cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resonant Raman excitation profiles of individually dispersed single walled carbon nanotubes in solution

Raman excitation profiles were generated between 695 and 985 nm for individual carbon nanotubes dispersed in aqueous solution. We confirmed that previously published spectral assignments for semi-conducting and metallic carbon nanotubes are able to predict the location and resonant maxima of radial breathing mode features in the Raman spectrum. Three large diameter features were observed within the excitation space over the scan range and accurately predicted as metallic species. There was significant agreement between predicted and observed Raman modes. However, one discrepancy is noted with the (6,4) nanotubes. This species is not observed when excited at or near its absorption transition. We find that the Raman cross-sections in general, assuming a diameter-based distribution of nanotubes, are disproportionately smaller for mod(n-m,3)=1 semi-conducting nanotubes than their counterparts by at least an order of magnitude. These results have important implications for the use of Raman spectroscopy to effectively characterize the chirality distribution of carbon nanotube samples.
Information‐seeking behavior for recreational activities and its implications for libraries

Purpose – Seeks to prove that studies conducted over the past several decades repeatedly indicate that information‐seeking behavior by members of the general public involves consultation of a variety of potential information sources, including libraries.Design/methodology/approach – This article focuses on information seeking with regard to recreation activities in wilderness areas including, but not limited to, hiking.Findings – The study results indicate that respondents do turn to the internet for some of their information needs. Web sites providing information on three hiking areas were also analyzed to determine their accuracy and access to information. The study concludes that information‐seeking behavior on the internet represents investigation of sources that existed in the pre‐internet era but that access has altered from earlier mechanisms, such as paper mail, telephone, or on‐site visits, to electronic investigation.Originality/value – Libraries continue to represent a potential information sou...
PPPS-2013: Optimum antenna design for microplasma generation

In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in microplasma properties and applications. Microplasmas have been considered for use in plasma thrusters,1 displays, and sensors. Microplasmas are small scale plasmas which are typically generated with radio frequency (RF) power sources. The small scale of the microplasma requires equally small antennas. The sizing difference can cause difficulties in proper impedance matching for power deposition from the radio. To address this issue, different radio frequency antenna designs are investigated to generate microplasma within a glass capillary tube at the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Johnson Research Center. The designs vary in material and shape to determine the best configuration. The experiment setup uses a multi-frequency radio, high power amplifier, and T style matching network. The test antenna design will be attached to the output and will provide the radio signal to the gas inside the glass tube. Example design variations include material, spacing, and shape.
Protease inhibitors suppress radiation-induced malignant transformation in vitro.

LITTLE is known about the mechanisms of carcinogenesis. The fact that most carcinogens are mutagenic has led to speculation that the primary step in cancer induction may be mutational1,2; there is evidence from both in vivo2 and in vitro3 studies that a strong correlation exists between the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of an agent. Mutagenic and carcinogenic agents, both physical and chemical, also produce similar kinds of DNA damage and repair4. Radiation-induced mutagenesis in some bacterial cells requires an error-prone DNA repair system5,6, and there is now some evidence that error-prone DNA repair may be involved in the malignant transformation of cells by radiation7,8. Protease inhibitors have been shown to suppress specifically both error-prone repair and mutagenesis in bacterial cells9,10, as well as to inhibit carcinogenesis in vivo11,12. We report here that the protease inhibitors antipain and leupeptin will suppress radiation-induced transformation in vitro as well as inhibit two-stage transformation in vitro using radiation and the promoting agent, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA).
Significance of transovarial infections of Amblyospora sp. (Microspora: Thelohaniidae) in relation to parasite maintenance in the mosquito Culex salinarius

Abstract Adult females of Culex salinarius, transovarially infected with the microsporidium Amblyospora sp., showed no significant differences in overall fecundity, physiological longevity, and preoviposition periods when compared to healthy adults under laboratory conditions. Development times and survival rates for congenitally infected young to reproductive age were also indistinguishable from those of healthy controls. A significant reduction of 52% in egg hatch was observed for infected eggs when compared to healthy eggs. Prevalence rates of infection for progeny produced by infected females declined with each successive gonotrophic cycle and averaged 90%. Transovarial transmission is not sufficient for the maintenance of the microsporidium in a population of mosquitoes. An alternate host is suggested as a mechanism whereby the microsporidium can reenter a healthy mosquito population.
INDOLO(1,7-AB)(1)BENZAZEPINE, A NEW 18 Π-ELECTRON HETEROCYCLE

The synthesis of indolo[1,7-ab][1]benzazepine was accomplished by cyclization of 5H-dibenz[b,f]azepine-5-acetaldehyde.
The effects of perceived market and learning orientation on assessed organizational capabilities

