cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Religious Involvement, Coping, Social Support, and Psychological Distress in HIV-Seropositive African American Mothers

This study used a cross-sectional design to examine the role of religious involvement within a stress-process framework. Participants were 252 urban, low-income HIV-seropositive African American mothers. The relationships among religious involvement, stress, coping responses, social support, and psychological distress were examined using structural equation modeling. The number of stressors reported by the mother was related to greater religious involvement, which in turn was negatively related to psychological distress. Furthermore, the results suggest that social support, active coping, and avoidant coping responses mediated the relationship between religious involvement and psychological distress. According to the present results, interventions to attenuate psychological distress in HIV-seropositive African American mothers might focus on increasing social support, promoting active coping, and decreasing avoidant coping. The present findings suggest that this may be accomplished, in part, by promoting involvement in religious institutions and practices. However, in light of the cross-sectional design used in the present study, and given that religion may have both positive and negative consequences, further research is needed to determine the extent to which promoting religiosity may increase or alleviate distress.
ATRIAL NATRIOURETIC FACTOR (ANF) PLASMA LEVELS IN NEONATES TREATED WITH MULTIPLE DOSES OF SURFACTANT(S)

ATRIAL NATRIOURETIC FACTOR (ANF) PLASMA LEVELS IN NEONATES TREATED WITH MULTIPLE DOSES OF SURFACTANT(S)
Portuguese and Chinese Maritime Imperialism: Camões's Lusiads and Luo Maodeng's Voyage of the San Bao Eunuch

Shortly before Vasco da Gama returned to Lisbon in September 1499 from his great voyage to India, a Florentine merchant in the Portuguese capital reported troubling rumors that ‘certain vessels of white Christians’ had visited the port of Calicut on the Malabar coast only a couple of generations previously. If true, this would mean that some other European power had beaten Portugal in its long search for a maritime route to the Indies. After speculating that the mysterious mariners were Germans (although ‘it seems to me that we should have some notice about them’) or Russians (‘if they have a port there’), the merchant concluded that ‘on the arrival of the captain [da Gama] we may learn who these people are.’
Pattern of Cell Division and Wound Vessel Member Differentiation in Coleus Pith Explants

When pith parenchyma explants are taken from Coleus blumei plants and cultured on an agar medium containing sucrose and indoleacetic acid wound vessel members differentiate in 10 days. The time course of wound xylem appearance and an auxin requirement suggest that this uncomplicated system is responding in a manner comparable to wounded Coleus plants and cultured stem segments. Histological examination and cell size comparisons confirm that parenchyma cells divide before differentiating. When colchicine is used to prevent mitosis no tracheary elements differentiate. Following the time course of this cytodifferentiation histologically shows that xylem differentiates from cells that are the products of several cell divisions.
Hybrid representation of rule-based systems

This paper presents a method to dynamically transform a one-input, one-output fuzzy inference system into a hybrid system. Hybrid systems are used to model and evaluate the discrete and continuous behavior of a physical systems. The method can easily be extended to two or more dimensions; mapping intelligent systems to a formal and verifiable model.
“It’s those Pills that are Ruining Me”: Gender and the Social Meanings of Hormonal Contraceptive Side Effects

Almost half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, despite the availability of highly effective forms of birth control. Women often cite side effects as a reason for stopping hormonal birth control, and most research on the topic comes from a medical perspective. In this study, I analyze hormonal contraceptive side effects from a social perspective that highlights the link between cultural messages about gender and women’s contraceptive behavior. Drawing on data from interviews with 88 women, I argue that the gendered emphasis on women’s appearance and emotionality shapes women’s perceptions about the seriousness of hormonal contraceptive side effects, like weight gain and emotional volatility, and their propensity to stop use as a result. Contrary to understandings of side effects as a purely medical aspect of use, the gender analysis elucidates the ways that particular side effects are imbued with social meaning that can undermine women’s goals to prevent pregnancy.
Receptors for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in Dunning R3327 prostate cancers and rat anterior pituitaries after treatment with a sustained delivery system of LHRH antagonist SB-75.

Membrane receptors for LHRH were evaluated in Dunning R3327 prostate cancers and rat anterior pituitaries. The receptors were characterized both in untreated animals and after the in vivo treatment with microcapsules of the agonist DTrp6-LHRH and a sustained delivery system releasing different doses (23.8, 47.6, 71.4 μg/day) of LHRH antagonist [Ac-DNal( 2)1-D-Phe(4Cl)2-D-Pal(3)3,D-Cit6, D-Ala10]-LHRH (SB-75). The therapy, which lasted 8 weeks, strongly inhibited tumor growth. A group of normal Sprague-Dawley male rats was also treated for 6 weeks with microcapsules of SB-75 releasing 25 μg/ day. In the Dunning tumors from the control group, ligand [125I, D-Trp6]-LHRH was bound to two classes of binding sites [dissociation constant, class a (Kda) = 1.01 ± 0.30 × 10-9 M; Kdb = 1.71 ± 0.41 × 10-6 M; maximal binding capacity of receptors, class a (Bmaxa) = 48.66 ± 22.13 fmol/μg of protein; Bmaxb = 92.10 ± 29.40 pmol/μg of protein] in both kinetic and equilibrium studies. Treatment with D-Trp6-LHRH produced do...
Effect of dietary sucrose on quantity and quality of plaque

