cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 16974: Gender Differences in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: a Single Center Experience

Background: Current data suggest that women experience different outcomes to men following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We reviewed the Mount Sinai valve database to compare men and women undergoing TAVR according to procedural characteristics and outcomes. Methods: 124 patients underwent TAVR at Mount Sinai from May 2012-2014. All patients received Edwards Sapien valves. Follow-up was conducted at 30-days. Results: Women accounted for 61% (n=76) of the TAVR cohort. The mean age of women was 80.7, and 82.2 for men (p=0.30). Men were more likely to have undergone previous cardiac bypass surgery and were more likely to be on dialysis and have a pacemaker or intra-cardiac defibrillator in-situ (27.1% vs. 7.9%, p=0.004). Women had lower baseline hemoglobin. These disparities did not translate to differences in STS Risk Score or EuroScore. In women, the aortic annulus (21.2mm vs. 23.4mm, p Conclusion: Despite discrepancies in some important pre-procedural parameters, as well as rates of post-procedural conduction abnormalities and in-hospital transfusion, these did not translate into differences in mortality rates between genders in patients undergoing TAVR.
A New Kernel for SVM MLLR based Speaker Recognition

Speaker recognition using support vector machines (SVMs) with features derived from generative models has been shown to perform well. Typically, a universal background model (UBM) is adapted to each utterance yielding a set of features that are used in an SVM. We consider the case where the UBM is a Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) adaptation is used to adapt the means of the UBM. We examine two possible SVM feature expansions that arise in this context: the first, a GMM supervector is constructed by stacking the means of the adapted GMM, and the second consists of the elements of the MLLR transform. We examine several kernels associated with these expansions. We show that both expansions are equivalent given an appropriate choice of kernels. Experiments performed on the NIST SRE 2006 corpus clearly highlight that our choice of kernels, which are motivated by distance metrics between GMMs, outperform ad-hoc ones. We also apply SVM nuisance attribute projection (NAP) to the kernels as a form of channel compensation and show that, with a proper choice of kernel, we achieve results comparable to existing SVM based recognizers. Index Terms: speaker recognition, MLLR, SVM, supervector
HUMAN BETA -CELL GLUCOKINASE : DUAL ROLE OF SER-151 IN CATALYSIS AND HEXOSE AFFINITY

Glucokinase is distinguished from yeast hexokinase and low Km mammalian hexokinases by its low affinity for glucose and its cooperative behavior, even though glucose binding residues and catalytic residues are highly conserved in all of these forms of hexokinase. The roles of Ser-151 and Asn-166 as determinants of hexose affinity and cooperative behavior of human glucokinase have been evaluated by site-directed mutagenesis, expression and purification of the wild-type and mutant enzymes, and steady-state kinetic analysis. Mutation of Asn-166 to arginine increased apparent affinity for both glucose and ATP by a factor of 3. Mutation of Ser-151 to cysteine, alanine, or glycine lowered the Km for glucose by factors of 2-, 26-, and 40-fold, respectively, decreased Vmax, abolished cooperativity for glucose, and also decreased Km for mannose and fructose. The Ser-151 mutants had hexose Km values similar to those of yeast hexokinase, hexokinase I, and the recombinantly expressed COOH-terminal half of hexokinase I. However, the Ki values for the competitive inhibitors, N-acetylglucosamine and glucose-6-P, were unchanged, suggesting that Ser-151 is not important for inhibitor binding. Mutation of Ser-151 also increased the Km for ATP about 5-fold and abolished the enzyme's low ATPase activity, which indicates it is essential for ATP hydrolysis. The substrate-induced change in intrinsic fluorescence of S151A occurred at a much lower glucose concentration than that for wild-type enzyme. The results implicate a dual role for Ser-151 as a determinant of hexose affinity and catalysis, exclusive of the glucose-induced conformational change, and suggest that the low hexose affinity of glucokinase is dependent on interaction of Ser-151 with other regions of the protein.
Efficacy of modeling & simulation in defense life cycle engineering

Modeling and Simulation (M&S) is an increasingly important tool in product life cycle engineering. Contractually demanded by many government programs, M&S is usable in the early stages of product functional and operational conceptualization as well as manufacturing process analysis, optimization and management. The application of M&S as a support tool in mission support (logistics) management has lagged behind that of design engineering and manufacturing process analysis and optimization. One reason is that the DoD has historically provided all logistics and mission support services. This trend is changing. Post acquisition mission support management programs have been identified by DoD and industry decision makers as a positive discriminating factor in the source selection decision. This paper presents a review of M&S technology and tools and suggestions of how M&S can be applied in support of proposal capture, program management and mission support for defense programs.
Improved Link›Based Algorithms for Ranking Web Pages

