional language (C). The system generates efficient coupling orders to solve computational mechanics problems using recursive decomposition. Our system adopts the inspector-executor paradigm, where the problem is inspected and a novel heuristic finds an effective implementation based on domain properties evaluated by a cost model. The derived implementation is then executed by a parallel run-time system (Cilk) which achieves optimal parallel performance. We demonstrate that our cost model is highly correlated with actual application runtime, that our proposed technique outperforms non-decomposed and non-multiscale methods. The code generated by the heuristic also outperforms alternate scheduling strategies, as well as over 99% of randomly-generated recursive decompositions sampled from the space of possible solutions.
Effect of androstenedione administration on the maternal hypothalamo-pituitary-adreno-placental axis in the pregnant rhesus monkey

To assess the interaction among androgens, placenta, and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis we studied effects of androstenedione administered intravascularly to the pregnant monkey on maternal plasma CRH, ACTH, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), cortisol, and estradiol concentrations. Ten monkeys (128 +/- 3 days gestation; mean +/- SEM) were instrumented under general halothane anesthesia with maternal femoral artery and venous catheters and uterine electromyogram electrodes. At 137-144 days gestation, baseline maternal femoral artery samples for CRH, ACTH, DHEAS, cortisol, and estradiol measurements were taken at 1.5-h intervals for 7 h starting 2 h before darkness. On the following day, a continuous iv androstenedione infusion (0.3 mg/kg.min at 0.25 ml/h) in 10% intralipid was started at 0930 h in four monkeys; the other six animals received vehicle alone at the same rate starting at the same time. Maternal blood sampling was repeated 1 and 3 days after androstenedione or vehicle administration. Maternal plasma CRH, ACTH, DHEAS, cortisol, and estradiol levels were unaffected by intralipid. In contrast, androstenedione infusion produced a sustained increase in maternal plasma estradiol and a sustained fall in maternal plasma ACTH, but did not affect maternal plasma CRH, DHEAS, or cortisol concentrations. These results provide evidence for negative feedback regulation by androgens at the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in the pregnant monkey. Lack of inhibition of maternal plasma CRH after androstenedione administration supports differential regulation of hypothalamic and placental CRH by androgens.
cGMP effects on vascular tone: modulating the activity of myosin light chain phosphatase

Background During flow-mediated vasodilatation, nitric oxide activates guanylate cyclase and the resultant increase cGMP leads to an activation of PKGI. PKGI activates a number of targets in the smooth muscle cell that result in smooth muscle relaxation, including MLC phosphatase. MLC phosphatase isolated from smooth muscle is a holoenzyme consisting of three subunits; a 20 kDa subunit, a 38 kDa catalytic subunit and a myosin targeting subunit (MYPT1). MYPT1 has two isoforms that differ by the presence of a an alternatively spliced 31 bp 3' exon; exon inclusion codes for a MYPT1 that lacks a COOH-terminus leucine zipper (LZ-), while exon exclusion shifts the reading frame and codes for a LZ+ MYPT1 isoform.
Epikeratoplasty With Nonlyophilized Tissue in Children With Aphakia

We studied 75 epikeratoplasty procedures using nonlyophilized tissue performed by eight ophthalmic surgeons in 70 eyes (47 patients) to correct for aphakia in children less than 8 years of age (mean age, 3.4 +/- 2.1 years). Of the 47 patients in the study, 24 were girls and 23 were boys; 23 patients had bilateral surgery. Seven of the epigrafts required removal; two were not replaced, and five underwent successful repeat epikeratoplasty. Overall, the success rate (that is, the percentage of epigrafts that remained optically and functionally clear throughout the course of this study) for the epikeratoplasty procedure was 89% (62 of 70 eyes) for initial surgery and 96% (67 of 70 eyes) for repeat surgery. The average spherical equivalent was +14.4 +/- 3.7 diopters preoperatively and +0.3 +/- 2.9 diopters one year after the operation. One year after the final surgical procedure, 42 of 56 eyes (75%) were within 3 diopters of emmetropia. In the 29 verbal patients, best-corrected visual acuity was 20/100 or better in 25 (86.2%) one year after the operation.
Reentrant superconductivity in Tm2Fe3Si5