abstract – We have established a complete system for quantitation and analysis of dental plaque from human subjects fed nutritionally adequate, well characterized diets containing high and low levels of sucrose. Dietary sucrose level did not significantly alter the quantity of plaque produced. High-sucrose diet increased plaque Streptococcus mutans populations. Dextran and levan hydrolase activities were also directly related to dietary sucrose level.
Extracellular matrix scaffold devices for rotator cuff repair

Rotator cuff tears affect 40% or more of those over age 60, and the repair failure rate of large to massive tears ranges from 20 to 90%. High re-tear rates are a result of mechanical factors as well as biologic factors that may compromise the patients' intrinsic capacity to heal. Hence, there is a critical need for repair strategies that provide adequate strength as well as stimulate and enhance healing potential. Tissue engineering strategies to improve rotator cuff repair healing include the use of scaffolds, growth factors, cell seeding or a combination of these approaches. Scaffolds have been the most common strategy investigated to date. Despite the growing clinical use of scaffold devices for rotator cuff repair, there are numerous questions related to their indication, surgical application, safety, mechanism of action and efficacy that remain to be clarified or addressed. The purpose of this paper is to review the current basic science and clinical understanding of extracellular matrix scaffolds, which are currently the most widely used scaffolds for rotator cuff repair. Our review will emphasize the host immune response and scaffold remodeling, the mechanical and suture retention properties of ECMs and preclinical and clinical studies on the use of ECMs for rotator cuff repair. We will then discuss the implications of these data on the future directions for use of these scaffolds in tendon repair procedures.
Growth and characterization of bilayer InAs/GaAs quantum dot structures

One of the difficulties in understanding energy transfer in bilayer quantum dot structures is the complex role of carrier tunneling. This limitation is due to the fact that, for most studies to date, QDs in each layer have only one confined energy level making it difficult to study resonant tunneling effects. In this work, we have investigated the low growth-rate technique to produce dislocation-free very large QDs in the second layer that are characterized by several confined energy levels. The high quality surface morphology and optical behavior of these structures were demonstrated by AFM and PL measurements. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Neuropsychological performance in children with Tourette's syndrome

Neuropsychological performance was examined in a sample of 100 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years who met DSM-III-R criteria for Tourette's syndrome. Neuropsychological test scores were converted to age-corrected t scores based on published normative data. Ratings of Tourette's symptoms were also obtained. The mean IQ of the sample was approximately 100. Most of the subjects performed within normal limits, although approximately 20% obtained scores suggesting impairment on a summary neuropsychological performance measure. There were no differences attributable to medication effects. Later age at onset and the severity of complex tics were related to performance below normal levels on a number of neuropsychological measures. There was no specific evidence of frontal lobe dysfunction. The pattern of neuropsychological performance was virtually identical to a previously reported independent sample of patients. These data suggest a relatively characteristic pattern of neuropsychological performance abnormalities in a subgroup of patients with Tourette's syndrome. In general, most patients appear to perform within normal limits. Directions for future investigation are considered.
Combining flat crystals, bent crystals, and compound refractive lenses for high-energy x-Ray optics.

Compound refractive lenses (CRLs) are effective for collimating or focusing high-energy X-ray beams (50–100 keV) and can be used in conjunction with crystal optics in a variety of configurations, as demonstrated at the 1-ID undulator beamline of the Advanced Photon Source. As a primary example, this article describes the quadrupling of the output flux when a collimating CRL, composed of cylindrical holes in aluminium, is inserted between two successive monochromators, i.e. a modest-energy-resolution premonochromator followed by a high-resolution monochromator. The premonochromator is a cryogenically cooled divergence-preserving bent double-Laue Si(111) crystal device delivering an energy width \Delta E/E \simeq 10^{-3}, which is sufficient for most experiments. The high-resolution monochromator is a four-reflection flat Si(111) crystal system resembling two channel-cuts in a dispersive arrangement, reducing the bandwidth to less than 10^{-4}, as required for some applications. Tests with 67 and 81 keV photon energies show that the high-resolution monochromator, having a narrow angular acceptance of a few microradians, exhibits a fourfold throughput enhancement due to the insertion of a CRL that reduces the premonochromatized beam's vertical divergence from 29 \microrad to a few microradians. The ability to focus high-energy X-rays with CRLs having long focal lengths (tens of meters) is also shown by creating a line focus of 70–90 \microm beam height in the beamline end-station with both the modest-energy-resolution and the high-energy-resolution monochromatic X-rays.
The relationship between government deficits, money growthm and inflation

Abstract We model the time-series relationship between Federal government deficits, base-money growth, and inflation as a trivariate autoregressive process. The technique is a generalization of Hsiao's (1979; 1981) bivariate autoregressive modeling method, but also incorporates several recent contributions by Caines, Keng, and Sethi (1981) and Lutkepohl (1982) . The results indicate that for the 1960s, both government deficits and inflation are econometrically exogenous. But, for the 1950s and the 1970s, government deficits, money growth, and inflation are all causally related.
Development and testing of the theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for triads.

