cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On a Field-Theoretic Invariant for Extensions of Commutative Rings

Abstract If R ⊆ T is an extension of (commutative integral) domains, Λ(T/R) is defined as the supremum of the lengths of chains of intermediate fields in the extension k R (Q ∩ R) ⊆ k T (Q), where Q runs over the prime ideals of T. The invariant Λ(T/R) is determined in case R and T are adjacent rings and in case Spec(R) = Spec(T) as sets. It is proved that if R is a domain with integral closure R′, then Λ(T/R) = 0 for all overrings T of R if and only if R′ is a Prufer domain such that Λ(R′/R) = 0. If R ⊆ T are domains such that the canonical map Spec(T) → Spec(R) is a homeomorphism (in the Zariski topology), then Λ(T/R) is bounded above by the supremum of the lengths of chains of rings intermediate between R and T. Examples are given to illustrate the sharpness of the results.
A double-blind trial comparing the efficacy and safety of augmented betamethasone dipropionate lotion with fluocinonide solution in the treatment of severe scalp psoriasis

Scalp psoriasis is frequently recalcitrant to topical therapy. In this study the efficacy and safety of a super-potent (augmented betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% lotion) and a potent (fluocinonide 0.05% solution) topical corticosteroid were evaluated in the treatment of severe scalp psoriasis. A total of 169 subjects with severe psoriatic scaling of the scalp accompanied by induration, erythema, and pruritus/burning were enrolled in this randomized double-blind parallel-group trial of 3 weeks duration. Subjects applied the study medication twice daily and were evaluated five times during the study. Evaluations of individual disease parameters, the global response and the percentage improvement showed that both medications were effective in the treatment of severe scalp psoriasis. There was a significantly greater proportion of patients (P < 0.01) completely cleared of scaling at the end of therapy in the augmented betamethasone dipropionate group. There was a low incidence of treatment-related sidesffect...
Computer experience, learning style, and hypermedia navigation

Abstract This study focused on the extent to which prior computer-related experiences predicted linear and nonlinear navigation when using a hypermedia learning environment. Those with more years’ experience at working with computers and those with more authoring experience took more linear steps, whereas those with more data base experience and those with more hypermedia experience took fewer linear steps. Those with more years experience at working with computers, those with more programming experience, and those with more authoring experience had a lower percentage of nonlinear steps than those with more experience in those three areas. Those with more word-processing experience, more spreadsheet experience, and more hypermedia experience had a higher percentage of nonlinear steps than those with less experience in those three areas. Also, those with more hypermedia experience took less time than those with less hypermedia experience. A major implication of the study is that we can predict the extent to which a hypermedia user may engage in a hypermedia environment in a nonlinear way by knowing his or her experience in a variety of computer-related uses.
Cell Damage and Oxygen Mass Transfer during Cultivation of Nicotiana tabacum in a Stirred‐Tank Bioreactor

Cell damage and oxygen mass transfer were investigated during the batch culture of Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) cells in a 3-L Applikon stirred-tank bioreactor equipped with a marine-blade impeller. Total cell density, % culture viability, viable cell density, and k L a in the culture were measured over a 24-day cultivation period at impeller speeds of 100-325 rpm under a fixed air flow of 0.43 vvm and a temperature of 27 o C. The maximum total biomass density decreased from 11.8 g of dry cell weight (DCW)/L at 100 rpm to 8.6 g of DCW/L at 325 rpm. The net specific biomass production rate of viable cells (μ v ) during the exponential phase and the viable cell death rate (k d ) during the stationary phase were estimated from semilog plots of viable cell density vs cultivation time. Values for μ v decreased from 0.175 to 0.077 day -1 whereas values for k d increased from 0.042 to 0.109 day -1 with increasing impeller tip speed (from 24 to 77 cm/s), clearly showing that increasing agitation intensity increased the rate of cell damage. The effect was most pronounced at tip speeds of 24-60 cm/s. With respect to oxygen mass transfer, culture k L a values were about 10-20% higher than their corresponding initial k L a o values, but as the cell density increased, the values for k L a ultimately decreased. Despite the reduction in oxygen mass transfer rates, at impeller speeds of 100-325 rpm and an aeration rate of 0.43 vvm, oxygen starvation was not observed. Therefore, the reduction in biomass productivity can be attributed to cell damage by hydrodynamic forces and not by inadequate oxygen mass transfer
Chronic Administration of Serotonergic Antidepressants Attenuates the Subjective Effects of LSD in Humans

