cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurement and visualization of stimulus-evoked tissue dynamics in mouse barrel cortex using phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography

We describe a method to measure tissue dynamics in mouse barrel cortex during functional activation via phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PhS-OCT). The method measures the phase changes in OCT signals, which are induced by the tissue volume change, upon which to localize the activated tissue region. Phase unwrapping, compensation and normalization are applied to increase the dynamic range of the OCT phase detection. To guide the OCT scanning, intrinsic optical signal imaging (IOSI) system equipped with a green light laser source (532 nm) is integrated with the PhS-OCT system to provide a full field time-lapsed images of the reflectance that is used to identify the transversal 2D localized tissue response in the mouse brain. The OCT results show a localized decrease in the OCT phase signal in the activated region of the mouse brain tissue. The decrease in the phase signal may be originated from the brain tissue compression caused by the vasodilatation in the activated region. The activated region revealed in the cross-sectional OCT image is consistent with that identified by the IOSI imaging, indicating the phase change in the OCT signals may associate with the changes in the corresponding hemodynamics. In vivo localized tissue dynamics in the barrel cortex at depth during whisker stimulation is observed and monitored in this study.
Developing a Specialization for LAM Convergence Using a Competency-Based Approach in an LIS Graduate Curriculum

This article describes the development of a curriculum specialization, Cultural Heritage Information Management (CHIM), at a library and information science (LIS) graduate program. It was designed ...
Governance for the Internet of Things

With the growing capabilities and applications of Internet‐enabled devices, known collectively as the Internet of Things (IoT), opportunities for digital disruption are commensurately increasing. A resilience‐based approach provides a method to understand network interconnections in IoT systems and their potential for disruption as well as recovery. This chapter explores the emerging scholarly and policy discussions of the digital economy and examines three proposed governance frameworks: (i) laissez‐faire, (ii) precautionary and pre‐emptive, and (iii) stewardship. Each framework can benefit from incorporating philosophical and methodological applications of resilience to enable efficient IoT device recovery and adaptation from an evolving cyber threat landscape.
Further consequences of the excluded bound state S 1 2 α − N interaction in He 6 and Li 6

The implications of representing the ${S}_{\frac{1}{2}}\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{N}$ interaction by an attractive potential with an excluded bound state, rather than by a repulsive potential, are explored with three-body models of the $^{6}\mathrm{He}$ and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ ground states. After an introduction to the underlying theory, comparisons are made between the predictions of the two models for $^{6}\mathrm{He}$ $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay, the shell structure of $^{6}\mathrm{He}$ and $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$, and the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-deuteron properties of $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$. A major conclusion is that the appropriate choice for the ${S}_{\frac{1}{2}}\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{N}$ interaction should be extractable from electron coincidence experiments of the $^{6}\mathrm{Li}(\mathrm{e},{\mathrm{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\mathrm{d})^{4}\mathrm{He}$ or $^{6}\mathrm{Li}(\mathrm{e},{\mathrm{e}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\alpha})^{2}\mathrm{H}$ type.
The role of industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) in emission mitigation

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is an important option in the portfolio of emission mitigation technologies in scenarios that lead to deep reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistent with limiting increases in global average surface air temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (2C). Industrial CCS applications are more challenging to analyze than CCS in the power sector -- mainly due to the vast heterogeneity in industrial and fuel processes. Our study focuses on the cement industry and provides the estimated costs associated with several CCS options: coal-fired post-combustion capture (PCC), natural gas-fired PCC, and Cryogenic Carbon Capture (CCC). We explore regional cost estimates with variations in costs of capital and fuels to provide a basis for regional and global projections of industrial CCS deployment. We offer a methodology for incorporating the CCS cost information into energy-economic and integrated assessment models. Our methodology can be applied to other applications of CCS in the industrial sector. We illustrate our method by introducing the industrial CCS options into the MIT EPPA model, a global energy-economic model that provides a basis for the analysis of long-term energy deployment, and we discuss different scenarios for industrial CCS deployment in different parts of the world. We tested in the EPPA model the potential for industrial CCS under the assumptions that CCS is the only mitigation option for deep GHG emission reduction in industry and that negative emission options are not available for other sectors of the economy. Overall, industrial CCS enables the continued use of energy-intensive goods with large reductions in global and sectoral emissions. We find that in scenarios with stringent climate policy, CCS in the industry sector is a key mitigation option, and our approach provides a path to projecting the deployment of industrial CCS across industries and regions.
Can we increase detection? A nationwide analysis of age-related fractures in child abuse.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to stratify fractures associated with child abuse in relation to the child's age. Methods The Kids' Inpatient Database (1997–2012) was queried for all patients ( Results More than 39,000 children were admitted for child abuse, and 26% sustained fractures. Most were infants (median age 0 year [IQR 0–1]). 28% sustained multiple fractures, and 27% had skull fractures. By age, infants had the highest rate of multiple fractures (33% vs 16% 1–4 years), and the highest rate of closed skull fractures (33% vs 21% ages 1–4), while adolescents had more facial fractures (43% vs 11% ages 9–12), all p Conclusion Age-related fracture patterns exist and may be due to changing mechanism of abuse as a child grows. These age-related fracture patterns can help aid in healthcare detection of child abuse in hopes to thwart further abuse. Type of study Retrospective comparative study. Level of evidence Level III.
The development of transformation tolerant visual representations differs between the human brain and convolutional neural networks