Several link-based algorithms, such as PageRank [7], HITS [4] and SALSA [5], have been developed to evaluate the popularity of web pages. These algorithms can be interpreted as computing the steady-state distribution of various Markov processes over web pages. The PageRank and HITS algorithms tend to over-rank tightly interlinked collections of pages, such as well-organized message boards. We show that this effect can be alleviated using a number of modifications to the underlying Markov process. Specifically, rather than weight all outlinks from a given page equally, greater weight is given to links between pages that are, in other respects, further off in the web, and less weight is given to links between pages that are nearby. We have experimented with a number of variants of this idea, using a number of different measures of ”distance” in the Web, and a number of different weighting schemes. We show that these revised algorithms often do avoid the over-ranking problem and give better overall rankings.
Further Studies on the Role of the Adrenal Hormones in the Responses of Rats to Meal-Feeding

The importance of the adrenal hormones in the lipogenic responses to meal-feeding or starvation-refeeding was studied. In experiment 1, intact or adrenalectomized (ADX) rats were either ad libitum-fed or meal-fed a 65% glucose diet for 21 days or until moribund (ADX rats only). Serum glucose and electrolytes (Ca++, Mg++, Na+, K+), hepatic glycogen and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and malic enzyme (ME) were determined. ADX rats died within 10 days after the initiation of meal-feeding and were hypoglycemic with low liver glycogen levels and low enzyme activities. No differences in serum electrolytes were observed. In the second experiment, ADX and intact rats of varying initial weights were weight paired and meal-fed. When the ADX rat died, his intact control was killed and both carcasses assayed for fat content. Heavier rats with presumably more carcass fat survived meal-feeding longer than the lighter rats. Rats died when they had lost all but 2 to 3 g carcass lipid. In experiments 3 and 4, ADX and intact rats were subjected to starvation-refeeding. In experiment 4, additional ADX groups were given supplemental doses of cortisol (0.75 mg/kg, subcutaneous, 2 times daily) during either the starvation period, the refeeding period or during both periods. The activities of hepatic G6PD and ME were determined as well as the levels of liver lipid in experiment 4. Intact starved-refed rats had the usual enzyme overshoot, whereas ADX starved-refed rats did not. Cortisol-treated ADX starved-refed rats had as great an enzyme overshoot as the intact rats and as great an increase in liver lipid. These results suggest that ADX rats die when meal-fed the glucose diet, because they are unable to store sufficient metabolic fuel for use during the starvation phase of the meal-feeding cycle. Further, the results show that glucocorticoids are required for the induction of de novo enzyme synthesis.
Vision. Realignment of cones after cataract removal

Through unique observations of an adult case of bilateral congenital cataract removal, we have found evidence that retinal photoreceptors will swiftly realign towards the brightest regions in the pupils of the eye. Cones may be phototropic, actively orientating themselves towards light like sunflowers in a field.
Fiscal Mulipliers: Liquidity Traps and Currency Unions

We provide explicit solutions for government spending multipliers during a liquidity trap and within a fixed exchange regime using standard closed and open-economy models. We confirm the potential for large multipliers during liquidity traps. For a currency union, we show that self-financed multipliers are small, always below unity. However, outside transfers or windfalls can generate larger responses in output, whether or not they are spent by the government. Our solutions are relevant for local and national multipliers, providing insight into the economic mechanisms at work as well as the testable implications of these models.
Health-related quality of life for patients with rheumatoid arthritis foot involvement.

Hypothesis: Rheumatoid arthritis is a common disabling form of arthritis that frequently affects the hands and feet. With time, the majority of affected individuals will become disabled. Methods: Sixty-nine consecutively selected mild to moderately affected individuals with rheumatoid arthritis provided demographic data and agreed to complete the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SFMA) instrument. Focus group subjects selectively used minimally adaptive nonprescription footwear. Control subjects had similar disease expression, but did not alter their choice of footwear due to their disease. Results: Adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis demonstrate a significant negative impact on their quality of life with mild or moderate disease expression, as evidenced by poor scores in all six domains of the SFMA. Subjects who used even mildly adaptive nonprescription footwear demonstrated a statistically significant negative impact in mobility (p <.044) and functional index (p <.052) domains as compared ...
Equivalence principle algorithm for analysis of metamaterials and reconfigurable pixelled antennas

To address part of the requirements of the emerging technologies such as multiradio communication, wireless sensor networking, and real-time imaging, miniaturized multi-band devices have been realized using different techniques including metamaterial structures and reconfigurable antennas. In the designing stage, an optimization procedure which invokes a simulation tool to model the structure is used. Therefore, speed, computational burden, and accuracy of the simulation tool become a critical issue. Equivalence principle algorithm (EPA) provides a level of parallelization of the solution, flexibility for selecting the mesh strategy, and its reuse. Hence, it can be a good candidate to address these challenging problems.
3′,5′-Dimethoxybenzoin

[34904-92-2] C16H16O4 (MW 272.3) InChI = 1S/C16H16O4/c1-19-13-8-12(9-14(10-13)20-2)16(18)15(17)11-6-4-3-5-7-11/h3-10,16,18H,1-2H3 InChIKey = OWHHXDIPKWEDQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (photolabile protecting group precursor for alcohols, amines, and carboxylic acids) Physical Data: mp 126.5–127.5 °C. Solubility: sol CHCl3, CH3CN, benzene. Form Supplied in: white crystals, not commercially available. Purification: dried by azeotropic distillation from acetonitrile. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: none.
Analyzing the Association of Polymorphisms in the CRYBB2 Gene with Prostate Cancer Risk in African Americans