This study investigates the possible interactions of antidepressant agents and hallucinogens in humans through structured interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Volunteer subjects recruited through announcements placed on the Internet or other sources were asked to describe the somatic, hallucinatory, and psychological effects of self-administered LSD prior to and during chronic administration of an antidepressant. Twenty-eight out of 32 subjects (88%) who had taken an antidepressant with inhibitory effects on serotonin (5-HT) reuptake (fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, trazodone) for over 3 weeks had a subjective decrease or virtual elimination of their responses to LSD. An additional subject who had taken fluoxetine for only 1 week had an increased response to LSD. These data are in contrast to our previous study that reported increased responses to LSD during chronic administration of tricyclic antidepressants or lithium. Possible mechanisms of action for the effects from serotonergic antidepressants involve 5-HT2 and 5-HT1A receptors, changes in extracellular brain serotonin concentrations, and changes in brain catecholamine systems.
Citizen Complaints as Threats To Police Legitimacy: The Role of Officers’ Occupational Attitudes

Citizen complaints of police misconduct represent formal expressions of procedural injustice and can thereby threaten police legitimacy. Although prior explanations of complaints have focused prima...
Lessons learned from 20th century AFRL smart structures space experiments

The late 20th century has seen the evolution of smart structures technology form theoretical studies and bench level experimentation to demonstration on complex ground test articles and flight demonstration. This paper will discuss the role that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and its government, industry, and academic partners have played in making this transition occur. The focus of the paper is on the flight experiments and large ground based demonstrations that have been led from these various activities. Directions for future research and activities that could motivate transition of the technology to operational system are also discussed.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Genetic manipulation of two fowlpox virus late transcriptional regulatory elements influences their ability to direct expression of foreign genes

Abstract Fowlpox virus (FWPV) is currently used as a vector to express foreign genes of various poultry and mammalian pathogens. However, due to limited information available about the primary structure of FWPV promoters required for an optimal transcriptional efficiency, the full potential of FWPV as an expression vector has not been completely realized. To dissect such transcriptional regulatory elements at the molecular level, we selected two FWPV promoters dictating contrasting levels of expression of acidic-type inclusion body protein gene (P190) and A15L vaccinia virus homolog of FWPV (P180) for site-directed mutagenesis studies. The transcriptional activity of mutated promoters was analyzed based on their ability to transcribe a reporter gene, lac Z, and translation of the resultant mRNA into functional protein. Replacement of the spacer sequences of P180 with those of P190 resulted in a five-fold increase in mRNA and a 17.6-fold increase in protein over those with its parental promoter, P180. Similarly, replacement of a thymidine after the start codon with guanosine resulted in a 2.3-fold increase in lac Z mRNA and a seven-fold increase in protein. Combining these substitutions in P180SG produced a maximum increase in mRNA and protein of 6.7- and 29.9-fold, respectively, over concentrations with its parental P180 promoter. The promoter activity of P180SG was comparable to that of the strongest natural promoter, P190. The amount of protein per transcript generated by the mutated promoters of P180 increased to at least three times that with the parental P180. In contrast, similar replacements in P190 resulted in a 40–50% reduction in mRNA and protein in all the mutated promoters. We discuss the significance of spacer sequence and the purine after the start codon in the context of a high level of expression.
Relative Fitness, Teleology, and the Adaptive Landscape

The metaphor of the adaptive landscape, introduced by Sewall Wright in 1932, has played, and continues to play, a central role in much evolutionary thought. I argue that the use of this metaphor is tied to a teleological view of the evolutionary process, in which natural selection directs evolution toward an improved future state. I argue further that the use of “relative fitnesses” standardized to an arbitrary value, which is closely connected with the metaphor of an adaptive landscape, produces a disconnect between the mean fitness of a population and any real property of that population. This allows for a vague and ill-defined improvement to occur under the influence of selection. Instead, I suggest that relative fitnesses should be standardized by the mean absolute fitness (expected population growth rate), so that they express the expected rate of increase in frequency, rather than number. Under this definition, the mean relative fitness of all populations is always 1.0, and never changes as long as the population continues to exist.
Temporal rate up-conversion of synthetic aperture radar via low-rank matrix recovery

The radar data to form synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is normally transmitted and received by moving platforms like aircraft or vehicles. In many situations, the platforms move at high speed; which reduces the number of sampling records collected to the synthetic aperture, hence degrades the quality of the reconstructed SAR images. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an algorithm that is capable of increasing the temporal frequency rate of the received data. In this paper, we propose a novel technique to generate intermediate records from the existing ones by a locally-adaptive low-rank matrix recovery framework. The system first fills in the blank records using a bi-directional motion estimation scheme. The initialized aperture records are then refined by a robust low-rank matrix completion algorithm using the reference from neighborhood clean records. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method provides comparative results when up-converting the aperture rate by a factor of two or four, both in mean square error of the raw SAR signal and PSNR performance of the recovered SAR images.
Does Money Buy Satisfaction