Abstract Existing single cell neural recording findings predict that, as information ascends the visual processing hierarchy in the primate brain, the relative similarity among the objects would be increasingly preserved across identity-preserving image transformations. Here we confirm this prediction and show that object category representational structure becomes increasingly invariant across position and size changes as information ascends the human ventral visual processing pathway. Such a representation, however, is not found in 14 different convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained for object categorization that varied in architecture, depth and the presence/absence of recurrent processing. CNNs thus do not appear to form or maintain brain-like transformation-tolerant object identity representations at higher levels of visual processing despite the fact that CNNs may classify objects under various transformations. This limitation could potentially contribute to the large number of training data required to train CNNs and their limited ability to generalize to objects not included in training.
On the Use of “Illusion”

In this commentary on Denis Noble’s paper, I focus on his use of the term “illusion,” and juxtapose it with other potential terms, in particular several others he has used for similar points in his book, Dance to the Tune of Life. His use of “illusion,” if more fully explicated, might be of even broader applicability than in his paper. I ask about potential classes of errors in science and remark about his “principle of biological relativity.”
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES E ENSINO DE HISTÓRIA NO IFES – NOVA VENÉCIA

O presente artigo analisa os usos dos jogos de interpretacao de personagens (RPGs) desenvolvidos no IFES – Nova Venecia no ano de 2019, tanto como projeto de ensino extracurricular, quanto como ferramenta metodologica nas aulas de Historia. Inicialmente sao apresentadas ao leitor as origens e as principais caracteristicas desses jogos. Em seguida, de que forma eles podem ser aplicados ao ensino, uma vez que por se tratarem de uma modalidade ludica na qual o jogador assume o papel de outra pessoa, e possivel fazer com que esse mesmo jogador pense, fale, aja e se comporte como alguem que ele nao conhece, mas que pretende conhecer. No caso de personagens historicos, e necessario que os jogadores que os controlam estudem a seu respeito, situando suas atitudes em outra epoca. Por fim, faz-se um relato de experiencias dos usos dos RPGs nas diversas turmas do 1o e do 3o anos do Ensino Medio do campus, e se busca apontar as vantagens e as desvantagens dessa metodologia.
Effects of Quinolones on the Immune System

The immune system consists of a complex network of innate and adaptive host responses that defend the host against microbial invaders and the development of neoplastic processes. For several decades there has been considerable interest mounting in the effects of antimicrobial agents on components of the immune system. Some of the extensive review articles that have covered the subject during the past two decades are summarized in this chapter. There are at least five mechanisms by which antimicrobial agents can affect the host-pathogen relationship besides a direct bacteriostatic/bactericidal effect on the microbe. Dalhoff has written a detailed review that includes a comprehensive summary of the reported effects of antimicrobial agents on eukaryotic cells. It was successful in significantly preventing systemic or bacteremic M. avium infection, thus validating the in vitro observations published. Comparator agents such as clindamycin had no effect on humoral or cellular responses, and cefotaxime, mezlocillin, and amikacin had modest suppressive effects. The explosion in knowledge about immune responses is related, in part, to a better understanding of the complex molecular signals generated when secretory cells of the reticuloendothelial system, particularly monocytes and macrophages, have been studied for cytokine generation. A plethora of quinolone effects on specific components of the immune response have been reviewed. Downregulation of cytokine responses has also been noted for other antimicrobial agents, including macrolides.
Preparation and Properties of Rhodospirillum rubrum Cytochromes c2, cc', and b557.5, and Flavin Mononucleotide Protein