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men following only skin cancer and is the second leading cause of death from cancer in men of all ages in the US (1, 2). It is estimated that in the US in the year 2015, about 220,800 new cases of PCa will be diagnosed with about 27,540 projected deaths from this disease (2). The incidence and mortality rates of PCa vary substantially among different ethnic groups, with African Americans showing evidence of disease-associated disparity (2, 3). While the role of genetics in PCa is well-recognized (4) and disease susceptibility alleles have been shown to overlap between populations of different ethnic backgrounds (5), accumulating data point to genetic markers of risk for PCa that appear specific to men of African descent (6). Studies of the pathology and recurrence of tumors in African American and European American men have suggested that population differences in the biology of PCa tumors may explain observed differences in outcome (7). The human crystallin, beta B2 (CRYBB2) gene is located on chromosomal locus 22q11.23. CRYBB2 encodes for the βB2-crystallin, the most abundant and water-soluble β-crystallin in the lens (8). Mutations in the CRYBB2 gene have been reported to be associated with cataracts in several independent studies (9, 10). Recent reports have observed a relationship of CRYBB2 expression with cancer. CRYBB2 expression was reported to be significantly up-regulated in African American vs. European American patients with colorectal cancer (11). CRYBB2 was also found to be differentially expressed between African American and European American breast cancer patients (12, 13). In a recent study examining the differences in tumor biology contributing to the disparity observed in the incidences and mortality from PCa by gene expression profiling, CRYBB2 was found significantly differently expressed in prostate tumors between African Americans and European Americans (14). The authors described CRYBB2 as one of the two tumor signature genes that accurately differentiated between African American and European American patients (14). We, therefore, examined the association of CRYBB2 genetic variants with PCa in African Americans. Nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the CRYBB2 gene were chosen for genotyping to examine their association with PCa in a cohort of African Americans by performing a case-control association study.
SEPARATION OF SOY‐SPUN FIBER, EGG ALBUMEN, AND WHEAT GLUTEN BLEND BY SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE GEL ELECTROPHORESIS

Commercial soy spun fiber, egg albumen, wheat gluten, and a mixture of these proteins were subjected to a variety of electrophoretic techniques to find a procedure that could separate, detect, and characterize components of the individual proteins in a simulated meat analog system. Of the techniques utilized, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) provided the only effective separation of the protein components. Sample handling conditions in the SDS-PAGE dispersion solution included the use of heat, 2-mercaptoethanol (ME), and centrifugation. Samples centrifuged prior to electrophoresis gave superior patterns to those not centrifuged. Heat treatment of samples had no noticeable effect on separation patterns. Protein separation and resolution for all three protein sources were clear and distinct but considerably different in samples without and with added ME, the latter tending to decrease the number of large molecular weight components and increase low molecular weight components. While a majority of the protein components of soy-spun fiber, egg albumen, and wheat gluten showed similar mobilities, there were several proteins or protein subunits with distinct mobilities in the presence or absence of ME. Therefore, SDS-PAGE could be used to separate and identify these proteins and to study processing induced changes in commercial meat analogs containing blends of these proteins.
Laser surface modification of metallic biomaterials

Load-bearing metal implants often fail prematurely due to inadequate biocompatibility, mechanical/tribological properties, and poor osseointegration. It is well known that biomaterials’ surface plays a vital role in the response to these metal implants in the biological environment. The biological effectiveness of artificial implants is determined mainly by their surface characteristics such as surface morphology, microstructure, composition, mechanical properties, wettabilility, and surface free energy. Hence, there is significant interest toward surface modification and effective design of load-bearing metal implants so as to improve their surface properties and thereby elicit a specific, desired, and timely response from the surrounding cells and tissues. In this article, we provide an insight into laser surface modification of Ti/Ti6Al4V alloy with or without functional gradation in composition and their microstructural, in vitro wear and biological properties for various loadbearing orthopedic applications.
Explaining the giant difference in surface plasmon enhancement of fluorescence, resonance and non-resonance Raman scattering

We present a comparative theory to show the origin of giant difference in the degrees of enhancement that have been observed in experimental measurements between fluorescence, resonance and non-resonance Raman scattering by surface plasmons.
Bounds on spectral dispersion from Fermi-detected gamma ray bursts.