Abstract Resistivity and ac susceptibility measurements on Tm 2 Fe 3 Si 5 show the onset of superconductivity at 1.7 K which is destroyed at 1.13 K. Similar results are obtained in solid solutions of (Tm 1− x Lu x ) 2 Fe 3 Si 5 .
Meta-analysis of the use of low-dose beta-adrenergic blocking therapy in idiopathic or ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract We concluded that low-dose β-adrenergic blocking agents are beneficial in the treatment of patients with ischemic or idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Low-dose β blockers appear to improve NYHA functional class and LVEF.
Influence of PEI as a core modifying agent on PLGA microspheres of PGE1, a pulmonary selective vasodilator

This study tests the hypothesis that large porous poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI) are viable carriers for pulmonary delivery of prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) used in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a pulmonary vascular disorder. The particles were prepared by a double-emulsion solvent evaporation method with PEI-25 kDa in the internal aqueous phase to produce an osmotic pressure gradient. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used for external coating of the particles. The particles were examined for morphology, size, aerodynamic diameter, surface area, pore volume and in-vitro release profiles. Particles with optimal properties for inhalation were tested for in-vivo pulmonary absorption, metabolic stability in rat lung homogenates, and acute toxicity in rat bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory epithelial cells, Calu-3. The micromeritic data indicated that the PEI-modified particles of PGE(1) are optimal for inhalation. Incorporation of PEI in the formulations resulted in an increased entrapment efficiency - 83.26 ± 3.04% for particles with 1% PVA and 95.48 ± 0.46% for particles with 2% PVA. The amount of cumulative drug released into the simulated interstitial lung fluid was between 50.8 ± 0.76% and 55.36 ± 0.06%. A remarkable extension of the circulation half-life up to 6.0-6.5h was observed when the formulations were administered via the lungs. The metabolic stability and toxicity studies showed that the optimized formulations were stable at physiological conditions and relatively safe to the lungs and respiratory epithelium. Overall, this study demonstrates that large porous inhalable polymeric microparticles can be a feasible option for non-invasive and controlled release of PGE(1) for treatment of PAH.
Structural disorder and magnetic frustration in ALaMnMoO 6 (A=Ba, Sr) double perovskites

The crystal and magnetic structures of the $A{\mathrm{LaMnMoO}}_{6}$ $(A=\mathrm{B}\mathrm{a},\mathrm{S}\mathrm{r})$ double perovskites have been studied. The Sr compound is monoclinic (space-group ${P2}_{1}/n)$ and does not exhibit long-range magnetic order. The crystal lattice of the Ba compound is pseudocubic, although detailed analysis of neutron diffraction spectra together with the synchrotron diffraction data reveal a slight triclinic distortion (space-group $I1\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}).$ The magnitude of the tilting distortion is significantly reduced compared to the Sr compound. Ferrimagnetic order is observed below 80(10) K. The refined Mn moment is $1.35(7){\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ at 4 K, suggesting that the ordered moment is reduced by strong frustration effects. This frustration is discussed in terms of competition between nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor superexchange interactions. Frequency dependent ac susceptibility measurements rule out the existence of a spin-glass state.
A natural inquiry into the national enquirer: Self‐induced versus task‐induced reading comprehension∗

This study explores what information is selected and acquired when readers genuinely want to read textual material. College students read sheets from the National Enquirer news magazine in both Self‐induced and Task‐induced reading conditions. In Self‐induced conditions they read the new sheets voluntarily and did not expect to be tested on the contents. In Task‐induced conditions the students knew they were in an experiment that would assess memory for the material they read. In the Self‐induced reading condition the subjects tended to select articles on familiar topics and they extracted more active, narrative code than static descriptions. In contrast, article selection was not guided by familiarity and there was no “narrative bias” in Task‐induced reading conditions. The differences in information extraction between Self‐induced and Task‐induced reading conditions suggest that it is important to examine knowledge acquisition and text comprehension in ecologically valid reading conditions.
Time-Dependent Spectroscopy of a Nanoparticle Freely Moving in 3D

To date, the powerful time-dependent single-particle spectroscopy can only be conducted on substrate-immobilized nanostructures. The new technique reported herein lifts this limitation and allows real-time correlation of the particle’s spectroscopic signatures with its spatial location.
The war of the Lamb: George Fox and the apocalyptic discourse of revolutionary quakerism