Abstract This study extends prior research by exploring the effects of managerial representations of market and learning orientation on perceived industrial firm capabilities. Cognitions that managers use to make sense of their environment impact competitive strategy decisions. Extant research has found market and learning orientation concepts to be empirically distinct and to have independent and synergistic effects on organizational performance. The present study generally supports hypotheses relating to independent effects of market and learning orientation viewpoints on perceptions of specific capability domains. Findings hold implications for managing the development of organizational capability portfolios as well as for future research aimed at understanding cognitions related to competitive advantage dynamics.
Taxonomic Review of Classical and Current Literature on the Perennial American Family Forest Problem

One of the fundamental issues in American forest policy has been the small forest ownership problem. Early in the twentieth century, it was called the farm forestry problem, later, the nonindustrial private forest problem, and today, the family forest problem. Family forest owners are thought to manage their lands in a suboptimal manner resulting in low forest productivity relative to other ownership groups. This can lead to future timber supply problems. The exact nature of the problem, especially its social and economic basis, was a common subject of early forestry research studies. This article includes many of the major nonindustrial private forest or family forest studies, from early to current, and classifies them both by themes used by other authors and categories that relate to major research areas in the current literature. A major focus of this literature deals with promoting management on family forest holdings and possible land management incentives and disincentives. Natural trends in family forest ownership, like parcelization, also impact upon forest management opportunities. By developing a taxonomy that classifies these studies by research objective, methodology, owner motivation, and problem definition, this article serves to organize the family forest literature in a manner that provides a temporal framework for better understanding the historical motivation for and development of family forest research in the United States.
Finding Informative Genes from Multiple Microarray Experiments: A Graph-based Consensus Maximization Model

With the rapid advancement of biology technology, many micro array experiments are conducted towards the same problem of finding informative genes. Therefore, it is important to find a set of informative genes integrating multiple micro array experiments that achieves maximal consensus. Most previous researches formulated this problem as a rank aggregation problem. In this paper, we propose a novel Graph-based Consensus Maximization (GCM) model to estimate the conditional probability of each gene being informative, then the genes are ranked by this probability. The estimation of the probabilities is formulated as an optimization problem on a bipartite graph, where the criterion function favors the smoothness of the prediction over the graph and penalizes deviations from the initial input ranked lists from micro array experiments. We solve this problem through iterative propagation of probability estimates among neighboring nodes. In addition, when certain genes have already been identified to be informative, it has never been explored in the literature how to take advantage of such information to improve the consensus result. Our proposed GCM model can be naturally extended to incorporate such information, thus increasing the quality of the predicted result. In the experimental evaluation, we conducted experiments on the five prostate cancer micro array studies. The results showed that our model outperformed other baseline methods in finding informative genes. Furthermore, by adding only one piece of information that some gene is informative, our model yielded a significantly better result. The experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed GCM model is effective and superior in finding informative genes from multiple micro array experiments.
Phosphorylation of the human estrogen receptor on tyrosine 537 in vivo and by src family tyrosine kinases in vitro.

Its reactivity to the antiphosphotyrosine 4G10 monoclonal antibody by Western blot analysis demonstrated that the human estrogen receptor (hER) from human MCF-7 cells and the recombinant hER expressed in Sf9 insect cells were phosphorylated on tyrosine(s). Reverse phase-HPLC separation of a tryptic digest of the 32P-labeled purified hER from Sf9 and MCF-7 cells followed by amino acid and radiolabel sequencing revealed that tyrosine-537 was phosphorylated. The phosphorylation on tyrosine-537 was independent of estradiol treatment of MCF-7 cells, indicating that tyrosine-537 is a basal phosphorylation site. Two src family tyrosine kinases, p60c-src and p56lck, phosphorylated the purified recombinant hER on tyrosine-537 in vitro. In addition, two tyrosine phosphatases, protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B and src homology-2 protein tyrosine phosphatase-1, dephosphorylated phosphotyrosine-537 of the hER in vitro. These data suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of the hER is regulated by potentially oncogenic tyro...
Femtosecond direct space-to-time pulse with MEMS micromirror arrays

Femtosecond direct space-to-time (DST) pulse shaping is demonstrated using a MEMS micromirror array. A 100 fs pulse is reshaped into an arbitrary optical waveform of about 3 ps duration. The micromirror array is capable of synthesizing arbitrary waveforms of up to 7 ps with 16.7 fs resolution.
An analysis of optimal link bombs