There was no change in the distribution of satisfaction with the standard of living among Detroit area wives between 1955 and 1971, although current-dollar median family income more than doubled and constant-dollar income increased by forty per cent. Cross-sectional variation in satisfaction is, however, related to income and, in particular, to relative position in the income distribution. Whereas regressions of satisfaction on income in current or constant dollars, or the logarithm thereof, suggest that at the same income there was less satisfaction in 1971 than in 1955, there is no significant year effect in the equation using the income-position variable. Easterlin’s thesis that rising levels of income do not produce rises in the average subjective estimate of welfare is supported. The thesis raises difficult questions for students of subjective social indicators.
Performance optimization of distributed applications in an extensible, adaptive environment

Abstract Management of performance data is central to the optimization process for complex, high-performance parallel and distributed systems. Management involves data collection, storage, transfer, buffering, filtering, processing, rendering, and presentation by various instrumentation, visualization, and analysis tools. Tool integration technologies and environments play a significant role in making different tools easier to combine and use. We present the PGRT environment that we have developed for these purposes. We describe how domain-specific instrumentation and visualization can be developed in PGRT and present two examples. The PGRT infrastructure is designed to support advanced analysis for resource scheduling, application and instrumentation steering, and performance data mining.
Comparison of different pretreatment methods based on residual lignin effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis of switchgrass

Three different pretreatment methods for switchgrass were studied. Aqueous sodium hydroxide (0.5-10% w/v, 90 degrees C, 1h), dilute H(2)SO(4) (0.5-6.0% v/v, 121 degrees C, 1h) and hot water (100 degrees C, 1h) were employed in this study to determine how each method affected the digestibility of switchgrass during enzymatic hydrolysis. Switchgrass pre-treated with 0.5% w/v sodium hydroxide generally produced glucose in higher concentrations than sulfuric acid and hot water pre-treated samples. SEM studies on the pre-treated samples revealed a great deal of pore formation in the NaOH pre-treated samples and little or no physical changes on the acid and hot water pre-treated samples. Lignin analysis carried out on the pre-treated samples showed a considerable decrease in lignin content in the NaOH pre-treated samples and only a slight decrease in lignin content for the other pretreatment methods studied.
Myocardial fibrosis and ventricular strain indices in post-fontan single ventricle patients: cardiac MR assessment and prognostic significance

Background Staged palliation culminating with the Fontan procedure has dramatically increased survival in children with single ventricle anatomy. However, long-term morbidity and mortality continue to be significant. This has been linked to ventricular myocardial fibrosis and scarring and subsequent altered contractile mechanics with abnormal regional wall motion and strain, but has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we sought to more precisely characterize these structural changes via magnetic resonance imaging and quantitatively assess ventricular mechanics through the measurement and calculation of MRI-derived displacement fields and regional wall strain to discern any association between fibrosis and function in the post-Fontan population. Methods The study population consisted of patients with single systemic ventricle anatomy of left ventricular morphology. Inclusion criteria included age > 5 years, Fontan completion > 2 years from time of MR study, and ability to undergo MRI without sedation. Studies on 22 Fontan subjects and 39 normal control subjects were completed. The MR protocol included cine bright-blood sequences for function, SPAMM cine gradient-recalled echo sequences for tagged analysis, and delayed contrast enhancement with gadolinium for tissue characterization. The tagged images were used to calculate a 3-dimensional LV myocardial displacement field via a validated methodology incorporating interpolation of tag line and surface deformation and finite element approximation. Strain values throughout the myocardium were then calculated from this continuous displacement field. Delayed myocardial enhancement was evaluated using standard techniques to identify regions of fibrosis. All strain values were expressed as means with standard deviations, and two-way ANOVA was utilized to compare strain in normal and fibrotic regions.
Left ventricular responses to upright isometric handgrip and deadlift in men with coronary artery disease