Background. Although nurses depend heavily on informal family caregivers to provide care to clients and to be involved in care planning and decision-making, no nursing theories that include the client, the caregiver, and the nurse were available to guide collaborative care planning and decision-making. Aim. The purpose of this paper is to describe the construction and initial testing of the theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for a triad. The theory represents an extension of Kim's theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice. Kim's theory was developed to describe and explain collaborative decision-making in a dyad (client and nurse). The inclusion of a third person (family caregiver) in the theory required the addition of concepts about the caregiver, coalition formation, and nurse and caregiver outcomes. The expansion of Kim's dyadic theory to a triadic theory was achieved by means of a modified version of the theory derivation process described by Walker and Avant. Conclusions. The theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for a triad can be used to guide further research and clinical practice. The theory provides a framework for researchers who are interested in studying the effects of collaboration regarding decision-making among nurses, family caregivers, and clients. The initial testing of the new theory in home health care nursing revealed variety in the nature of the client–caregiver–nurse relationships, the many processes used by the nurses in proceeding with the home visits, a multitude of decisions considered and different collaborative, noncollaborative, and coalition–forming interactions. The limited evidence of the empirical adequacy of the theory precludes development of definitive guidelines for clinical practice at this time. More studies are required before clinical practice guidelines can be developed.
Spontaneous and Agonist-Induced Calcium Oscillations in Pituitary Gonadotrophs

Basal and receptor-regulated changes in cytoplasmic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) were monitored by fluoroscence analysis in individual rat pituitary gonadotrophs loaded with the calcium-sensitive dye indo-1. Most gonadotrophs exhibited low amplitude spontaneous oscillations in basal [Ca2+]i that were interspersed by quiescent periods and abolished by removal of extracellular Ca2+ or addition of calcium channel blockers. Such random fluctuations in [Ca2+]i, which reflect the operation of a plasma membrane oscillator, were not coupled to basal gonadotropin secretion. The physiological agonist GnRH induced high amplitude [Ca2+]i oscillations; when a threshold [Ca2+]i level was reached, a cytoplasmic oscillator began to generate extremely regular Ca2+ transients. The time required to reach the threshold [Ca2+]i level was inversely correlated with agonist dose; the frequency, but not the amplitude, of agonist-induced Ca2+ spiking increased with agonist concentration. The duration of the latent period decrea...
Genus bounds for embeddings with large minimum degree and representativity

Let G be a simple graph, Σ be a surface, and Ψ:G → Σ be an embedding of G in Σ. The representativity ρ(Ψ) of the embedding is defined by ρ(Ψ)=minΓ{|Ψ(G)∩Γ],Γ is a noncontractible simple closed curve in Σ}. An embedding with large representativity has a large locally planar region around each vertex. We provide a structure theorem for embeddings with large minimum degree and representativity and a lower bound for the genus of these embeddings in terms of the minimum degree and the representativity. Viewed slightly differently, this bound can be used to show that the representativity of graphs with minimum degree at least 7 embedded in the surface cannot be very large. More specifically, this representativity is essentially bounded above by the logarithm of the genus of the surface.
A Failure to Launch: Fuelling Cytokine Secretion in iNKT Cells

In this issue of Immunity, Bezbradica et al. (2006) uncover an unsuspected role for the cytokine GM-CSF in the thymic development of invariant NKT cells, a role that licenses these cells to secrete effector cytokines upon activation in the periphery.
Proton spin‐lock ratio imaging for quantitation of glycosaminoglycans in articular cartilage

Purpose To quantify glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in intact bovine patellar cartilage using the proton spin-lock ratio imaging method. This approach exploits spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame (T1ρ) imaging and T1ρ relaxivity (R1ρ). Materials and Methods All the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments were performed on a 4-T whole-body GE Signa scanner (GEMS, Milwaukee, WI), and spectroscopy experiments of chondroitin sulfate (CS) phantoms were done on a 2-T custom-built spectrometer. A custom-built 11-cm-diameter transmit-receive birdcage coil, which was tuned to a proton frequency of 170 MHz, was employed for the imaging experiments. T1ρ measurements were made using a fast spin echo (FSE) sequence pre-encoded with a three-pulse cluster consisting of two 90° hard pulses separated by a low-power rectangle pulse for spin-locking. Results The methodology is first validated on CS phantoms and then used to quantify GAG content in intact bovine cartilage (N = 5). There is a good agreement between the GAG map calculated from the T1ρ ratio imaging method (71 ± 4%) and GAG measured from spectrophotometric assay (75 ± 5%) in intact bovine tissue. Conclusion We have demonstrated a proton spin-lock ratio imaging method to quantify absolute GAG distribution in the cartilage in a noninvasive and nondestructive manner. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:114–121. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Proximity-associated errors in contour metrology