(1994). The war of the Lamb: George Fox and the apocalyptic discourse of revolutionary quakerism. Prose Studies: Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 25-41.
Calcium-dependent regulator of NAD kinase in higher plants

Abstract An activator protein of NAD kinase from the pea, Pisum satavum L., has been shown to be Ca2+-dependent. This plant activator protein also stimulates the activity of modulator protein dependent-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from porcine brain. This stimulation is similar to that observed with modulator protein isolated from animal sources. Furthermore, Ca2+-dependent modulator proteins isolated from porcine brain, bovine brain, and the coelenterate, Renilla , will regulate the NAD kinase activity of peas. Other common properties of the plant activator protein and animal modulator proteins are their acidic nature, heat stabilities, similar Stokes' radii, and their interactions with troponin I.
Interplay of constitutively released nucleotides, nucleotide metabolism, and activity of P2Y receptors

At least six mammalian P2Y receptors exist that are specifically activated by ATP, UTP, ADP or UDP. Although the existence of ectoenzymes that rapidly metabolize extracellular nucleotides is well established, the relative flux of ATP and UTP through their extracellular metabolic products remains undefined. In addition, the existence of basal nucleotide release and the contribution of resting levels of ATP and UTP to P2 receptor activation are poorly understood. In the absence of exogenous agonists, an apyrase-sensitive inositol phosphate accumulation was observed in resting 16HBE14o - human bronchial epithelial cells endogenously expressing P2Y receptors and in 1321 N1 human astrocytoma cells expressing a recombinant P2Y 2 receptor. To test whether nucleotide release may account for basal P2 receptor activities, the rates of extracellular accumulation and metabolism of endogenous ATP were examined with resting 16HBE14o - , C6 rat glioma, and 1321N1 cell cultures. Although extracellular ATP concentrations (1-5 nM) remained unchanged for up to 12 h, [γ 32 P] ATP included in the medium (as a radiotracer) was completely degraded within 120 min, indicating that ATP release balanced ATP hydrolysis. The calculated basal rates of ATP release ranged from 20 to 200 fmol/min per million cells. HPLC analysis during steady state revealed that the gamma-phosphate of ATP was reversibly transferred to species further identified as UTP and GTP, implicating ecto-nucleoside diphosphokinase (NDPK)-catalyzed phosphorylation of endogenous UDP and GDP. At steady state, the final 32 P-products of [γ 32 P]ATP metabolism were 32 P-orthophosphoric acid and a species further purified and identified as 32 P-pyrophosphate. Constitutive nucleotide release balanced by the concerted activities of ecto-ATPase, ecto-ATP pyrophosphatase, and ecto-NDPK may determine the resting levels of extracellular nucleotides and therefore, the basal activity of P2 receptors.
A rapid microscale technique for isolation of recombinant plasmid DNA suitable for restriction enzyme analysis

Abstract A simple and rapid microscale technique is described for the isolation of plasmid DNA which involves cell lysis with phenol, centrifugation, phenol extraction, ethanol precipitation, and RNase digestion. The plasmid DNA is of suitable purity and quantity for multiple restriction endonuclease digestions and bacterial transformations. This “miniprep” procedure is applicable for a variety of types of plasmids ranging in size from 2900 to 18,400 base pairs (bp) and for a number of Escherichia coli strains. The plasmids are rapidly cleaved by all restriction enzymes (total of 14) tested to date. Recombinant clones have been screened for insertions as small as 10 bp and as large as 5000 bp. The procedure takes ~3 h and has been routinely used to simultaneously analyze 24 candidate clones. This procedure is reliable and useful for rapid screening of recombinant DNA candidates where analysis by restriction endonuclease digestion is necessary.
GPU accelerated 3D nonlinear time domain inversion of realistic breast phantoms with multiparameter optimization