Isometric exercise is usually discouraged for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) because of the possible adverse effects of increased blood pressure on left ventricular (LV) function. Cardiovascular and LV responses to upright handgrip and deadlift were compared in 10 normal men (mean age 52 years) and 14 men (mean age 54 years) with documented CAD or myocardial infarction who were in a supervised exercise program. Handgrip and deadlift were each performed at 30% maximal effort for 3 minutes. LV technetium-99m multigated radionuclide angiograms, electrocardiogram and blood pressure were measured during the final 60 seconds. CAD patients had a significantly lower LV ejection fraction at rest (41%) than normal subjects (57%). Both groups showed equal and significant increases in heart rate, systolic and diastolic pressure during handgrip and deadlift. These responses were all significantly greater in both groups during deadlift. No significant changes in LV ejection fraction occurred in either group during handgrip or deadlift. LV wall motion abnormalities were present in 9 of 14 CAD patients at rest and increased with handgrip (11 men) and deadlift (13 men). No LV abnormalities occurred in normal subjects. These data indicate cardiovascular responses are similar in normal and exercise-trained CAD patients during upright submaximal isometric exercise using small or large muscle groups. Radionuclide measurements of global LV function remain stable in both groups, during similar conditions of increased systolic pressure afterload. However, LV wall motion abnormalities are aggravated in CAD patients during isometric exercise.
Simultaneous and synergistic extraction of cationic and anionic heavy metallic species by a mixed solvent extraction system and a novel contained liquid membrane device

Many wastewaters as well as aqueous solutions used for hydrometallurgical extractions have multiple toxic heavy metals: some are present as cations; others are present as anions. This research is directed toward extracting multiple heavy metallic species simultaneously into an appropriate mixed solvent and then recovering and concentrating such heavy metals into appropriate aqueous stripping solutions. Heavy metals of interest are Cu(II), Cr(VI), Zn(II), Hg(II), etc. Such processes have been carried out in a nondispersive fashion in microporous hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane-based devices containing multiple sets of fibers. The results will be presented, and the basis of the observed synergism will be discussed. The advantages of such extraction-stripping processes will be pointed out.
MetNet: software to build and model the biogenetic lattice of Arabidopsis

MetNet (http://www.botany.iastate.edu/∼mash/metnetex/metabolicnetex.html) is publicly available software in development for analysis of genome-wide RNA, protein and metabolite profiling data. The software is designed to enable the biologist to visualize, statistically analyse and model a metabolic and regulatory network map of Arabidopsis, combined with gene expression profiling data. It contains a JAVA interface to an interactions database (MetNetDB) containing information on regulatory and metabolic interactions derived from a combination of web databases (TAIR, KEGG, BRENDA) and input from biologists in their area of expertise. FCModeler captures input from MetNetDB in a graphical form. Sub-networks can be identified and interpreted using simple fuzzy cognitive maps. FCModeler is intended to develop and evaluate hypotheses, and provide a modelling framework for assessing the large amounts of data captured by high-throughput gene expression experiments. FCModeler and MetNetDB are currently being extended to three-dimensional virtual reality display. The MetNet map, together with gene expression data, can be viewed using multivariate graphics tools in GGobi linked with the data analytic tools in R. Users can highlight different parts of the metabolic network and see the relevant expression data highlighted in other data plots. Multi-dimensional expression data can be rotated through different dimensions. Statistical analysis can be computed alongside the visual. MetNet is designed to provide a framework for the formulation of testable hypotheses regarding the function of specific genes, and in the long term provide the basis for identification of metabolic and regulatory networks that control plant composition and development.
Chemical modification of a Nafion® sulfonyl fluoride precursor via in situ sol-gel reactions

Abstract The melt-processible sulfonyl fluoride precursor of a Nafion® ionomer was utilized as a sol gel reaction medium for 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APrTEOS). The diffusion-mediated reaction of APrTEOS with SO2F groups can be controlled with high degree of reaction. Fourier transform infra-red/attenuated total reflection studies show that sulfonamide linkages are formed and condensation reactions of SiOR groups provide covalent crosslinking of chains. Formic acid treatment plus high temperature plus long time resulted in a high degree of polymer crosslinking as seen in 29Si solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Mechanical modulus and strength increase, and elongation-to-break decreases with increasing filler. Hybrids with
Charge trapping and luminescence in biochemical systems

Abstract A review of radiation-induced charge trapping and release in biochemical systems is given. Several techniques appropriate to studying this damage are discussed; electron spin resonance (ESR), electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), optical absorption, muon spin rotation (μSR), and thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL), for example, with the emphasis being on TSL. Experimental aspects of this technique, along with many results from TSL studies of amino acids, proteins, DNA, RNA, and related compounds are reviewed. Specific models derived from analyses of the TSL glow curves and emission spectra are discussed. The overwhelming majority of these studies suggest that electronic deexcitation of the radiation-induced trapped charge occurs via the singlet and triplet manifolds of the molecule.
Analysis of laminated composite plates using a higher‐order shear deformation theory