In contour metrology the CD-SEM (critical dimension scanning electron microscope) assigns a continuous boundary to extended features in an image. The boundary is typically assigned as a simple function of the signal intensity, for example by a brightness threshold or gradient. However, the neighborhood of different points along the feature boundary may vary considerably. Some parts of the boundary may have close neighboring features while others are relatively isolated. Neighboring features can obstruct the escape of secondary electrons. Varying proximity of neighbors therefore represents an influence on detected intensity. An intensity difference caused by a neighborhood difference can be incorrectly interpreted as a contour shift, for example when the contour passes from an isolated neighborhood to a dense one. The magnitude of this offset variation is estimated using images produced by JMONSEL, a Monte Carlo simulator of SEM secondary electron imaging, from simple model test patterns with varying neighborhoods. Similar structures were subsequently measured by both SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Apparent shifts (i.e., errors) on the order of 0.5 nm to 1.0 nm for each edge were observed in both modeled and measured SEM images as compared to AFM when edge positions were assigned by using a fixed image brightness contour. Assignment of edges by brightness relative to the local background and local maximum brightness resulted in measurements that were less sensitive to neighborhood differences.
Molecular Phylogeny of the Drosophila virilis Species Group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial 12S and 16S Ribosomal RNA Genes

The phylogenetic relationships among all members of the Drosophila virilis Sturtevant species group were inferred from mitochondrial DNA [partial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA)val, and partial 12S rRNA] sequence data. These data show support for four lineages within the D. virilis species group, which are consistent with previous phylogenetic work performed on the group. However, the relationship among these four groups is not well resolved. These data also suggest that the species D. borealis Patterson is not a monophyletic assemblage, and that the disjunct distribution actually represents two genetically distinct species.
A General Notion of Visibility Graphs

Abstract. We define a natural class of graphs by generalizing prior notions of visibility, allowing the representing regions and sightlines to be arbitrary. We consider mainly the case of compact connected representing regions, proving two results giving necessary properties of visibility graphs, and giving some examples of classes of graphs that can be so represented. Finally, we give some applications of the concept, and we provide potential avenues for future research in the area.
Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in national collegiate athletic association athletes a decade in review

Background The incidence and cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is debated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy often reported as the most common cause. Methods and results A database of all National Collegiate Athletic Association deaths (2003-2013) was developed. Additional information and autopsy reports were obtained when possible. Cause of death was adjudicated by an expert panel. There were 4 242 519 athlete-years (AY) and 514 total student athlete deaths. Accidents were the most common cause of death (257, 50%, 1:16 508 AY) followed by medical causes (147, 29%, 1:28 861 AY). The most common medical cause of death was SCD (79, 15%, 1:53 703 AY). Males were at higher risk than females 1:37 790 AY versus 1:121 593 AY (incidence rate ratio, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.9-5.5; P Conclusions The rate of SCD in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes is high, with males, black athletes, and basketball players at substantially higher risk. The most common finding at autopsy is autopsy-negative sudden unexplained death. Media reports are more likely to capture high-profile deaths, and insurance claims are not a reliable method for case identification.
Engineering signal peptides for enhanced protein secretion from Lactococcus lactis

Lactococcus lactis is an attractive vehicle for biotechnological production of proteins and clinical delivery of therapeutics. In many such applications using this host, it is desirable to maximize secretion of recombinant proteins into the extracellular space, which is typically achieved by using the native signal peptide from a major secreted lactococcal protein, Usp45. In order to further increase protein secretion from L. lactis, inherent limitations of the Usp45 signal peptide (Usp45sp) must be elucidated. Here, we performed extensive mutagenesis on Usp45sp to probe the effects of both the mRNA sequence (silent mutations) and the peptide sequence (amino acid substitutions) on secretion. We screened signal peptides based on their resulting secretion levels of Staphylococcus aureus nuclease and further evaluated them for secretion of Bacillus subtilis α-amylase. Silent mutations alone gave an increase of up to 16% in the secretion of α-amylase through a mechanism consistent with relaxed mRNA folding around the ribosome binding site and enhanced translation. Targeted amino acid mutagenesis in Usp45sp, combined with additional silent mutations from the best clone in the initial screen, yielded an increase of up to 51% in maximum secretion of α-amylase while maintaining secretion at lower induction levels. The best sequence from our screen preserves the tripartite structure of the native signal peptide but increases the positive charge of the n-region. Our study presents the first example of an engineered L. lactis signal peptide with a higher secretion yield than Usp45sp and, more generally, provides strategies for further enhancing protein secretion in bacterial hosts.
The role of sonography in the placement and management of jugular and subclavian central venous catheters