Abstract Crystalline cytochromes c2 (pI 6.2) and cc' (pI 5.6) have been isolated from extracts of Rhodospirillum rubrum with the aid of DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Analysis of the crude extract by the isoelectric focusing technique shows eight isoelectrically different forms of cytochrome c2, which ranged between pI 4.6 and 9.3, and seven different forms of cytochrome cc', which ranged between pI 4.1 and 9.3. The predominant forms amounted to more than 60% of each cytochrome and corresponded to the cytochromes finally purified. Two additional electron transfer proteins have been isolated in a homogeneous state from the R. rubrum extracts. One is an FMN-containing protein (pI 4.4, molecular weight = 140,000, Em,7 = -0.235 volt) with no detected dehydrogenase function. The other is cytochrome b557.5 (pI 4.6, mol wt = 450,000, Em,7 = - 0.204 volt) which does not react with carbon monoxide and is believed not to be related to the cytochrome o of R. rubrum cells.
Postprocessing of L1 GPS radio occultation signals recorded in open‐loop mode

[1] GPS Radio Occultation (RO) profiling from low-Earth orbiting satellites is operationally used for numerical weather forecasting and is starting to be used for climate studies. Obtaining high-quality observations near the surface requires recording of RO signals in model-aided open loop (OL) mode by the GPS receiver. Postprocessing of the OL RO signals is different from that of the signals recorded in traditional phase-locked loop (PLL) mode. It requires modeling of the signal frequency for connection of the phase between samples and removal of the GPS navigation data modulation (NDM). It is important that the postprocessing does not introduce errors (biases) in the connected phase. This paper describes the postprocessing of the OL RO signals which does not depend on the receiver model. The postprocessing includes: modeling of the RO signal frequency from refractivity climatology and the subsequent adjustment of this model by use of feedback which makes the postprocessing model-independent; internal (as in PLL) removal of NDM and the use of externally recorded NDM bit sequence. Statistical comparison of the refractivity inversion results demonstrates that external demodulation of RO signals reduces the inversion bias in the tropical lower troposphere by about 0.5%.
How does snow impact the albedo of vegetated land surfaces as analyzed with MODIS data

[1] Albedo derived from MODIS observations is found to be very stable during November 2000–January 2001. We analyze shortwave albedo under snow and snow-free conditions by IGBP land cover types. Snow changes the spectral property of the surface reflectivity and causes high heterogeneity in the surface albedo between and within land types. The mean black sky (or direct beam) albedo at local solar noon for snow-covered forests is less than 0.30 in the shortwave (0.3–5.0 μm), but it reaches 0.57 for snow-covered grassland and barren. Although we are unable to further separate within-class albedos with fractional tree cover, we find that the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) is highly correlated with surface albedo and hence can be taken as a measure of snow, soil and canopy fraction.
STABILITY ANALYSIS OF FACTORIZATION METHODS

The convergence characteristics of various approximate factorizations for the 3D Euler and Navier-Stokes equations are examined using the von-Neumann stability analysis method. Three upwind-difference based factorizations and several central-difference based factorizations are considered for the Euler equations. In the upwind factorizations both the flux-vector splitting methods of Steger and Warming and van Leer are considered. Analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations is performed only on the Beam and Warming central-difference scheme. The range of CFL numbers over which each factorization is stable is presented for one-, two-, and three-dimensional flow. Also presented for each factorization is the CFL number at which the maximum eigenvalue is minimized, for all Fourier components, as well as for the high frequency range only. The latter is useful for predicting the effectiveness of multigrid procedures with these schemes as smoothers. Further, local mode analysis is performed to test the suitability of using a uniform flow field in the stability analysis. Some inconsistencies in the results from previous analyses are resolved.
Politics After Television: A “split public” in the making and unmaking of the Ram Janmabhumi movement

With the establishment of a unified visual field by nationwide television, for the first time there emerged a single platform of representation across a society, me with profound social and cultural divisions. The technology was of course seen by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as an instrument of national integration; the intent of the Ramayan broadcast was described more or less in these terms. There can seldom have been so great a failure of imagination in any attempt at social engineering. For the first time, the bewilderingly varying parts of Indian society were simultaneously exposed to one of its most familiar narrative traditions, and represented to themselves as behaving in unison across its considerable breadth. The proof of this extraordinary claim was that everybody watched the Ramayan, a claim reiterated and amplified in the press. If the Congress or the BJP understood the formation of a nationwide televisual audience as the realization of a collective consciousness, however, the dependence of this presumed consciousness on a particular apparatus was completely ignored. The Indian public was after all hardly a single entity, even if the technology for its unification, or for imagining its unity, appeared to be at hand. But the avowal that it was indeed a single entity was never before granted so much attention by so many people since the time of Independence as in the wake of the Ramayan broadcasts. Even this immense convergence of attention was not sufficient to render a deeply divided public whole.
Agency Costs or Accrual Quality: What Do Investors Care More About When Valuing a Dual Class Firm?