A higher-order deformation theory is used to analyse laminated anisotropic composite plates for deflections, stresses, natural frequencies and buckling loads. The theory accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear stresses, and requires no shear correction coefficients. A displacement finite element model of the theory is developed, and applications of the element to bending, vibration and stability of laminated plates are discussed. The present solutions are compared with those obtained using the classical plate theory and the three-dimensional elasticity theory.
Development of an aerodynamic model and control law design for a high altitude airship

Lighter-than air vehicles are an attractive solution for many applications requiring a sustained airborne presence. The buoyancy force provides an energy-free form of lift, offering a non-traditional approach to long-duration missions for which traditional aircraft are not well-suited. Potential applications include roving or hovering surveillance and communication utilities for both military and commercial use, and a variety of remotesensing instruments for the scientific community. In particular, the Missile Defense Agency plans to utilize unmanned airships at high-altitudes to provide a long-duration missile defense presence around the coast-line of the United States. Operated at 70 kft, each of these “high altitude airships” will fly above all regulated air-traffic for several months to years, will reside in a steady atmospheric regime, and will utilize solar energy to provide all required power. Two key objectives for this type of mission are that the unmanned airship have exceptionally long endurance, and that it operate with a sufficiently high-level of autonomy. In order to achieve these objectives, a robust guidance and control system is required, capable of auto-piloting and controlling the airship under an extremely wide range of atmospheric and wind conditions. The successful design of such a system first requires an accurate model of airship dynamics across its expansive flight envelope, and a representative model of the expected disturbances. The dynamics of an airship are markedly different from traditional aircraft, with significant effects from added mass and inertia, and a much higher sensitivity to wind. In this paper, a typical airship configuration is first sized to meet energy balance and mass constraints. The geometry of this configuration is then used to develop a general aerodynamic model for the airship. The equations of motion with added mass and inertia are developed, and the open-loop dynamics are analyzed across a range of flight conditions. Finally, control laws are designed for a single operating condition, and the closed-loop performance is presented across a range of velocities.
The Evolution of the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center

This review traces the evolution from 1971 to the present of a national technical assistance (TA) program to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of services for infants, toddlers, and ...
Three Dimensional Inverse Scattering for the Classical Wave Equation with Variable Speed

In nondestructive evaluation, one attempts to obtain information about the parameters of a medium by means of scattering experiments.
Breakfast Behaviors and Cognitions among Parents of Preschoolers

The purpose of this research was to investigate change in elementary students’ willingness to try (WTT) fruits and vegetables after participating in the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Children's Nutrition Program on a class field trip. The WillTry survey was administered to 139 kindergarten, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students before and after participation in the program. Data were also collected in Student Notebooks completed during the program. The change in WTT eight fruits and vegetables between the WillTry preand post-test was evaluated using the Wilcoxan Sign Rank test. Responses regarding WTT these eight foods were also compared between the Student Notebook and the WillTry post-test to evaluate any change between responses recorded immediately upon tasting each food and those recorded two days later. In assessing changes between the WillTry pre-and post-test, we observed an overall decrease in willingness to try the eight foods offered. There was a small but statistically insignificant increase in WTT fruits (with the exception of dried apple, which increased significantly), and a significant decrease in WTT vegetables. In comparing the post-test and notebook data we found that in the two days between the intervention and post-test, many students changed their responses. This indicates flexibility in WTT over time, an encouraging finding that offers promise if a child is unwilling to try a food initially. Findings from this study would benefit by further research investigating the effects of a greater number of exposures to each food and varying presentation of the foods in such an intervention.
Visualizing heavy fermions emerging in a quantum critical Kondo lattice

In solids containing elements with f orbitals, the interaction between f-electron spins and those of itinerant electrons leads to the development of low-energy fermionic excitations with a heavy effective mass. These excitations are fundamental to the appearance of unconventional superconductivity and non-Fermi-liquid behaviour observed in actinide- and lanthanide-based compounds. Here we use spectroscopic mapping with the scanning tunnelling microscope to detect the emergence of heavy excitations with lowering of temperature in a prototypical family of cerium-based heavy-fermion compounds. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the tunnelling process to the composite nature of these heavy quasiparticles, which arises from quantum entanglement of itinerant conduction and f electrons. Scattering and interference of the composite quasiparticles is used to resolve their energy-momentum structure and to extract their mass enhancement, which develops with decreasing temperature. The lifetime of the emergent heavy quasiparticles reveals signatures of enhanced scattering and their spectral lineshape shows evidence of energy-temperature scaling. These findings demonstrate that proximity to a quantum critical point results in critical damping of the emergent heavy excitation of our Kondo lattice system.
Structural and functional relationships between Ca2+ puffs and mitochondria in Xenopus oocytes