We analyze the phenomenon of collusion for the purpose of boosting the pagerank of a node in an interlinked environment. We investigate the optimal attack pattern for a group of nodes (attackers) attempting to improve the ranking of a specific node (the victim). We consider attacks where the attackers can only manipulate their own outgoing links. We show that the optimal attacks in this scenario are uncoordinated, i.e. the attackers link directly to the victim and no one else; nodes do not link to each other. We also discuss optimal attack patterns for a group that wants to hide itself by not pointing directly to the victim. In these disguised attacks, the attackers link to nodes l hops away from the victim. We show that an optimal disguised attack exists and how it can be computed. The optimal disguised attack also allows us to find optimal link farm configurations. A link farm can be considered as a special case of our approach: the target page of the link farm is the victim and the other nodes in the link farm are the attackers for the purpose of improving the rank of the victim. The target page can however control its own outgoing links for the purpose of improving its own rank, which can be modeled as an optimal disguised attack of 1-hop on itself. Our results are unique in the literature as we show optimality not only in the pagerank score, but also in the rank based on the pagerank score. We further validate our results with experiments on a variety of random graph models.
Frequent, Moderate-Dose Cyclophosphamide Administration Improves the Efficacy of Cytochrome P-450/Cytochrome P-450 Reductase-based Cancer Gene Therapy

Transduction of tumor cells with a cyclophosphamide (CPA)-activating cytochrome P-450 (P450) gene provides the capacity for localized prodrug activation and greatly sensitizes solid tumors to CPA treatment in vivo. The therapeutic impact of this P450-based cancer gene therapy strategy can be substantially enhanced by cotransduction of P450 reductase, a rate-limiting component of P450-dependent intratumoral CPA activation. The present study examined the possibility of further improving P450/ P450 reductase-based gene therapy by using a novel schedule of CPA administration, involving repeated CPA injection every 6 days and previously shown to have an antiangiogenic component. 9L gliosarcoma cells transduced with the CPA-activating enzyme couple P450 2B6/P450 reductase and grown s.c. in immunodeficient severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice were repeatedly challenged with 140 mg/kg CPA every 6 days. Full tumor regression leading to eradication of six of eight tumors was observed when the tumor size at the time of initial drug treatment was ;400 mm 3 (;1.5% of body weight). Little or no overt toxicity of the repeated CPA treatment regimen was observed. The same CPA schedule was much less effective in inducing regression of 9L tumors that were not transduced with P450/P450 reductase. Repeated CPA treatment of mice bearing large, late-stage P450/P450 reductase-transduced tumors (; 9‐ 16% of body weight) resulted in major (>95%) regression in 15 of 16 tumors, with tumor eradication observed in 2 cases. Although CPA resistance was found to emerge in the population of P450/P450 reductasetransduced tumors, this resistance primarily involved a loss of expression of the transduced P450 and/or P450 reductase gene, rather than development of intrinsic cellular resistance to the activated form of CPA. These findings demonstrate that repeated CPA treatment on a 6 day schedule can be highly effective when combined with P450/P450 reductase gene therapy and suggest that repeated transduction of tumors with prodrugactivation genes may be necessary to achieve tumor eradication and a sustained therapeutic response.
Investigation of Surfactant Conformation and Order at the Liquid−Liquid Interface by Total Internal Reflection Sum-Frequency Vibrational Spectroscopy

The conformational order of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) adsorbed at the D2O-CCl4 interface has been examined by total internal reflection sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy. A change in conformation of the alkyl chain with increased surface coverage at the liquid−liquid interface is observed. A series of aqueous surfactant concentrations have been examined in order to determine the effect of surface coverage on the conformation of the alkyl chains at the interface. Polarization studies indicate that, for the concentration range examined, the symmetry axis of the terminal methyl group on the alkyl chain is oriented primarily along the surface normal. Identification of spectral features in the C−H region of the infrared region is facilitated by examination of the sum-frequency spectrum from an analogous deuterated compound.
Symmetry-induced magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin planar striped Co films with and without Cu decoration

First-principles local density full potential linearized augmented plane wave method and state-tracking and torque approaches are employed for the theoretical determination of in-plane and off-plane magnetic anisotropy for both free standing planar Co stripes and the same film put on a Cu (100) substrate, with and without nonmagnetic Cu decoration. The easy magnetic axis is found to lie parallel to the stripes for clean Co stripes; the decoration with nonmagnetic Cu is found to switch the easy axis from parallel to perpendicular to the stripes. The magnetic anisotropy coefficients are determined and the magnetic behavior is related to, and explained in terms of, their electronic structures and the fundamental bonding properties of the constituent atoms.
Marital Effects on Occupational Attainment

IN this article we propose and estimate a status attainment model for married-working couples using data from Lenawee County, Michigan. Our findings indicate that when both spouses pursue career paths, the attainment of each is moderated by the efforts of the other to pursue his or her own career. As is well known, women's career chances are generally compromised in favor of the career advancements of their husbands. However, our data indicate that husbands are also not immune from the effects of the career pursuits of their wives. Both husbands and wives tend to accommodate each other by restricting their own mobility.
In Vitro Stability of Free and Glucuronidated Cannabinoids in Blood and Plasma Following Controlled Smoked Cannabis