Placement of large-bore central venous catheters via a jugular or subclavian vein is becoming increasingly common. Although the great majority of these catheters are successfully placed by clinicians using anatomic landmark techniques, this procedure is neither innocuous nor always successful. Serious complications, including hematomas, arterial injury, and pneumothorax can occur. The patient may experience considerable discomfort when multiple needle passes are made. Sonographic imaging of the jugular and subclavian veins can significantly improve the safety, speed, and comfort of the procedure by defining the vascular anatomy of the jugular and subclavian veins before puncture, showing complications from prior attempts or placements of central venous catheters in these vessels, and providing guidance for needle puncture of the jugular and subclavian veins.
A high-quality stacked thermal/LPCVD gate oxide technology for ULSI

By stacking thermal and high-quality LPCVD (low-pressure chemical vapor deposition) SiO/sub 2/ films, gate oxides with very low defect densities are demonstrated. Whereas previous reports suggested that a thick layer of LPCVD oxide can improve the stacked gate oxide defect density, it is demonstrated that even 25 AA of LPCVD oxide is sufficient to dramatically reduce the defect density compared to thermal oxide films. The projected scaling limit for this technology is estimated to be as low as 70 AA for the total stack thickness. An optimized thermal/LPCVD oxide technology is very promising as the gate dielectric for sub-half-micrometer CMOS technology. >
A multiview, multimodal fusion framework for classifying small marine animals with an opto-acoustic imaging system

A multiview, multimodal fusion algorithm for classifying marine plankton is described and its performance is evaluated on laboratory data from live animals. The algorithm uses support vector machines with softmax outputs to classify either acoustical or optical features. Outputs from these single-view classifiers are then combined together using a feedback network with confidence weighting. For each view or modality, the initial classification and classifications from all other views and modalities are confidence-weighted and combined to render a final, improved classification. Simple features are computed from acoustic and video data with an aim at noise robustness. The algorithm is tested on acoustic and video data collected in the laboratory from live, untethered copepods and mysids (two dominant crustacean zooplankton). It is shown that the algorithm is able to yield significant (≫ 50%) reductions in error by combining views together. In addition, it is shown that the algorithm is able boost performance by giving more weight to views or modalities that are more discriminant than others, without any a priori knowledge of which views are more discriminant.
The variable natural history of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Determining the prognosis of patients with heart failure is essential for patient management and clinical trial conduct. The relative value of traditional prognostic criteria remains unclear and the assessment of long-term prognosis for individual patients is problematic. Objectives: To determine the ability of clinical, hemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters to predict the long-term prognosis of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. methods: We investigated the ability of clinical, hemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters to predict the long-term prognosis of individual patients in a large, representative, contemporary cohort of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) patients referred to Johns Hopkins from 1997 to 2004 for evaluation of cardiomyopathy. In all patients a baseline history was taken, and physical examination, laboratory studies, echocardiogram, right heart catheterization and endomyocardial biopsy were performed. r esults: In 171 IDCM patients followed for a median 3.5 years, there were 50 long-term event-free survivors (LTS) (median survival 6.4 years) and 34 patients died or underwent ventricular assist device placement or transplantation within 5 years (NLTS; non-long-term survivors) (median time to event 1.83 years. Established risk factors (gender, race, presence of diabetes, serum creatinine, sodium) and the use of accepted heart failure medications (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers) were similar between the two groups. Although LTS had younger age, higher ejection fraction (EF) and lower New York Heart Association (NYHA) class at presentation, the positive predictive value of an EF 2 was 53% (95% CI 36–69%). A logistic model incorporating these three variables incorrectly classified 29% of patients. conclusions: IDCM exhibits a highly variable natural history and standard clinical predictors have limited ability to classify IDCM patients into broad prognostic categories. These findings suggest that there are important host-environmental factors still unappreciated in the biology of IDCM.
Ionospheric model effects on thermospheric calculations

Abstract The sensitivity of thermospheric calculations to assumptions concerning the ionospheric structure is investigated by the use of different representations of the global behavior of the height of the F2-layer, hmF2. It is found that the amplitude of the diurnal variation of hmF2 at all latitudes and its phase at high latitudes (> 45°) has negligible effect on the results of model calculations. On the other hand noticeable changes in horizontal wind speeds and times of wind reversal were produced when the diurnal mean value of hmF2 was increased by 60 km, roughly a scale height at F-region altitudes. The response to changes in the ionospheric structure is complex, depending on altitude, latitude and local time, and differs between the zonal and meridional wind components. The complex nature is due to the competing effects of ion drag, viscosity, and the Coriolis force in balancing the pressure gradient forces arising from global heat sources. The largest changes in wind speed (~75 m/s) were obtained in ‘fixed-temperature’ calculations; changes were significantly smaller (
Immunohistochemical Analysis of Human Vallate Taste Buds