Summary form only given. The detection of early-stage breast tumors with microwave imagers has received considerable attention in the recent years. However, reconstructing the complex dielectric profile of the realistic breast phantom remains a computationally costly challenge. This paper presents a GPU accelerated 3D time-domain nonlinear inverse scattering technique to effectively reconstruct the complex dielectric profile of realistic breast phantoms. The 3D nonlinear time domain inversion technique is based on the Born iterative method (BIM). BIM assumes that in the first iteration, the total field inside the object can be approximated by the incident field. Within each iteration of the BIM, both forward problem and inverse problem are solved once. Here the calculation of both the forward problem and the inverse problem are accelerated by the Tesla C2075 GPU from Nvidia. The acceleration method is based on the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) introduced by Nvidia to leverage the parallel computation power of its general-purpose GPU. In our method, the forward problem is solved with the Auxiliary Differential Equation Finite Difference Time Domain method (ADE FDTD) with the convolution perfectly matched layer (CPML). The main ADE FDTD algorithm to update the E and H fields, and the algorithm to update six CPML boundaries at the six sides of the domain are accelerated by different GPU kernels. Within each kernel, all the field points are calculated in parallel. However, each kernel is launched sequentially to avoid data race because different kernels may update the same field in the same region considering the overlap of PML slabs. The inversion is carried out with a regularized local optimization process, wherein a multi-parameter optimization scheme is designed to accommodate the three sets of unknowns, namely the real part of permittivity, conductivity, and a dispersion parameter. This process is also accelerated with the GPU while formulating the inversion matrix and solving the matrix with the conjugate gradient method. The acceleration has achieved a speedup factor of at least 25 for solving the forward problem and a speedup factor of 5 for the inversion while reconstructing the realistic breast phantom at 2mm voxel size. The realistic Wisconsin breast phantoms derived from MRI data are used here. The phantom provides a single-pole Debye relaxation model based complex dielectric profile of the breast tissue over our frequency of interest 0.5 to 3.7GHz. Imaging results for several phantoms will be shown and will demonstrate the reconstructed spatial distribution of the fiber glandular tissue of the breast. The comparison of the total computation expense between utilizing GPU and CPU will also be presented.
High-Power High-Efficiency Class-E-Like Stacked mmWave PAs in SOI and Bulk CMOS: Theory and Implementation

Series stacking of multiple devices is a promising technique that can help overcome some of the fundamental limitations of CMOS technology in order to improve the output power and efficiency of CMOS power amplifiers (PAs), particularly at millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies. This paper investigates the concept of device stacking in the context of the Class-E family of nonlinear switching PAs at mmWave frequencies. Fundamental limits on achievable performance of a stacked configuration are presented along with design guidelines for a practical implementation. In order to demonstrate the utility of stacking, three prototypes have been implemented: two fully integrated 45-GHz single-ended Class-E-like PAs with two- and four-stacked devices in IBM's 45-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology, and a 45-GHz differential Class-E-like PA with two devices stacked in IBM's 65-nm low-power CMOS process. Measurement results yield a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 34.6% for the two-stacked 45-nm SOI CMOS PA with a saturated output power of 17.6 dBm. The measurement results also indicate true Class-E-like switching PA behavior. A peak PAE of 19.4% is measured for the four-stacked PA with a saturated output power of 20.3 dBm. The two-stacked PA exhibits the highest PAE reported for CMOS mmWave PAs, and the four-stacked PA achieves the highest output power from a fully integrated CMOS mmWave PA including those that employ power combining. The 65-nm CMOS differential two-stacked PA exhibits a peak PAE of 28.3% with a saturated differential output power of 18.2 dBm, despite the poor ON-resistance of the 65-nm low-power nMOS devices. This paper also describes the modeling of active devices for mmWave CMOS PAs for good model-hardware correlation.
Effects of benzidine and benzidine analogues on growth of bacteria including Azotobacter vinelandii

Benzidine and benzidine analogues are mutagenic and carcinogenic metabolites of azo dyes that are widely found in the environment. The toxicities of benzidine and nine of its analogues against 18 bacterial strains including nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter vinelandii were tested using the well diffusion assay technique. 2-Aminobiphenyl and 3-aminobiphenyl were the most inhibitory to all bacterial species tested except A. vinelandii. 4-Aminobiphenyl was inhibitory to the growth of A. vinelandii using a plate count assay, although it failed to show an inhibitory effect in the well diffusion assay. 3,3'-4,4'-Tetraaminobiphenyl was inhibitory to both A. vinelandii and Aeromonas hydrophila, whereas benzidine, 3,3'-dimethoxybenzidine, 4,4'-dinitro-2-biphenylamine, 3,3'-5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine, N,N-N',N'-tetramethylbenzidine, and o-tolidine were not inhibitory to any of the bacterial species tested. Of all these compounds tested, only 3,3'-4,4'-tetraaminobiphenyl and 4-aminobiphenyl inhibited the nitrogenase activity of A. vinelandii.
The temperature distribution in a semi-infinite body due to surface absorption of laser radiation