Background: Blood and plasma cannabinoid stability is important for test interpretation and is best studied in authentic rather than fortified samples. Methods: Low and high blood and plasma pools were created for each of 10 participants after they smoked a cannabis cigarette. The stabilities of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), THC-glucuronide, and THCCOOH-glucuronide were determined after 1 week at room temperature; 1, 2, 4, 12, and 26 (2) [mean (SD)] weeks at 4 °C; and 1, 2, 4, 12, 26 (2), and 52 (4) weeks at −20 °C. Stability was assessed by Friedman test. Results: Numbers of THC-glucuronide and CBD-positive blood samples were insufficient to assess stability. In blood, 11-OH-THC and CBN were stable for 1 week at room temperature, whereas THC and THCCOOH-glucuronide decreased and THCCOOH increased. In blood, THC, THCCOOH-glucuronide, THCCOOH, 11-OH-THC, and CBN were stable for 12, 4, 4, 12, and 26 weeks, respectively, at 4 °C and 12, 12, 26, 26, and 52 weeks at −20 °C. In plasma, THC-glucuronide, THC, CBN, and CBD were stable for 1 week at room temperature, whereas THCCOOH-glucuronide and 11-OH-THC decreased and THCCOOH increased. In plasma, THC-glucuronide, THC, THCCOOH-glucuronide, THCCOOH, 11-OH-THC, CBN, and CBD were stable for 26, 26, 2, 2, 26, 12, and 26 weeks, respectively, at 4 °C and 52, 52, 26, 26, 52, 52, and 52 weeks, respectively, at −20 °C. Conclusions: Blood and plasma samples should be stored at −20 °C for no more than 3 and 6 months, respectively, to assure accurate cannabinoid quantitative results.
THE F WORD: IS FEMINISM INCOMPATIBLE WITH BEAUTY AND ROMANCE?

Three studies examined the predictive utility of heterosexual relationship concerns vis-a-vis support for feminism. Study 1 showed that beauty is perceived to be at odds with feminism, for both genders. The stereotype that feminists are unattractive was robust, but fully accounted for by romance-related attributions. Moreover, more attractive female participants (using self-ratings) showed decreased feminist orientations, compared with less attractive counterparts. Study 2 compared romantic conflict with the lesbian feminist stereotype and found more support for romantic conflict as a negative predictor of support for feminism and women's civil rights. Study 3 showed that beliefs about an incompatibility between feminism and sexual harmony negatively predicted support for feminism and women's civil rights. In concert, the findings indicate that a marriage between research on romantic relationships and the factors underlying sexism is overdue for understanding gender inequities.
The changing nature of writing: prose or code in the classroom

Abstract With the increased use of powerful word-processing programs and with the ease of writing Web pages with hypertext markup language (HTML) and “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editors, students want to experiment with fonts, colors, images, and sounds. Most of the information students receive outside of the classroom is a multimedia experience (many are from the so-called MTV Generation). Asking them to use print solely for expression goes against how most communication takes place in the world outside academia. Not allowing students to experiment with these new forms of writing hampers their ability to learn effective communication skills. Our discussion, then, focuses on how instructors can effectively teach and evaluate this “new” writing style. Focusing on teaching HTML scripting and/or Web-page writing, as well as evaluating Web pages according to basic criteria, this discussion maps a pedagogy for hypertext writing. When writing and evaluating in this medium, issues such as audience and purpose, design, and function all remain important. New issues, however, come to the forefront: contextualized hyperlinks, navigability, color schemes, and image, audio, and video integration become a part of the writing task as well. Balancing between effective presentation and sensory overload becomes a daunting task for many students, as well as instructors.
Low-temperature activation of hematite nanowires for photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Hematite (α-Fe2 O3 ) nanostructures have been extensively studied as photoanode materials for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. However, the photoactivity of pristine hematite nanostructures is fairly low and typically requires thermal activation at temperature of 650 °C or above. Here, we report a new method for enhancing the photocurrent of hematite nanowires at a substantially lower temperature of 350 °C by means of a two-step annealing process (activation process). Hydrothermally grown β-FeOOH nanowires were first annealed in a pure N2 environment at 350 °C to form magnetite, followed by partial oxidation in air to convert magnetite to hematite. During this process, Fe(2+) sites (oxygen vacancies) were intentionally created to increase the donor density and therefore the electrical conductivity of hematite. The oxygen-deficient hematite nanowire photoanode created at low temperature (350 °C) show considerably enhanced photoactivity compared to pristine hematite sample that prepared by thermal annealing of β-FeOOH nanowires at 550 °C in air. Moreover, this low-temperature annealing method can be coupled with an element doping method to further increase the photoactivity of hematite nanowire. Sn-doped hematite nanowires prepared by the same low-temperature annealing method show at least three fold enhanced photocurrent compared to the undoped sample. Significantly, the highest temperature in the entire annealing process was 350 °C, which is the lowest activation temperature ever reported for hematite nanowire photoanodes.
Synthesis and initial PET imaging of new potential dopamine D3 receptor radioligands (E)-4,3,2-[11C]methoxy-N-4-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl-cinnamoylamides