The morphology of the vallate papillae from postmortem human samples was investigated with immunohistochemistry. Microscopically, taste buds were present along the inner wall of the papilla, and in some cases in the outer wall as well. The typical taste cell markers PLCβ2, GNAT3 (gustducin) and the T1R3 receptor stain elongated cells in human taste buds consistent with the Type II cells in rodents. In the human tissue, taste bud cells that stain with Type II cell markers, PLCβ2 and GNAT3, also stain with villin antibody. Two typical immunochemical markers for Type III taste cells in rodents, PGP9.5 and SNAP25, fail to stain any taste bud cells in the human postmortem tissue, although these antibodies do stain numerous nerve fibers throughout the specimen. Car4, another Type III cell marker, reacted with only a few taste cells in our samples. Finally, human vallate papillae have a general network of innervation similar to rodents and antibodies directed against SNAP25, PGP9.5, acetylated tubulin and P2X3 all stain free perigemmal nerve endings as well as intragemmal taste fibers. We conclude that with the exception of certain molecular features of Type III cells, human vallate papillae share the structural, morphological, and molecular features observed in rodents.
Disease Maps: Epidemics on the Ground. By Tom Koch

While it is impossible to know the origin or existence of the first disease map, the power of such maps today is inestimable. In his excellent book, Disease Maps: Epidemics on the Ground, Tom Koch ...
Fast and accurate prediction of sentence specificity

Recent studies have demonstrated that specificity is an important characterization of texts potentially beneficial for a range of applications such as multi-document news summarization and analysis of science journalism. The feasibility of automatically predicting sentence specificity from a rich set of features has also been confirmed in prior work. In this paper we present a practical system for predicting sentence specificity which exploits only features that require minimum processing and is trained in a semi-supervised manner. Our system outperforms the state-of-the-art method for predicting sentence specificity and does not require part of speech tagging or syntactic parsing as the prior methods did. With the tool that we developed — SPECITELLER — we study the role of specificity in sentence simplification. We show that specificity is a useful indicator for finding sentences that need to be simplified and a useful objective for simplification, descriptive of the differences between original and simplified sentences.
Experimentally Validated Nonlinear Electrohydroelastic Euler-Bernoulli-Morison Model for Macro-Fiber Composites With Different Aspect Ratios

Macro-fiber composite (MFC) piezoelectric structures with interdigitated electrodes can be used for effective hydrodynamic thrust generation by underwater actuation as well as low-power electricity production from underwater vibrations for powering wireless electronic components. In order to develop high-fidelity models to predict the electrohydroelastic dynamics of MFC structures, mixing rules based electroelastic mechanics modeling is coupled with the global electroelastic dynamics based on the Euler-Bernoulli kinematics and the nonlinear fluid loading based on Morison’s semi-empirical model. The focus is placed on the dynamic actuation problem for the first two bending vibration modes under geometrically, materially, and piezoelectrically linear, hydrodynamically nonlinear behavior. The electroelastic and dielectric properties of a representative volume element (piezoelectric fiber and epoxy matrix) between two subsequent interdigitated electrodes are correlated to physical parameters of MFC bimorphs and validated for different MFC types that have the same overhang length but different widths. Following the process of in-air electroelastic model development and validation, underwater experiments are conducted for different length-to-width aspect ratios (L/b), and empirical drag and inertia coefficients are extracted for Morison’s equation. The repeatability of these empirical coefficients is demonstrated for experiments conducted using aluminum cantilevers of different aspect ratios. Convergence of the nonlinear electrohydroelastic Euler-Bernoulli-Morison model to its hydrodynamically linear counterpart with increased L/b values is also reported. The proposed model, its harmonic balance analysis, and experimental results can be used for parameter identification as well as aspect ratio optimization for underwater piezoelectric actuation, sensing, and energy harvesting problems.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Effects of a Low Blood Alcohol Level on Pilot Performance

Pilots and non-pilots were tested on simulator flying tasks after attaining a .04% blood alcohol concentration and after ingestion of placebo drinks. Half of the pilots and half of the non-pilots were blind with respect to the contents of their drinks while half were informed. Two turbulence conditions were employed, and subjects were instructed to scan for aircraft silhouette targets that appeared on monitors in front and to the sides of the subject. The subject's task was to maintain straight and level flight, with the pilots given an additional flight segment during which the simulator's instruments and external horizon display gradually indicated an unusual attitude, either a banked steep climb or banked steep descent, while the subject was performing other tasks such as copying weather information or changing radio settings. Head movements, control movements, time to detect targets, and simulator flight measures were digitized and computer recorded and analyzed. Alcohol affected the performance of pi...
All Religions Merge in Tranquebar: Religious Coexistence and Social Cohesion in South India, by Oluf Schönbeck with Peter B. Andersen, Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2012, xii + 227 pp. ISBN 978 87 7694 093 5, US$65.00 (cloth); ISBN 978 87 7694 094 2, US$25.00 (paperback)