Data from four Fermi-detected gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are used to set limits on spectral dispersion of electromagnetic radiation across the Universe. The analysis focuses on photons recorded above 1 GeV for Fermi-detected GRB 080916C, GRB 090510A, GRB 090902B, and GRB 090926A because these high-energy photons yield the tightest bounds on light dispersion. It is shown that significant photon bunches in GRB 090510A, possibly classic GRB pulses, are remarkably brief, an order of magnitude shorter in duration than any previously claimed temporal feature in this energy range. Although conceivably $ag3\ensuremath{\sigma}$ fluctuation, when taken at face value, these pulses lead to an order of magnitude tightening of prior limits on photon dispersion. Bound of $\ensuremath{\Delta}c/cl6.94\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}21}$ is thus obtained. Given generic dispersion relations where the time delay is proportional to the photon energy to the first or second power, the most stringent limits on the dispersion strengths were ${k}_{1}l1.61\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{sec}\text{ }{\mathrm{Gpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\text{ }{\mathrm{GeV}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and ${k}_{2}l3.57\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{sec}\text{ }{\mathrm{Gpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\text{ }{\mathrm{GeV}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$, respectively. Such limits constrain dispersive effects created, for example, by the spacetime foam of quantum gravity. In the context of quantum gravity, our bounds set ${M}_{1}{c}^{2}$ greater than 525 times the Planck mass, suggesting that spacetime is smooth at energies near and slightly above the Planck mass.
High-temperature deformation of forsterite single crystals doped with vanadium

Creep experiments have been performed on samples from a single crystal of vanadium-doped forsterite under controlled\(p_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) conditions to investigate the effects of the addition of substitutional defects in the tetrahedral lattice sites. The addition of vanadium causes marked changes in the flow behavior of the forsterite, with a net increase in the creep rate at high\(p_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) and a new\(p_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) -dependent flow regime at low\(p_{{\text{O}}_2 } \) conditions. These observations can be interpreted as resulting from changes in the majority defect species that maintain the charge neutrality within the crystal. A climb-controlled dislocation creep model for the high-temperature deformation of vanadium-doped forsterite is proposed in which either (i) movement of uncharged jogs is rate-limited by the diffusion of silicon via a vacancy mechanism or (ii) movement of positively charged jogs is rate-limited by diffusion of oxygen via a vacancy mechanism.
Pacemaker interference with an iPod.

a i ntroduction lectromagnetic interference (EMI) is generally defined as nterference of normal device function caused by an exterally generated signal. Ever increasing use of electronic evices has led to an increase in sources of electromagnetic adiation. This is a cause of concern in patients with imlanted pacemakers. Numerous environmental sources of lectromagnetic radiation cause EMI. Current pacemakrs have built-in bandpass and feedthrough filters that diinish the probability of EMI. However, EMI still occurs espite these technologic improvements. Cellular telehones and antitheft surveillance systems are some new ources of interference. The iPod (Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA, USA) is widely used brand of portable media player for personal ntertainment that has become quite ubiquitous. It is estiated that since its introduction in 2001, more than 100 illion iPods will have been sold by 2007. Furthermore, Pods may soon be used in the hospital setting as a teaching r monitoring tool. We report a case of pacemaker interfernce caused by an iPod.
Elastic vibrations due to a high-current arc discharge

The passage of transient electric currents through a gas into a solid occurs in high-voltage switches and in lightning strikes. The experiments reported in this paper were designed to examine the vibration of a cantilevered conductor under electromagnetic forces of the arc and structural currents. Arcs are created at low pressures in a vacuum facility and the induced vibrations of the beam are measured. It is shown that the deflections are proportional to the square of the arc currents. Further, 5-μs photographs of the 2-ms arc, using a Kerr cell, show that the arc is distorted by the magnetic field of the beam currents. A simple analytical model is shown to reproduce the basic results of the experiments.
CpG DNA: A pathogenic factor in systemic lupus erythematosus?

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial disease of unknown etiology. Characteristic features of SLE include (1) polyclonal B cell activation, (2) overexpression of the immune stimulatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), (3) defective tolerance to self antigens, and (4) production of anti-DNA antibodies (Ab). Bacterial infection has been suspected as a triggering factor for lupus. Bacterial DNA differs from vertebrate DNA in the frequency and methylation of CpG dinucleotides. These CpG motifs in bacterial DNA induce a variety of immune effects, including (1) polyclonal activation of murine and human B cells, (2) IL-6 secretion, and (3) resistance to apoptosis, thereby potentially allowing the survival of autoreactive cells. These results suggest that microbial DNA could therefore be a pathogenic factor in SLE. SLE patients have elevated levels of circulating plasma DNA which is reportedly enriched in hypomethylated CpGs. Genomic DNA is also hypomethylated in SLE. The purpose of this review is to summarize the immune effects of CpG motifs and to present the evidence for their possible involvement in the pathogenesis of SLE.
Transnational Migrations: Reading Amable Tastu with Felicia Hemans

AbstractAmable Tastu's textual appropriations of Felicia Hemans suggest that the poetry of Romantic women thrived on transnational collaborative practices and dialogical forms, and often exhibited a social awareness that belies the prejudicial confinement of women poets to domestic themes. Tastu's 'domestic nationalism', which I argue has much in common with Hemans's, is evident in her poem 'Migrations' about the national insecurities that arose out of the mass emigration of Alsatians to the USA in the 1820s and 1830s. Analogies between geographical and textual migration invite new perspectives on transnational and translational approaches to Romantic poetry. Moreover, the dialogue initiated between derivative and creative translation, between French and British nationalism, and between competing views of the value of women's poetry shows how poetry channelled diverse cultural exchange during the early Romantic era.
Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) and OLED-based chemical and biological sensors: an overview