Ca2+ uptake and release from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondrial Ca2+ stores play important physiological and pathological roles, and these processes are shaped by interactions that depend on the structural intimacy between these organelles. Here we investigate the morphological and functional relationships between mitochondria, ER, and the sites of intracellular Ca2+ release in Xenopus laevis oocytes by combining confocal imaging of local Ca2+ release events ("Ca2+ puffs") with mitochondrial localization visualized using vital dyes and subcellularly targeted fluorescent proteins. Mitochondria and ER are localized in cortical bands approximately 6-8 microm wide, with the mitochondria arranged as densely packed "islands" interconnected by discrete strands. The ER is concentrated more superficially than mitochondria, and the mean separation between Ca2+ puff sites and mitochondria is approximately 2.3 microm. However, a subpopulation of Ca2+ puff sites is intimately associated with mitochondria (approximately 28% within <600 nm), a greater number than expected if Ca2+ puff sites were randomly distributed. Ca2+ release sites close to mitochondria exhibit lower Ca2+ puff activity than Ca2+ puff sites in regions with lower mitochondrial density. Furthermore, Ca2+ puff sites in close association with mitochondria rarely serve as the sites for Ca2+ wave initiation. We conclude that mitochondria play important roles in regulating local ER excitability, Ca2+ wave initiation, and, thereby, spatial patterning of global Ca2+ signals.
A SiGe MMIC variable gain cascode amplifier

A silicon-germanium variable gain cascode amplifier has been developed to combine the functionality of an amplifier and an attenuator into one monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). The cascode amplifier, which was designed for a 7-11 GHz frequency range, achieved a gain of 12.5 dB, an input return loss of 7.5 dB, and an output return loss of 12.5 dB. The cascode amplifier exhibited 16 dB of gain control.
Performance Assessment PCR-Based Assays Targeting Bacteroidales Genetic Markers of Bovine Fecal Pollution

There are numerous PCR-based assays available to characterize bovine fecal pollution in ambient waters. The determination of which approaches are most suitable for field applications can be difficult because each assay targets a different gene, in many cases from different microorganisms, leading to variation in assay performance. We describe a performance evaluation of seven end-point PCR and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays reported to be associated with either ruminant or bovine feces. Each assay was tested against a reference collection of DNA extracts from 247 individual bovine fecal samples representing 11 different populations and 175 fecal DNA extracts from 24 different animal species. Bovine-associated genetic markers were broadly distributed among individual bovine samples ranging from 39 to 93%. Specificity levels of the assays spanned 47.4% to 100%. End-point PCR sensitivity also varied between assays and among different bovine populations. For qPCR assays, the abundance of each host-associated genetic marker was measured within each bovine population and compared to results of a qPCR assay targeting 16S rRNA gene sequences from Bacteroidales. Experiments indicate large discrepancies in the performance of bovine-associated assays across different bovine populations. Variability in assay performance between host populations suggests that the use of bovine microbial source-tracking applications will require a priori characterization at each watershed of interest.
A reformed problem of evil and the free will defense