Abstract D 3 receptor radioligands ( E )-4,3,2-[ 11 C]methoxy- N -4-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl-cinnamoylamides (4-[ 11 C]MMC, [ 11 C] 1a ; 3-[ 11 C]MMC, [ 11 C] 1b ; and 2-[ 11 C]MMC, [ 11 C] 1c ) were synthesized for evaluation as novel potential positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents for brain D 3 receptors. The new tracers 4,3,2-[ 11 C]MMCs were prepared by O -[ 11 C]methylation of corresponding precursors ( E )-4,3,2-hydroxy- N -4-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl-cinnamoylamides (4,3,2-HMCs) using [ 11 C]methyl triflate and isolated by the solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification procedure with 40–65% radiochemical yields, decay corrected to end of bombardment (EOB), and a synthesis time of 15–20 min. The PET dynamic studies of the tracers [ 11 C] 1a – c in rats were performed using an animal PET scanner, IndyPET-II, developed in our laboratory. The results show that the brain uptake sequence was 4-[ 11 C]MMC > 3-[ 11 C]MMC > 2-[ 11 C]MMC, which is consistent with their in vitro biological properties. The initial PET blocking studies of the tracers 4,3,2-[ 11 C]MMCs with corresponding pretreatment drugs ( E )-4,3,2-methoxy- N -4-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butyl-cinnamoylamides (4,3,2-MMCs, 1a – c ) had no effect on 4,3,2-[ 11 C]MMCs-PET rat brain imaging. These results suggest that the localization of 4,3,2-[ 11 C]MMCs in rat brain is mediated by nonspecific processes, and the visualization of 4,3,2-[ 11 C]MMCs-PET in rat brain is related to nonspecific binding.
Longevity and dynamics of fatally and nonfatally topped Douglas-fir in the Coast Range of Oregon

Worldwide, snags are an important, but often lacking, component of forest ecosystems. We revisited artificially topped Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees 16–18 years after tre...
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate. From folklore to facts

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is a simple, inexpensive laboratory test that clinicians have used for decision-making for over 50 years. Despite this fact, many criticize the test because of its lack of specificity and because the concept of erythrocyte sedimentation rate as a "sickness index" seems scientifically unsound. This review discusses the physical and chemical properties that govern red blood cell sedimentation, how sedimentation is measured, and the way in which the erythrocyte sedimentation rate has previously been used to assist in the diagnosis of infectious, inflammatory, or neoplastic disease. The clinical significance, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of a low or elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate are also re-evaluated.
Laser wakefield accelerators: status and future

Summary form only given, as follows. Laser wakefield accelerators rely on the excitation of large amplitude electrostatic waves by an intense laser propagating through a plasma. These electrostatic plasma waves are characterized by field strengths that range in the 100 GV/m and that propagate with a phase velocity near the speed of light. Such large fields make it possible to accelerate electrons to relativistic energies in mm to cm scale lengths and hence the development of compact high energy accelerators that are several orders of magnitude shorter than conventional accelerators. Current designs for such a device consist of a source of electrons (injector), an accelerating structure (plasma channel)and a short-pulse multi-terawatt laser system as the power source. The source of electrons can either be from an external injector or from the self-trapping of background plasma electrons. Methods for controlled injection of self-trapped electrons have been developed theoretically and are being pursued experimentally. The accelerating structure must be able to guide the laser beam and overcome its natural diffraction and support the large plasma wakes. Plasma channels have been produced in the lab and used to guide high intensity laser pulses (> IO1* W/cm2) over distances on the order of tens of Rayleigh lengths. Laser-plasma accelerated electrons in excess of 100 MeV have been observed. The fundamentals of laser wakefield excitation and the current experimental progress will be discussed including progress on developing a 1 -GeV laser driven accelerator. Applications such as production of radioisotopes, intense coherent infrared radiation and femtosecond x-ray pulses will be covered.
Response to Letter Regarding Article, “Characteristics of Children Hospitalized With Infective Endocarditis”

Drs Bachhuber and Lott are correct that we did not use weights in our article in Circulation .1 We did not seek to estimate the national prevalence of endocarditis. Instead, our goal …
Combinations of High and Low Frequency Data in Macroeconometric Models

Econometricians who try to follow and project the overall economy as closely as possible (“Economy Watchers”) frequently base their main forecasts on macroeconometric models, supplemented by the frequent flow — almost daily — of indicative information. As soon as reports are prepared about some specific area of economic activity, they are released to the public. At the extreme, we have instantaneous market reports, originating with the start of the day at the international date line and moving with the sun to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sidney/Melbourne, Singapore, Frankfurt/Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles/San Francisco. These data cover both commodity and financial market reports.
Lactational responses of dairy cows fed unsaturated dietary fat and receiving bovine somatotropin.