The basic photophysics, transport properties, state of the art, and challenges in OLED science and technology, and the major developments in structurally integrated OLED-based luminescent chemical and biological sensors are reviewed briefly. The dramatic advances in OLED performance have resulted in devices with projected continuous operating lifetimes of ~2 ? 105?h (~23?yr) at ~150?Cd?m?2 (the typical brightness of a computer monitor or TV). Consequently, commercial products incorporating OLEDs, e.g., cell phones, MP3 players, and, most recently, OLED TVs, are rapidly proliferating.The progress in elucidating the photophysics and transport properties, occurring in tandem with the development of OLEDs, has been no less dramatic. It has resulted in a detailed understanding of the dynamics of trapped and mobile negative and positive polarons (to which the electrons and holes, respectively, relax upon injection), and of singlet and triplet excitons. It has also yielded a detailed understanding of the spin dynamics of polarons and triplet excitons, which affects their overall dynamics significantly.Despite the aforementioned progress, there are outstanding challenges in OLED science and technology, notably in improving the efficiency of the devices and their stability at high brightness (>1000?Cd?m?2).One of the most recent emerging OLED-based technologies is that of structurally integrated photoluminescence-based chemical and biological sensors. This sensor platform, pioneered by the authors, yields uniquely simple and potentially very low-cost sensor (micro)arrays. The second part of this review describes the recent developments in implementing this platform for gas phase oxygen, dissolved oxygen (DO), anthrax lethal factor, and hydrazine sensors, and for a DO, glucose, lactate, and ethanol multianalyte sensor.
Principles of Promoting Cigarettes: The Greek Case

The factors underlying the variations in sales of different varieties of cigarettes in Greece did not always show that changes in selling prices always had an impact on sales. Advertising has a significant impact on the demand for the better varieties of cigarette, and advertisers should be aware of different reactions to “basic” and “extra‐fine” cigarettes. Marketing planners must bear in mind that average retail selling price has an impact on most sales to foreigners, except those of “fine” and “extra‐fine”, so price can be used to increase sales in certain cases.
Sarcopenia and critical illness: a deadly combination in the elderly

Sarcopenia is the age-associated loss of lean skeletal muscle mass. It is the result of multiple physiologic derangements, ultimately resulting in an insidious functional decline. Frailty, the clinical manifestation of sarcopenia and physical infirmity, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. The underlying pathology results in a disruption of the individual's ability to tolerate internal and external stressors such as injury or illness. This infirmity results in a markedly increased risk of falls and subsequent morbidity and mortality from the resulting traumatic injury, as well as an inability to recover from medical insults, resulting in critical illness. The increasing prevalence of sarcopenia and critical illness in the elderly has resulted in a deadly intersection of disease processes. The lethality of this combination appears to be the result of altered muscle metabolism, decreased mitochondrial energetics needed to survive critical illness, and a chronically activated catabolic state likely mediated by tumor necrosis factor-α. Furthermore, these underlying derangements are independently associated with an increased incidence of critical illness, resulting in a progressive downward spiral. Considerable evidence has been gathered supporting the role of aggressive nutrition support and physical therapy in improving outcomes. Critical care practitioners must consider sarcopenia and the resulting frailty phenotype a comorbid condition so that the targeted interventions can be instituted and research efforts focused.
Patterned layers of a semiconducting polymer via imprinting and microwave-assisted grafting

Enhancements in both the rate and extent of grafting of poly(9,9'-n-dihexyl fluorene) (PDHF) onto flat and nanopatterned crosslinked photopolymer films are described. Reactivity of the surfaces toward grafting via the Yamamoto-type Ni(0)-mediated coupling reaction is increased by synthesizing and incorporating 2,7-dibromo-9-fluorenyl methacrylate (DBFM, 2) as a new grafting agent. Varying the concentration of surface-embedded DBFM is shown to control both overall graft formation and fluorescence with a maximum thickness of up to 30 nm and peak emission at 407 nm for 40 wt% loading. In addition, microwave irradiation is introduced as an effective means to drive graft formation and thus allows fabrication of PDHF-functionalized surfaces in as little as 30 min. Both forms of improvement are extended to DBFM-embedded, nanocontact-molded features ranging in size from 100 microm to 100 nm in width and 60 nm in height. Microwave-assisted grafting from these patterned surfaces produces fluorescent features as imaged by optical microscopy and a corresponding increase in feature height as measured by atomic force microscopy.
Fostering behavior in Hawaiian monk seals: is there a reproductive cost?