We study the effect of ownership structure on the informativeness of a firm’s earnings as capitalized in stock prices and returns. We hypothesize that informativeness of earnings is decreasing in dual class ownership structure due to purported higher agency costs at dual class firms compared to their single class counterparts even though dual class firms have relatively higher accrual quality. We find evidence consistent with our expectations that investors care more about agency costs than the quality of accruals in evaluating the earnings of dual class firms. Specifically, we find that current annual returns of the firm are negatively associated with dual class ownership structure and earnings informativeness is also decreasing in dual class ownership of the firm.
Information Processing Architectures: Fundamental Issues

This article starts with a brief history of information-processing architectures, emphasizing a traditional experimental paradigm, the additive factors method, and the classic problem of model mimicry. Several solid approaches to identifying mental architecture are introduced with a discussion of the necessary assumptions for these tests. Other fundamental issues attached to information-processing systems are also presented. A brief discussion with regard to challenges for the future concludes the article.
Objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior and quality of life indicators in survivors of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND The primary purpose of the current study was to determine prospective associations of accelerometer-assessed physical activity intensity and sedentary time with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) indicators among survivors of breast cancer. METHODS A total of 358 survivors of breast cancer wore an accelerometer for 7 days at baseline to assess different activity intensities (light, lifestyle, and moderate to vigorous) and sedentary behavior. Six months later, survivors completed online questionnaires that assessed HRQOL indicators (disease-specific HRQOL, fatigue, depression, and anxiety) and relevant covariates. Relationships between activity and sedentary behavior quartiles and HRQOL indicator scores were examined using generalized liner models with Bonferroni multiple comparison adjustment. RESULTS After adjustment for covariates and sedentary time, each increasing lifestyle activity quartile was associated with reduced fatigue duration (P for trend, .03). Each increasing baseline moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) quartile was found to be significantly associated with higher Physical Well-Being, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) total, and trial outcome index scores; fewer breast cancer-specific concerns; and lower fatigue interference, and these differences were statistically and clinically significant between survivors in quartile 1 and quartile 4. After controlling for covariates and MVPA, relationships between sedentary time and HRQOL were mostly null with the exception of lower fatigue duration. CONCLUSIONS Objectively measured MVPA was found to be positively associated with many HRQOL indicators. Lifestyle activity was found to be only inversely associated with fatigue duration whereas sedentary time was found to be positively associated with fatigue duration. Future research is warranted to explore these relationships further. Cancer 2015;121:4044–4052. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
The experimental manipulation of keratin expression and organization in epithelial cells and somatic cell hybrids.

Publisher Summary Keratins are found in nearly all epithelial tissue types in vertebrates, and in many cases keratins constitute the majority of the proteins produced ( for e.g., skin and its derivatives). Their organization in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells has made them the fundamental elements of the cytoskeleton and established them as a part of a much larger, interrelated group of polymer-forming proteins that give rise to intermediate filaments. Experimental manipulation of epithelial cells provides a means by which these proteins and the filaments formed by them can be better understood, both in the context of basic cell biology and with regard to their importance in the clinical diagnosis of disease. This chapter discusses some of the consequences of the cytological and genetic manipulation of keratin intermediate filaments in epithelial cells and somatic cell hybrids. The approaches presented are used to investigate keratin intermediate filaments with respect to the overall structure and function of the vertebrate cytoskeleton and to relate the expression of keratin genes and the subsequent organization of keratins to specific cell behavior and growth potential. Results and interpretations from two experimental approaches are presented in the chapter in which the expression and/or organization of keratins has been altered. The first involves the analysis of drug-induced alterations of cytokeratin in cultured epithelial cells and the second focuses on the analysis of clonal variations in keratin filament expression by human somatic cell hybrids.
Acute hepatitis associated with mouse leukemia. I. Pathological features and transmission of the disease

On four occasions a naturally occurring mouse leukemia, which was maintained by serial passage in weanlings of the Princeton strain, was superseded by a syndrome typical of acute hepatitis. Once initiated, the disease was regularly transmissible by the injection of liver suspensions of sick mice. It was also passed, though irregularly, by feeding such suspensions, and it also followed cannibalism. The course of the disease after intraperitoneal injection of liver suspensions into normal weanlings was commonly less than 7 days and the mortality rate nearly 100 per cent. Focal or diffuse necrosis of the liver was the only constant lesion at autopsy. On recovery, which occurred only in exceptional cases, cirrhosis was often found. The primary source of the disease was undetermined. Latent carriage by healthy mice was not detectable on direct examination nor by the serial passage of suspensions of normal livers.
The value of truth: : a reply to Howson