Abstract An exact steady state and transient solution for the temperature distribution in a semi-infinite body with a Gaussian distribution heat source at the body surface is developed and presented. This solution has direct application to steady state laser heating for target materials which have a high absorption coefficient at the laser wavelength. The solution also provides an upper bound for the case of pulsed laser heating. Approximate solutions for the steady and transient cases are used for comparison and it is shown that the exact solutions are the asymptotic limit of the approximate solutions.
CHARACTERIZATION OF OSTEOPENIA IN FELINE MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS VI AND EVALUATION OF BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION THERAPY

Studies on a feline model of MPS VI demonstrated a marked osteopenia in iliac crest bone samples from young adult animals with fewer, finer trabeculae. In the absence of significant differences in bone remodeling, this was considered due to defects in endochondral ossification and the formation of fewer trabeculae. Cell-level bone formation was normal despite the presence of vacuolated osteoblasts. Affected animals had vacuolated osteocytes in larger lacunae. Cats of the same age who had received a bone marrow transplant 12 months prior as young kittens, had significantly more trabecular bone with thicker trabeculae. The presence of smaller osteocyte lacunae in these animals as compared to their untreated MPS VI cats appeared to be a direct effect of bone marrow transplantation and a useful parameter to monitor its efficacy.
A novel three-phase switched multi-winding power electronic transformer

In this paper, a novel topology for a three-phase high-frequency power electronic transformer is proposed. In each phase, there are two mutually-coupled primary windings and one secondary winding. On the high-voltage side of the transformer, only two controlled switches are required to create a three-phase high frequency ac link. This is a significant reduction in the required number of controlled high voltage semiconductor switches as compared to the present state-of-the-art, leading to simplicity, reliability and reduced system cost. A 3×3 matrix converter is used on the low-voltage side of the transformer. The matrix converter is modulated with the proposed space vector PWM to achieve the following features simultaneously: 1) grid power factor control, 2) load voltage of adjustable amplitude and frequency and 3) elimination of common-mode voltage at the load terminals. The simulation results of a 2 MVA system demonstrating the abovementioned capabilities of the proposed topology are presented.
Sentence Simplification for Semantic Role Labeling

Parse-tree paths are commonly used to incorporate information from syntactic parses into NLP systems. These systems typically treat the pathsas atomic(or nearly atomic)features; these features are quite sparse due to the immense variety of syntactic expression. In this paper, we propose a general method for learning how to iteratively simplify a sentence, thus decomposing complicated syntax into small, easy-to-process pieces. Our method applies a series of hand-written transformation rules corresponding to basic syntactic patterns — for example, one rule “depassivizes” a sentence. The model is parameterized by learned weights specifying preferences for some rules over others. After applying all possible transformations to a sentence, we are left with a set of candidate simplified sentences. We apply our simplification system to semantic role labeling (SRL). As we do not have labeled examples of correct simplifications, we use labeled training data for the SRL task to jointly learn both the weights of the simplification model and of an SRL model, treating the simplification as a hidden variable. By extracting and labeling simplified sentences, this combined simplification/SRL system better generalizes across syntactic variation. It achieves a statistically significant 1.2% F1 measure increase over a strong baseline on the Conll2005 SRL task, attaining near-state-of-the-art performance.
Type Inference for IP Composition

Type inference and type matching algorithms in the context of a component composition framework are described in this paper. These algorithms facilitate automatic construction of system models from existing SystemC IPs. The approach uses a component composition language to describe an architecture for the system under design and then through automated selection of IPs from an IP library instantiate the architecture. This approach gives rise to many typing problems, and our efficient solutions produce an effective IP-reuse based system modeling and architectural exploration tool that provides productivity gain.