Fostering behavior has been reported in a large number of mammal and bird species although the relative frequency of its occurrence in most species is unknown. A commonly held view is that fostering is costly to the parent(s) engaged in it. However, empirical studies of fostering are few, and measures of either cost or benefit are even rarer. During a study of individually marked Hawaiian monk seal mothers and pups, observed over the course of maternal care, I found that 87% of 30 females fostered pups. Females sequentially fostered an average of 2.3 pups (range: 1–5 pups) during the approximately 40-day lactation. The median proportion of lactation spent fostering was 34% (range: 5%–90%). Confusion during aggressive interactions appeared to be the major antecedent of fostering and may be understandable in terms of the spatial pattern among females. The density of females with pups was relatively low for a land-breeding seal (1.5 females per 1000 m2), and the typical spatial pattern indicated a tendency toward dispersion. Yet, movements of females and pups to and from water occasionally leave females within a meter or two of each other. Several measures of the immediate reproductive cost of fostering were obtained, including: the length of time suckled by pups, the size of pups at the end of suckling, and survivorship to 1 year of age. There was no correlation between these measures for individual pups and the extent to which their mothers fostered, indicating that the high levels of fostering may be maintained in monk seals because they are not selected against.
Specific heat measurements near the two irregular points in the phase diagram of U1−xThxBe13

Abstract The phase diagram (T versus x) of the superconducting heavy-fermion system U1−xThxBe13 has two irregular points which mark the endpoints of the concentration range where in the specific heat a double maximum structure (indicating two successive phase transitions) is observed. Thus at each irregular point at least three phase boundary lines meet and, if all phase transitions are of second order, a fourth second-order phase boundary line is expected. We present specific heat measurements carefully performed on samples close to the critical concentrations. As no indication of a fourth-phase boundary line at the irregular points was found, we discuss the thermodynamic alternatives to this scenario.
Influence of Benzannulation on Metal Coordination Geometries: Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato Cadmium Bromide, {[Tm MeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)} 2

The tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato cadmium complex, {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)}2, may be synthesized via the reaction of [TmMeBenz]K with CdBr2. X-ray diffraction demonstrates that {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)}2 exists as a dimer, which is in marked contrast to the monomeric structure of the non-benzannulated counterpart, [TmMe]CdBr, and thereby demonstrates that benzannulation of tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato ligands can have a distinct impact on the molecular structure of their metal complexes. In accord with this observation, density functional theory calculations indicate that the benzannulated dimers, {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-X)}2 (X = Cl, Br, I), are more stable with respect to dissociation than are their non-benzannulated counterparts, {[TmMe]Cd(μ-X)}2. Furthermore, the calculations also indicate that the stability of the dimer depends on the nature of X, such that the dimer becomes more stable in the sequence I < Br < Cl.
Direct application end effector for a precise weed control robot

A direct chemical application end effector was developed to directly apply chemical via a weed's vascular tissue by cutting the weed's stem and wiping chemical on to its cut surface. The end effector consists of two micro-pumps, a custom-designed circular saw with a DC motor, an applicator, a chemical tank, a flow controller, and a micro reservoir. The field robot, equipped with a computer and a 5-degree of freedom arm, controls the movement of the direct chemical application end effector. A direct chemical application end effector was tested to quantify the application dose and to examine the potential for controlling weeds. The average application dose of the end effector ranged from 21.89 mg to 56.18 mg per target, with a coefficient of variation (CV) range of 33.79–60.85%. Using the direct chemical application end effector, chemical was applied to two species of weeds, yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca) plants and velvetleaf plants (Abutilon theophrasti) as representative grass and broadleaf weeds, respectively. The majority of the weeds (90.9%) treated by the end effector showed symptoms of chemical application on the sixth day and was dead ten days after application although the end effector used only 22% of active ingredient of a broadcast application. The developed end effector may provide a solution to reduce chemical use in field application, to increase herbicide efficacy, and to limit the herbicide contamination in the environment by directly applying a minute amount of herbicide only to weeds.
VOIDING FREQUENCY IN A SAMPLE OF ASYMPTOMATIC AMERICAN MEN

ABSTRACTPurpose:: There are sparse published data concerning the urinary habits of asymptomatic American men. We studied those urinary habits, as revealed by a 24-hour voiding diary.Materials and Methods:: Men without lower urinary tract symptoms completed the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) and a 24-hour voiding diary. Demographic and diary data were analyzed using multivariate linear and logistic regression.Results:: A total of 284 asymptomatic males 18 to 66 years old returned interpretable diaries. Subjects voided a median of 7 times in 24 hours (range 2 to 21) with 95% voiding fewer than 12 times daily. Median 24-hour urine volume was 1,650 ml (range 290 to 6,840). Median fluid intake was 2,747 ml (range 500 to 10,520). Of the men 82 (29%) reported at least 1 nocturic episode. The 24-hour frequency was related to total urine volume (β = 1.2, p <0.001) and total fluid intake (β = 0.1, p <0.001), inversely related to mean voided volume (β = −1.1, p <0.001) and lower in white men (β = 0.1, ...
Gender differences in heart rate before and after autonomic blockade: evidence against an intrinsic gender effect.