Abstract Feeding unsaturated dietary fat to lactating dairy cows receiving bST may effectively alter the fatty acid composition of milk fat. This was tested using 16 Holstein cows assigned to one of four treatments during midlactation. Treatments were control, control diet with 15.5 mg of bST/d per cow, dietary fat from sunflower seeds and bST, or dietary fat from safflower seeds and bST. Diets were formulated to contain 19% CP and contained 25% corn silage, 25% alfalfa hay, and 50% concentrate mix on a DM basis. Milk yield was not significantly higher when bST was administered and increased with added fat diets (29.5, 32.7,40.0, and 34.1 kg/d for the control, control with bST, d o w e r seed with bST, and safflower seed with bST treatments, respectively). Percentage of milk fat was similar for all treatments. Concentrations of long-chain and unsaturated fatty acids in milk were increased slightly by bST and substantially with added fat. Milk protein percentages were not influenced by bST but were reduced by approximately .2 unit with added fat. Added unsaturated dietary fat coupled with bST increased milk yield and produced a greater concentration of unsaturated fatty acids in milk.
Are exotic herbivores better competitors? A meta-analysis

Competition plays an important role in structuring the community dynamics of phytophagous insects. As the number and impact of biological invasions increase, it has become increasingly important to determine whether competitive differences exist between native and exotic insects. We conducted a meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that native/ exotic status affects the outcome of herbivore competition. Specifically, we used data from 160 published studies to assess plant-mediated competition in phytophagous insects. For each pair of competing herbivores, we determined the native range and coevolutionary history of each herbivore and host plant. Plant-mediated competition occurred frequently, but neither native nor exotic insects were consistently better competitors. Spatial separation reduced competition in native insects but showed little effect on exotics. Temporal separation negatively impacted native insects but did not affect competition in exotics. Insects that coevolved with their host plant were more affected by interspecific competition than herbivores that lacked a coevolutionary history. Insects that have not coevolved with their host plant may be at a competitive advantage if they overcome plant defenses. As native/exotic status does not consistently predict outcomes of competitive interactions, plant-insect coevolutionary history should be considered in studies of competition.
Incidence and etiology of late preterm admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit and its associated respiratory morbidities when compared to term infants.

Objective To determine etiology of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and acute morbidities in late preterm (LPT) neonates. Methods Neonates admitted at New York University Langone Medical Center's NICU were grouped as follows: period 1: all LPT neonates with gestational age between 34 0 / 7 and 36 6 / 7 weeks and born between January 2006 and June 2007; period 2: all term neonates born between January 2007 and June 2008. Neonatal and maternal data were collected from both the groups and compared. Results Thirty-three percent of LPT births were admitted to the NICU, compared with 7% of term births ( p p p p Conclusions LPT neonates are at increased risk for hypothermia, hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and respiratory morbidity requiring increased respiratory support when compared with term neonates.
Probes and tags to study biomolecular function : for proteins, RNA, and membranes

Fluorescent Sterols to Study Cholesterol Trafficking in Living Cells Lipid Binding Proteins to Study Localization of Phosphoinositides The Use of Lipid-Binding Toxins to Study Distribution and Dynamics of Sphingolipids and Cholesterol FlAsH Protein Labeling AGT/SNAP-tag: A Versatile Tag for Covalent Protein Labeling In Vivo Protein Labelling with Trimthoprim and Dihydrofolate Reductase Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase Catalyzed Protein Labeling and Molecular Imaging Bioorthogonal Chemical Transformations in Proteins by an Expanded Genetic Code Using the Bacteriophage MS2 Coat Protein-RNA Binding Interaction to Visualise RNA in Living Cells
Calorimeters With Charge-Collection Readout