This curious book is essentially a field survey of key educational institutions, every major religious institution, and selected non-religious institutions in the coastal town of Tharangambadi (or ...
Professor Timothy Smiddy's Tenure as Irish Free State Minister to the United States

Now that Dr Whelan has gotten Professor Smiddy appointed, let us examine his overall record as minister in the U.S. from 7 October 1924—90 years ago today—to early 1929. We will look at the themes of Smiddy’s tenure as head of the legation in Washington, and we will consider what Smiddy’s activities—and the instructions he received from the Department of External Affairs—have to tell us about the Free State government’s view of its position in the world during the early years of its existence. An examination of the diplomatic correspondence passing between the government in Dublin and the Legation in Washington during the period reveals a preoccupation with three major concerns. First was the desire to publicise the status and stability of the Free State government. Second was the need to counter the activities and propaganda of the Free State’s opponents in the United States, and by extension, its opponents in Ireland itself. And third was the need to maximise the commercial and financial well-being of the Free State by stimulating economic ties with the U.S. Given time constraints, I will limit my comments today to the first of the above-mentioned themes, which represents a continuation of work Smiddy performed in the U.S. prior to his official recognition as minister. When Smiddy first arrived in America in 1922, he had no formal diplomatic standing. Rather, he was essentially a propagandist for the pro-treaty viewpoint in opposition to republican spokesmen in the U.S. Even after the Irish Civil War and Smiddy’s subsequent accreditation to Washington, however, the Free State’s position was far from secure, given the continued refusal of anti-treatyites to accept the legitimacy of the government in Dublin. Under those circumstances, a central part of Smiddy’s mission as minister continued to be to emphasise for American audiences that the Free State was a sovereign and stable member of the international community. Thus, in early 1925, the new minister reported with satisfaction to Desmond FitzGerald, the Free State’s Minister for External Affairs, that the recent registration of the Anglo-Irish Treaty by the League of Nations—a sign of the
Studies on fetal myoglobin.

Abstract The existence of fetal myoglobin has been proposed by several investigators and denied by others. Because of its important genetic, evolutionary, and clinical significance, this problem was reinvestigated. Myoglobin was prepared from fetal and adult muscle samples by two different techniques; one involving extraction by high molar phosphate buffer and the other consisting mainly of the separation of aqueous extracts on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 columns. The electrophoretic pattern of heme protein solutions prepared by the buffer extraction technique from adult muscle was different from that of fetal muscle, but chromatographically prepared heme pigments yielded identical patterns. The fast moving electrophoretic fraction prepared by the extraction technique resembled fetal hemoglobin by the criteria of gel filtration, antigenicity, absorption spectra, and peptide mapping. This fraction was absent in extracts from adult muscle. The other fractions were identical in all preparations and were identified as myoglobin. The multiplicity of myoglobin fractions was reduced to one component by reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol. Fetal hemoglobin is soluble in high molar buffer solutions while adult hemoglobin is insoluble and, therefore, fetal hemoglobin is present in extracts of fetal muscle. These studies do not confirm the existence of fetal myoglobin.
Constraints in Phonological Acquisition: Markedness and faithfulness constraints in child phonology

Introduction This chapter argues that constraint-based Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993) provides a framework which allows for the development of a unified model of child and adult phonology and the relation between the two. In Optimality Theory (OT) an adult phonology consists of a set of ranked constraints. The ranking, but not the constraints, differs from language to language. The constraints are universal. If phonological constraints are universal, they should be innate. I claim that these innate constraints are operative in child phonology. The constraints used in adult language should therefore be adequate to account for child phonology data as well, without attributing to the child, as in previous theories, more representational levels or more rules than adults have. This chapter shows that this is indeed the case. The initial state of the phonology, I propose, is one in which constraints against phonological markedness outrank the faithfulness constraints, which demand that the surface form (output) is identical to the underlying form (input, in OT terminology). The result is that in the initial stages of acquisition the outputs are unmarked. The process of acquisition is one of promoting the faithfulness constraints to approximate more and more closely the adult grammar, and produce more and more marked forms. The path of acquisition will vary from child to child, as different children promote the various faithfulness constraints in different orders. In adult languages certain faithfulness constraints outrank certain markedness constraints.
Multiple Truths and Metaphorical Models

I have argued in Chapter 2 that overemphasis on the interiority and alterity of the buried-life metanarrative occludes the richness and range of authors’ stories of their writing processes. Before moving to Chapters 4 and 5, where I analyze metaphors of labor and sociality, I establish in this chapter a framework for understanding why authors might use metaphorical stories of composing, what kinds of “knowledge” and “truth” can be found in such stories, what method we might use to read them, and what contributions these metaphorical stories make to understanding conceptions of composing.
Differentiate or die

Membrane immunoglobulin E (IgE) on germinal-center-like B cells, without engagement of IgE, uses the CD19-PI3K-Akt-IRF4 axis and the BLNK-Jnk-p38 axis, with the former used for plasma-cell differentiation and the latter used for apoptotic death.
Progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment in a diverse clinic-based and community-based elderly cohort.