Objectives To document gender differences in heart rate in healthy young adult men and women, and examine the degree to which autonomic tone and other variables may be associated with the gender differences in heart rate. Designs Cohort study. Settings Clinical Research Center of a tertiary care medical center. Patients A volunteer sample of 20 healthy men and 23 healthy women between ages 21 and 39 years. Interventions Subjects were each studied three times: during the menstrual, follicular, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in women; and 5 to 10 days apart in men. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were obtained at baseline and following double autonomic blockade with propranolol 0.2 mg/kg and atropine 0.04 mg/kg. Maximum exercise capacity was determined by bicycle ergometry. main outcome measures: Sinus cycle length at baseline and following double autonomic blockade, before and after correction for confounding variables. Results Men had longer sinus cycle length both at baseline and after double autonomic blockade (971 ± 88 ms versus 918 ± 115 ms, P P P P P Conclusions Sinus cycle length is longer in men than women. This difference appears to be associated with a gender difference in exercise capacity rather than intrinsic gender related properties of the sinus node or differences in autonomic tone. In addition, exercise induced bradycardia is mediated by both autonomic and nonautonomic factors in both genders.
Characterization of polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C in rat parotid gland membranes

Abstract Hydrolysis of exogenously added, [ 3 H]inositol-labeled, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) by rat parotid membranes was increased, dose-dependently, by the muscarinic cholinergic agonist carbamylcholine (carbachol) in the presence of guanosine 5′- O -thiotriphosphate (GTPγS). The stimulation was inhibited by atropine and guanosine 5′- O -thiodiphosphate (GDPβS). GTPγS alone stimulated PIP 2 hydrolysis, with halfmaximal activation at 0.1 μ m . This was inhibited by GDPβS but not by atropine. Agonist stimulation of PIP 2 hydrolysis was dependent on the presence of lipids (phosphatidylserine:phosphatidylethanolamine:PIP 2 = 1:1:1). When PIP 2 was added as micelles with detergent (sodium deoxycholate) only, basal hydrolysis was elevated, thus decreasing the relative stimulation by GTPγS and carbachol. The water-soluble hydrolysis products formed under either condition were 1,4,5-inositol trisphosphate, 1,4-inositol bisphosphate, and cyclic inositol trisphosphate. Hydrolysis of exogenous phosphatidylinositol (PI) was also stimulated by carbachol in the presence of GTPγS but the extent of PI hydrolysis was 44-fold lower than PIP 2 hydrolysis. When [Ca 2+ ] in the medium was increased from 100 n m to 1 μ m , basal hydrolysis of both PI and PIP 2 increased (9.3- and 19.2-fold, respectively). However, levels of basal and stimulated PIP 2 hydrolysis were higher (37.9- and 29.6-fold, respectively) than those of PI hydrolysis. Antibodies (both polyclonal and monoclonal) raised against phospholipase C (PLC β 1 ) from bovine brain did not react with any component in either rat parotid membranes or cytosol, although a reactivity was detected in rat brain membranes. A monoclonal antibody against bovine brain PLC γ 1 detected a ~ 150-kDa protein only in the parotid cytosol, while antisera against bovine brain PLC δ 1 enzyme showed no reactivity with parotid membranes or cytosol. Together, these observations suggest that while there appears to be a protein similar to bovine brain PLC γ 1 in parotid gland cytosol, the PLC which mediates PIP 2 hydrolysis in rat parotid membranes and can be regulated by the muscarinic receptor via a G-protein is distinct from the well-characterized PLC enzymes γ 1 , δ 1 , and β 1 .
Servicer and Spatial Heterogeneity of Loss Mitigation Practices in Soft Housing Markets

Although loan modifications are being widely used as a way to stabilize housing markets by preventing avoidable foreclosures, not much is known about the ways in which specific servicer-related factors affect the likelihood of modifications. Using a large sample of nonprime loans, this study examines recent loan modification practices adopted by different servicers in two types of soft markets, in neighborhoods differently affected by the foreclosure crisis, and among borrowers in different racial and ethnic groups. The results demonstrate striking variations in the incidence of loan modifications by servicers and significant differences between the servicers more likely to modify troubled loans and those who are less likely to do so. Loan modifications are less frequent where they are needed the most: among savable borrowers in the neighborhoods hardest hit by the crisis. This considerable variation in modification practices across servicers and neighborhoods likely reflects both structural obstacles to ...
Oracles in Software Networks: A New Scientific and Technological Approach to Designing Self-Managing Distributed Computing Processes

For Turing and the majority of computer scientists, an Oracle is a device that supplies a Turing machine with the values of some function (on the natural numbers or words in some alphabet) that is not recursively, e.g., Turing-machine, computable. Now technological innovations and social progress necessitate further changes to the concept of an Oracle.The first step in this direction was done by Burgin and Mikkilineni [1] using the relativization of the concept of an Oracle and extending its functions. Here we develop a forward-thinking theory of Oracles with application to distributed computing network technology. Different types and sorts of Oracles are introduced and studied. Their properties are explicated and analyzed in the context of computation theory and network technology. Utilization of Oracles in the distributed intelligent managed element (DIME) network architecture is described demonstrating expediency of Oracle theory in designing self-managing distributed computing processes.
Theoretical modelling of deep ocean sediment transport