This short review will be concerned with questions which arise in the design and construction of calorimeters whose common feature is that the signal is derived by drifting charge, deposited in a sensitive medium by showers induced by the interaction of photons, electrons or hadrons, under the influence of an electric field. This broad definition encompasses a variety of distinct technologies: sampling calorimeters in which the sensitive medium is liquid argon (SLD, D0, E706 [1], H1, HELIOS), a room-temperature liquid (UA1), high-resistivity silicon (H1, SLD) and fully-absorbing devices such as the KEDR electromagnetic calorimeter, which uses liquid krypton. Using examples drawn from the work of these groups, I will deal with several general issues affecting the design of charge-collecting calorimeters.
Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Primary Urethral Cancer

Objective To identify prognostic and treatment factors for primary urethral cancer using a nationwide database. Materials and Methods The National Cancer Database was queried for all cases of primary urethral cancer from 2004 to 2013. Patients with other cancer diagnoses, metastasis, or diagnosis on autopsy were excluded. Proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent predictors of overall survival in patients with primary urethral cancer. Because we hypothesized that predictors may covary by sex, we also performed regression analysis stratified by sex. Results We identified 1268 men and 869 women with primary urethral cancer. Women tended to have more advanced tumors and adenocarcinoma histology. Median survival for the entire cohort was 49 months (43-55), with 5- and 10-year survival rates of 46% and 31%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, age, race, stage, grade, and Charlson comorbidity index were independent predictors of overall survival. Histology was not a predictor of overall survival in the combined model; however, adenocarcinoma in women increased hazards of death, whereas it decreased hazards of death in men when compared with squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion Men and women with primary urethral cancer had significant differences in histology, grade, and nodal status. In addition to several expected disease-related factors, black race was associated with increased mortality for patients with primary urethral cancer.
Insect Pest Models and Insecticide Application

Advancements in computing technology have provided an opportunity for ecological insect modeling to progress from simple analytical and mathematical approaches to new modeling methodologies emphasizing greater complexity and detail. Creating valid, complex numerical insect models to address specific problems has proved to be a valuable step in the advancement of new theory. An important example of this is the recent development of a suite of models to simulate the dynamics of pest adaptation to crop rotation and transgenic corn. Future improvements in computing technology will continue to facilitate the application of complex numerical insect models incorporating extensive ecological and biophysical knowledge. The long-term security of global food supply in part depends on scientists providing decision support tools such as insect models that help ensure the continuation of efficient (and sustainable) agricultural production. In this article, the role of models in ecological- and insecticide-based pest control strategies are first discussed, followed by a description of the major types of insect/pest models available. Current insect modeling approaches (e.g., pest–crop interactions, pesticide effectiveness, pest adaptation to crop rotation and transgenic corn) are then presented, followed by future research needs for insect models.
Outcome after severe head injury: An analysis of prediction based upon comparison of neural network versus logistic regression analysis

AbstractMore reliable prediction of outcome would be helpful for clinicians who treat severely head-injured patients. To determine if neural network modeling would improve outcome prediction compared with standard logistic regression analysis and to determine if data available 24 h after severe head injury allows better prediction than data obtained within 6 h, we tested the ability of both techniques at these two times to predict outcome (dead versus alive) at 6 months. One thousand sixty-six consecutive patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 8 or less during the first 24 h after injury were randomly divided into two groups. Data from the first group (n = 799) were used to develop the models; data from the second group (n = 267) were used to test the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the models by comparing predicted and actual outcomes. The 6-month mortality rate was 63.5%. Our findings confirm the importance of age, Glasgow Coma Scale scores, and hypotension in predicting outcome. Using dat...
Electrokinetic device design and constraints for use in high conductance solutions

The quest for new cell-free DNA and exosome biomarker-based molecular diagnostics require fast and efficient sample preparation techniques. Conventional methods for isolating these biomarkers from blood are both time-consuming and laborious. New electrokinetic microarray devices using dielectrophoresis (DEP) to isolate cell-free DNA and exosome biomarkers have now greatly improved the sample preparation process. Nevertheless, these devices still have some limitations when used with high conductance biological fluids, e.g. blood, plasma, and serum. This study demonstrates that electrochemical damage may occur on the platinum electrodes of DEP microarray devices. It further examines two model device designs that include a parallel wire arrangement and a planar array. Effective isolation of fluorescent beads with parallel wires is shown under low-conductance conditions (10−4 S/m), but electrothermal flow overcomes DEP forces under high conductance conditions (>0.1 S/m). Planar devices are shown to be effective under high conductance conditions (∼1 S/m) without the deleterious effects of electrothermal flow. This study provides new insights into design compromises and limitations for producing future electrokinetic devices for better performance with high conductance solutions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Association Between Persistent Pain and Memory Decline and Dementia in a Longitudinal Cohort of Elders.