Abstract Introduction Investigation of the conversion rates from normal cognition (NC) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is important, as effective early intervention could potentially prevent or substantially delay the onset of dementia. However, reported conversion rates differ across studies and recruitment source. Our study examined predictors of conversion from NC to MCI in a racially and ethnically diverse sample drawn both from community and clinic recruitment sources. Methods Rates and predictors of conversion were assessed in an ongoing prospective longitudinal study at University of California, Davis, Alzheimer's Disease Center from 2000 to 2015. Participants (n = 254) were recruited through a clinic (5%) and community sample (95%). They were clinically confirmed as cognitively normal at baseline and followed up to seven years. Recruitment source, demographic factors (age, gender, race/ethnicity, year of education, APOE e4 positive), cognitive measures (SENAS test scores), functional assessments (CDR sum of boxes), and neuroimaging measures (total brain volume, total hippocampal volume, white hyperintensity volume) were assessed as predictors of conversion from cognitively normal to mild cognitive impairment using proportional hazards models. Results Of 254 participants, 62 (11 clinic, 51 community) progressed to MCI. The clinic-based sample showed an annual conversion rate of 30% (95% CI 17%–54%) per person-year, whereas the community-based sample showed a conversion rate of 5% (95% CI 3%–6%) per person-year. Risk factors for conversion include clinic-based recruitment, being older, lower executive function and worse functional assessment at baseline, and smaller total brain volume. Discussion Older adults who sought out a clinical evaluation, even when they are found to have normal cognition, have increased risk of subsequent development of MCI. Results are consistent with other studies showing subjective cognitive complaints are a risk for future cognitive impairment, but extend such findings to show that those who seek evaluation for their complaints are at particularly high risk. Moreover, these individuals have subtle, but significant differences in functional and cognitive abilities that, in the presence of concerns and evidence of atrophy on by brain imaging, warrant continued clinical follow-up. These risk factors could also be used as stratification variables for dementia prevention clinical trial design.
I think I can: Preschoolers’ private speech and motivation in playful versus non-playful contexts

Abstract Vygotskian theory and empirical evidence suggest that children’s private speech and pretend play contribute to their development of motivational processes. Given current U.S. preschool expansion, and resurgent debates over the merits of play-based vs. non-play-based approaches to early childhood education, this study conducted an experimental investigation of the relative impact of these contexts on preschoolers’ private speech and mastery motivation (performance and persistence). 38 preschool children engaged in a challenging fishing activity in two experimental conditions (playful and non-playful) simulating pedagogical and motivational (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) characteristics of common preschool settings. Private speech was categorized as cognitive, motivational, metacognitive, playful or partially internalized, and the emotional valence of private speech was marked as positive or negative. Results indicated that preschoolers in the playful condition displayed higher mastery motivation than preschoolers in the non-playful condition. Children in the playful condition used more frequent private speech, including more frequent cognitive, playful, and positively valenced private speech. Mastery motivation was positively correlated with playful, partially internalized, and positively valenced private speech, but negatively related to motivational private speech. Mastery motivation components (performance and persistence) related to different types of private speech. Performance related positively to metacognitive private speech and negatively to motivational private speech. Persistence related positively to playful private speech. The playful condition elicited private speech categories that were associated with higher motivation levels. Findings support the use of playful and play-based pedagogy in early childhood education, and teacher modeling of motivationally beneficial forms of private speech.
Applications and synthesis of zinc oxide: An emerging wide bandgap material

Zinc oxide, an important metal oxide, is a wide bandgap II-VI semiconductor material with large exciton binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature. Zinc oxide has some unique characteristics like large piezoelectric constant, stability at higher temperature, and suitability for a variety of nanostructures. It has potential applications in several optics and optoelectronics technologies including display panels, electroluminescent and photovoltaic devices, thermoelectric devices, and nanogenerators. We present a short review on synthesis of zinc oxide emphasizing on MOCVD which is the most popular method to grow ZnO. Few applications of zinc oxide have also been discussed very briefly. Previously reported significant results about MOCVD growth of zinc oxide are discussed in detail. Also, we have grown zinc oxide thin films with different thicknesses on sapphire substrates using MOCVD. It has been observed that crystal quality degrades with increase in thickness of the film due to lattice mismatch and growth rate substantially decreases with increase in chamber pressure.