Sometimes it happens that, although a given type of potentially lethal virus is successfully held in check by a particular drug or drugs, a new strain of the virus develops, attacks elsewhere in the organism, and is invulnerable to such, hitherto successful, treatment. In analogous fashion I introduce here a new strain of the logical problem of evil by presenting a reformed logical argument from evil.1 I direct the argument against orthodox Christian, as opposed to restricted, theism. My aim in doing so is to test whether a defense that is widely credited with success in defending restricted theism against logical arguments from evil is able to defend orthodox Christian theism against a reformed version of such arguments. I shall explain the terms 'restricted' and 'orthodox Christian' theism below. There are two different, albeit related, conceptions of a philosophical defense of theism against logical arguments from evil. The first, and weaker, of the two involves showing that logical arguments from evil fail to establish an inconsistency between theism and whatever type or token of evil is in question in a given argument, while the second, and stronger, conception involves showing that no inconsistency exists between theism and the evil in question. The evil that interests me in this paper is natural evil resulting from natural processes themselves, a class of evils that, on Alvin Plantinga's free will defense, would be described as possibly broadly moral evil due to Satan or his cohorts. The thrust of my argument here is that, if used to defend orthodox Christian theism against the reformed argument, Plantinga's free will defense would fail to do so, in both senses of 'defense'. As I do not get into discussion here of the success or failure in combatting the reformed argument from evil of defenses other than Plantinga's free will defense, I do not conclude from its failure that orthodox Christian theism is either undefended or indefensible against the reformed logical argument. From now on, for brevity's sake, I shall refer to the theistic defense being tested - Plantinga's formulation of the free will defense simply as FWD.
Urgent Subtotal Colectomy for Severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The purpose of this study was to assess the safety of subtotal colectomy and outcomes after this procedure in the modern era of immunosuppressive agents and primary pelvic pouch surgery. All patients undergoing subtotal colectomy with ileostomy for ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s colitis from July 1, 1990 to June 30, 2003 were identified from a prospective database. Only patients who were operated on while hospitalized for disease exacerbation were included in the analysis. Age at colectomy, preoperative days in the hospital, postoperative length of stay, and complications were recorded. The medical records were then reviewed for duration of disease, preoperative diagnosis, use of steroids and immunomodulators, parenteral nutrition, endoscopy findings, albumin level, postoperative diagnosis, and ultimate disposition. One hundred one patients underwent subtotal colectomy for inflammatory bowel disease during the study period. Seventy-four patients met all the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 35.9 (range, 18–86) years. Median duration of disease was 36 (0–240) months, but 28 patients had colitis for less than 1 year, whereas 10 patients had disease of greater than 10 years duration at the time of colectomy. Median preoperative hospital stay was 7 (range, 0–43) days and median postoperative length of stay was 6.5 (range, 4–37) days. Sixty-six patients underwent surgery for refractory exacerbation, 5 for free perforation, 2 for abscess, and 1 patient for hemorrhage. Twenty-seven patients (36.5 percent) had a change in diagnosis after surgery. Complications occurred in 17 patients (23 percent), including 8 cases of central venous catheter–associated thrombosis; 7 of these occurred in patients who had been hospitalized for more than a week before surgery. In the ulcerative colitis patients, 31 of 52 ultimately underwent ileal pouch–anal anastomosis, but 20 (39 percent) chose either completion proctectomy or no further surgery. Subtotal colectomy with ileostomy remains a safe and effective treatment for patients requiring urgent surgery for severe inflammatory bowel disease. Because of the substantial incidence of change in diagnosis and satisfaction in many patients with an ileostomy, subtotal colectomy with ileostomy may be preferable to primary ileal pouch–anal anastomosis, even when a pouch is considered safe.
Distributed Resource Management in Multihop Cognitive Radio Networks for Delay-Sensitive Transmission

In this paper, we investigate the problem of multiuser resource management in multihop cognitive radio networks for delay-sensitive applications. Since tolerable delay does not allow propagating global information back and forth throughout the multihop network to a centralized decision maker, the source nodes and relays need to adapt their actions (transmission frequency channel and route selections) in a distributed manner, based on local network information. We propose a distributed resource-management algorithm that allows network nodes to exchange information and that explicitly considers the delays and cost of exchanging the network information over multihop cognitive radio networks. In this paper, the term ldquocognitiverdquo refers to both the capability of the network nodes to achieve large spectral efficiencies by dynamically exploiting available frequency channels and their ability to learn the ldquoenvironmentrdquo (the actions of interfering nodes) based on the designed information exchange. Note that the node competition is due to the mutual interference of neighboring nodes using the same frequency channel. Based on this, we adopt a multiagent-learning approach, i.e., adaptive fictitious play, which uses the available interference information. We also discuss the tradeoff between the cost of the required information exchange and the learning efficiency. The results show that our distributed resource-management approach improves the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of multiple video streams by more than 3 dB, as opposed to the state-of-the-art dynamic frequency channel/route selection approaches without learning capability, when the network resources are limited.
Treatment strategies for radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer:

Until recently, no truly effective treatment options have existed for patients with radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), a serious disease with poor prognosis. In November 2013, the targeted multikinase inhibitor, sorafenib, was approved for use in these patients based on substantially improved progression-free survival compared with placebo. A number of other targeted agents, including lenvatinib, are being investigated in phase II and phase III trials. With the advent of these new treatment options, practitioners are faced with making important decisions in determining which patients are candidates for systemic treatment and the optimal timing for treatment initiation. Since patients may remain asymptomatic for a protracted period of time, tumor size and growth rate are the primary considerations for making these choices. Proactive management of side effects is also critical in optimizing the effectiveness of treatment. Here we review targeted systemic agents that are either in use or are under investigation for RAI-refractory DTC and provide recommendations on the rationale for initiating systemic treatment and on managing adverse events. Four illustrative case studies are provided.
Dynamical Simulations Of Josephson Junctions Using Schrödingers Equation With Dissipation