Importance Chronic pain is common among the elderly and is associated with cognitive deficits in cross-sectional studies; the population-level association between chronic pain and longitudinal cognition is unknown. Objective To determine the population-level association between persistent pain, which may reflect chronic pain, and subsequent cognitive decline. Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study with biennial interviews of 10 065 community-dwelling older adults in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study who were 62 years or older in 2000 and answered pain and cognition questions in both 1998 and 2000. Data analysis was conducted between June 24 and October 31, 2016. Exposures “Persistent pain,” defined as a participant reporting that he or she was often troubled with moderate or severe pain in both the 1998 and 2000 interviews. Main Outcomes and Measures Coprimary outcomes were composite memory score and dementia probability, estimated by combining neuropsychological test results and informant and proxy interviews, which were tracked from 2000 through 2012. Linear mixed-effects models, with random slope and intercept for each participant, were used to estimate the association of persistent pain with slope of the subsequent cognitive trajectory, adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities measures in 2000 and applying sampling weights to represent the 2000 US population. We hypothesized that persistent pain would predict accelerated memory decline and increased probability of dementia. To quantify the impact of persistent pain on functional independence, we combined our primary results with information on the association between memory and ability to manage medications and finances independently. Results Of the 10 065 eligible HRS sample members, 60% were female, and median baseline age was 73 years (interquartile range, 67-78 years). At baseline, persistent pain affected 10.9% of participants and was associated with worse depressive symptoms and more limitations in activities of daily living. After covariate adjustment, persistent pain was associated with 9.2% (95% CI, 2.8%-15.0%) more rapid memory decline compared with those without persistent pain. After 10 years, this accelerated memory decline implied a 15.9% higher relative risk of inability to manage medications and an 11.8% higher relative risk of inability to manage finances independently. Adjusted dementia probability increased 7.7% faster (95% CI, 0.55%-14.2%); after 10 years, this translates to an absolute 2.2% increase in dementia probability for those with persistent pain. Conclusions and Relevance Persistent pain was associated with accelerated memory decline and increased probability of dementia.
The Bubbler as Systemwide Makerspace: A Design Case of How Making Became a Core Service of the Public Libraries

In this article, we introduce the case of a makerspace program that provides a systemwide approach to making rather than a singular face-to-face or online place. This makerspace, called Bubbler, extends across a public library system of a mid-sized Midwestern city (Madison, Wisconsin) and incorporates nine neighborhood libraries and numerous community spaces. Since 2011, Bubbler has come to be known as a physical place, a series of programs, and an approach to working with patrons of all ages. We aim to chronicle the development of Bubbler, describe its core features, provide examples of these features in action, and discuss victories and challenges associated with designing a systemwide makerspace in public libraries. We conclude by asserting that the library now includes making as a core service based on a model of diversity and inclusion that aligns with the basic tenets of public libraries.
Non-Stationary Model for Crime Rate Inference Using Modern Urban Data

Crime is one of the most important social problems in the country, affecting public safety, children development, and adult socioeconomic status. Understanding what factors cause higher crime rate is critical for policy makers in their efforts to reduce crime and increase citizens’ life quality. We tackle a fundamental problem in our paper: crime rate inference at the neighborhood level. Traditional approaches have used demographics and geographical influences to estimate crime rates in a region. With the fast development of positioning technology and prevalence of mobile devices, a large amount of modern urban data have been collected and such big data can provide new perspectives for understanding crime. In this paper, we use large-scale Point-Of-Interest data and taxi flow data in the city of Chicago, IL in the USA. We observe significantly improved performance in crime rate inference compared to using traditional features. Such an improvement is consistent over multiple years. We also show that these new features are significant in the feature importance analysis. The correlations between crime and various observed features are not constant over the whole city. In order to address this geospatial non-stationary property, we further employ the geographically weighted regression on top of negative binomial model (GWNBR). Experiments have shown that GWNBR outperforms the negative binomial model.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer’s Disease: Overlapping Biologic Mechanisms and Environmental Risk Factors

A number of studies over the past two decades have suggested that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are at an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Several common molecular pathways to cellular and metabolic dysfunction have been implicated in the etiology of both diseases. Here, we review the emerging evidence from observational studies that investigate the relationship between T2DM and AD, and of shared environmental risk factors, specifically air pollution and pesticides, associated with both chronic disorders. Particulate matter and traffic-related air pollution have been widely associated with T2DM, and multiple studies have associated exposures with AD or cognitive function. Organochlorine (OC) and organophosphate (OP) pesticides have been associated with T2DM in multiple independent populations. Two populations have observed increased risks for OC and OP exposures and AD. Other studies, limited in exposure assessment, have reported increased risk of AD with any pesticide exposure assessments. This may suggest shared pathogenic pathways between environmental risk factors, T2DM, and AD. Research focusing on exposures related to both T2DM and AD could provide new disease insights on shared mechanisms and help shape innovative preventative measures and policy decisions.