Abstract Predicting the fate of suspended material requires knowledge of both sediment concentration and velocity fields. These are governed by the advection and diffusion of mass and momentum respectively and are coupled by the turbulent diffusion process crucial to both. The link between the two is the boundary shear stress which determines force exerted on the bottom by the flow and vice versa. The response of sediment to fluid forcing is complicated by its cohesiveness both from physical and biological processes. This is important not only in the bed but also in suspension where flocculation can occur. During eroding events the friction velocity is much greater than the mean settling velocity so the sediment essentially behaves as a passive contaminant; however, in the low-velocity periods the suspension is a collection of different settling velocity classes to be treated separately but coupled by the aggregation process. The deposition process can be complex as is evidenced by the formation of longitudinal ripples. These features may be formed due to helical circulation arising from non-uniform turbulence field. The cause of the variation in turbulence is postulated to be inhomogeneities in the concentration field that damps the turbulence through the effect of stratification.
Parametric Instability in a Stationary String With a Periodically Varying Length

Parametric instability in a stationary string with a periodically varying length is investigated. The free linear vibration of a stationary string with a constant tension, a fixed boundary, and a periodically moving boundary is studied first. The parametric instability in the string features a bounded displacement and an unbounded vibratory energy, and parametric instability regions in the parameter plane are classified as period-i (i ≥ 1) parametric instability regions. If the periodic boundary movement profile of the string satisfies certain condition, only period-1 parametric instability regions exist. However, parametric instability regions with higher period numbers can exist for a general periodic boundary movement profile. A corresponding nonlinear model that consider coupled transverse and longitudinal vibrations of the string are introduced next. Responses and vibratory energies of the linear and nonlinear models are calculated for both stable and unstable cases using the finite difference method. The mechanism of the parametric instability is explained in the linear model and through axial strains in the nonlinear model.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Aging phenomenon of stabilized bismuth oxides

Abstract Stabilized bismuth oxides exhibit a decay in conductivity when annealed at temperatures below 600°C. We refer to this phenomenon as aging and it is distinct from a conventional crystallographic phase transformation. This phenomenon is revealed by an endotherm from DSC thermal analysis and results in the formation of a superstructure observable by TEM diffraction patterns, yet no change in structure is observable by XRD. Since oxygen vacancies are the mobile defects responsible for ionic conductivity, we attribute the aging process to the ordering of oxygen vacancies by an order-disorder transition below ∼600°C.
Modification of skin-graft rejection and acceptance by low concentrations of cadmium in drinking water of mice

Skin allograft rejection and isograft acceptance was studied in Balb/c mice exposed to 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, or 10.0 ppm cadmium in drinking water beginning 4 wk prior to grafting. Cadmium exposure was associated with a dose-dependent acceleration of the rejection of allografts prepared from the tail skin of C57/BL mice. The mean time to allograft rejection decreased from 10.4 d in non-metal-exposed recipients to 7.4 d in mice exposed to 10 ppm cadmium. Cadmium exposure was also associated with a dose-dependent increase in the time to isograft acceptance (8.6 d in control mice compared to 11.0 d in mice exposed to 10 ppm cadmium). In addition, some isografts were rejected by animals exposed to 1 or 10 ppm cadmium. It is suggested that a cadmium-induced modification of the wound-healing process could explain both the allograft and isograft response, although an effect of cadmium on the immune response to histoincompatible tissue may also play a role in the accelerated allograft rejection.
The effect of supercritical carbon dioxide treatment on the leachability and structure of cemented radioactive waste-forms

The former process for the cementation of transuranic (TRU) low-level wastes poses several technical problems. Specifically in the US a TRU waste-form has not yet passed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant prohibition for free liquid. For the reason, treatment of the portland cement based waste-form with supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO[sub 2]) is shown to satisfy regulations. The effect of SCCO[sub 2] treatment by applying different CO[sub 2] pressure and temperature conditions on the leachability, phase constitution, and microstructure of surrogate-groped portland cement type I/II samples is presented. Leaching studies were performed using a synthetic groundwater leaching procedure. Changes in phase constitution of the major crystalline phases (Ca(OH)[sub 2], CaCO[sub 3]) as well as the microstructure were measured by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. SCCO[sub 2] treatment at 8.4 MPa and 25 C can be shown as the most promising conditions to satisfy the requirements of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and to enhance the natural aging reaction of cement paste by carbonation, combined with the lowest release rate of the surrogates [sup 232]Th, and [sup 151/153]Eu.
Skill Formation and Job Matching Effects in Wage Growth in Ethiopia

This paper analyses production and labour market data on manufacturing firms in Ethiopia in order to test for skill formation and job-matching effects in wage growth. Estimated age and job seniority profiles of relative marginal productivity and relative wages indicate that both on-the-job skill formation and job matching are significant sources of the growth of productivity and wages with time in the labour market. However, there is also evidence that job matching is by far the more important of the two sources.