We use a rotational canonical coordinate to describe the physics of small Josephson tunnel junctions. This formulation is combined with a phenomenological damping term to allow dynamical simulations of quantum limited junctions. Our model incorporates the Coulomb blockade as well as the Josephson effects, and both single electron and pair tunneling events are accounted for. The simulations show the possible existence of chaotic dynamics due to competition between tunneling of single particles and pairs.
Green Lubricants: Role of Additive Size

The depletion of the world’s crude oil reserve, increased oil prices, and the demand to protect the environment against pollution exerted by hydraulic and gear oils have brought about renewed interest in the development and use of green lubricants. In this light, many automotive and manufacturing industries are actively seeking out new green lubricants. Although, many green lubricants have exhibited excellent properties, more improvement in their friction and wear performance are still needed for them to become mainstream. Consequently, environmental friendly additive materials are being included in green lubricant formulations to improve their friction and wear properties. In this study, a review of the tribological behavior of the green lubricants presently available has been performed. Overall, the review indicates that green lubricants can significantly outperform conventional lubricants with respect to frictional and wear performance. In addition, the review shows that the size and composition of the lubricant additives play an important role in determining a green lubricant’s overall performance.
Ludwig Landgrebe and the Significance of Marginal Consciousness

This chapter discusses Landgrebe’s work as Husserl’s assistant particularly on Ideen II, and then considers the body as nexus of nature and spirit on one level and the regions of material nature and human world respectively on a macrocosmic level. It traces the development of Husserl’s thought that Landgrebe would witness during his time in Freiburg and the course this will take in his career, and closes with a description of Aron Gurwitsch’s phenomenological analysis of marginal consciousness and its role in perception in general.
Abstract IA11: Understanding drug responses and resistance mechanisms using imaging in live mice

It is well appreciated that factors intrinsic to the cancer cells, such as specific mutations, regulate response to chemotherapy. However, there is limited knowledge on the dynamics of cancer cell death in response to therapy in the naturally developing tumor microenvironment. Using intravital microscopy (microscopy in live mice) of tumors, we show that factors within the microenvironment, extrinsic to the cancer cells, support the development of chemoresistance by regulating drug distribution and the inflammatory response. Specifically, intravital microscopy of chemotherapy-treated mouse mammary carcinomas allowed us to follow drug distribution, cell death, and tumor-stroma interactions. We observed associations between vascular leakage and response to the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, including improved response in matrix metalloproteinase-9 null mice that had increased vascular leakage. Furthermore, we observed CCR2-dependent infiltration of myeloid cells after treatment and that Ccr2 null host mice responded better to treatment with doxorubicin or cisplatin. These data show that the microenvironment contributes critically to drug response via regulation of vascular permeability and innate immune cell infiltration. These results have clinical implications, as myeloid cell infiltration is increased in human breast tumors after chemotherapy and the cellular composition of the immune infiltrate is a strong predictor of overall survival. Our data further suggest that the response to classical chemotherapeutic drugs can be improved by changing the tumor microenvironment with agents that modify matrix metalloproteinase activity and chemokine signaling. Thus, intravital imaging can be used to gain insights into drug responses in situ. Citation Format: Mikala Egeblad, Elizabeth Nakasone, Hanne Askautrud, Robert Wysocki, Miriam Fein, Tim Kees, Juwon Park, Jae-Hyun Park. Understanding drug responses and resistance mechanisms using imaging in live mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr IA11.
IL-1β and Inflammasome Activity Link Inflammation to Abnormal Fetal Airway Development

Inflammation in the developing preterm lung leads to disrupted airway morphogenesis and chronic lung disease in human neonates. However, the molecular mechanisms linking inflammation and the pathways controlling airway morphogenesis remain unclear. In this article, we show that IL-1β released by activated fetal lung macrophages is the key inflammatory mediator that disrupts airway morphogenesis. In mouse lung explants, blocking IL-1β expression, posttranslational processing, and signaling protected the formation of new airways from the inhibitory effects of Escherichia coli LPS. Consistent with a critical role for IL-1β, mice expressing a gain-of-function Nlrp3 allele and subsequent overactive inflammasome activity displayed abnormal saccular-stage lung morphogenesis and died soon after birth. Although the early-stage fetal lung appeared capable of mounting an NF-κB–mediated immune response, airway formation became more sensitive to inflammation later in development. This period of susceptibility coincided with higher expression of multiple inflammasome components that could increase the ability to release bioactive IL-1β. Macrophages from Nlrp3 gain-of-function mice also expressed higher levels of more mature cell surface markers, additionally linking inflammasome activation with macrophage maturation. These data identify developmental expression of the inflammasome and IL-1β release by fetal lung macrophages as key mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for neonatal lung disease.