Colin Howson has recently argued that accuracy arguments for probabilism fail because they assume a privileged ‘coding’ in which TRUE is assigned the value 1 and FALSE is assigned the value 0. I explain why this is wrong by first showing that Howson’s objections are based on a misconception about the way in which degrees of confidence are measured, and then reformulating the accuracy argument in a way that manifestly does not depend on the coding of truth-values. Along the way, I will explain how to formulate the laws of probability and rational expectation in a scale-invariant way, and how to properly understand the values of the credence functions that we use to represent rational degrees of confidence
Ribosomes, polyribosomes, and deoxyribonucleic acid from thermophilic mesophilic, and psychrophilic clostridia.

Analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from four species of Clostridium, including two thermophiles, a mesophile, and a psychrophile, revealed no obvious relationship between growth temperature and DNA base composition. The melting temperatures (Tm) of the DNA from the four species varied no more among the thermophilic, mesophilic, and psychrophilic species than among many related mesophilic species. Characterization of ribosomes from the clostridia by means of optical rotatory dispersion yielded similar spectra in common with other unrelated organisms. Only small differences were noted in the base composition of ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) and in the amino acid composition of ribosomal proteins, including half-cystine content, as determined by cysteic acid analysis, and accessible sulfhydryl groups, as determined by titration with dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid). Except for the two thermophiles, the ribosomal protein electrophoretic patterns were dissimilar. No unusual thermal stability was manifested in the Tm values of thermophile ribosomal RNA. However, thermophile ribosome Tm values (69 C) were higher than were mesophile and psychrophile Tm values (64 C). Ribosomes from the four clostridial species were also examined in regard to the effect of heat on their functional integrity, measured by their activity in poly U-directed 14C-phenylaline incorporation, and their gross physical integrity, measured by sucrose gradient analysis. The Td, 5 values (temperature which produces 50% inactivation after 5 min) was found to be 70 and 72 C for the two thermophiles C. tartarivorum and C. thermosaccharolyticum, respectively; 57 C for a mesophile, C. pasteurianum; and 53 C for a psychrophile, Clostridium sp. strain 69. At 55 C, little effect was seen on the thermophile ribosomes, but the mesophile ribosomes lost 90% of their activity in 1 hr, and psychrophile ribosomes lost 100% of their activity within 10 min. According to sucrose gradient profiles, heating at 55 C results in dissociation of mesophile ribosomes and aggregation of psychrophile ribosomes. Thermophile S-100 fractions were also more thermostable than were mesophile or psychrophile S-100 fractions. The Td, 5 values were 69 C for C. tartarivorum and C. thermosaccharolyticum S-100 and 41 C for C. pasteurianum and Clostridium sp. strain 69 S-100. The effect of heat on the endogenous incorporation of 14C-valine by polysomes was also examined. In the case of thermophile polysomes, the extent of incorporation at 55 and 37 C was about equal. In the case of mesophile and psychrophile polysomes, the extent at 55 C was 44 and 39%, respectively, of the value at 37 C. The initial rates of incorporation in all four cases were greater at 55 C than at 37 C.
Recognizable sets and power sets of finite semigroups.

Let S be a finite semigroup or monoid. Then P(S), the power set of S, forms a finite semigroup or monoid under the usual multiplication of subsets. Let V be a variet~ of finite semigroups or monoids (~.~., ~ is a collection of finite semigroups, or monoids, closed under division and finite direct products) and let P(V) be the variety generated by (P(S)IS ~). In this paper I show that the operation ~ ~ P(V) on varieties is equivalent to a simple operation on the corresponding families of recognizable sets. Section ~ presents the necessary background material on varieties of recognizable sets and of finite semigroups and monoids--this material is extracted from Eilenberg [7, vol. B]. Section 2 contains a proof of the main theorem, which describes the effect of the operation ~ ~ P(V) on the variety of recognizable sets corresponding to ~. Section 3 is devoted to applications and some open questions.
Microplasma Discharge Vacuum Ultraviolet Photoionization Source for Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Mass Spectrometry

In this paper, we demonstrate the first use of an atmospheric pressure microplasma-based vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization source in atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry applications. The device is a robust, easy-to-operate microhollow cathode discharge (MHCD) that enables generation of VUV photons from Ne and Ne/H2 gas mixtures. Photons were detected by excitation of a microchannel plate detector and by analysis of diagnostic sample ions using a mass spectrometer. Reactive ions, charged particles, and metastables produced in the discharge were blocked from entering the ionization region by means of a lithium fluoride window, and photoionization was performed in a nitrogen-purged environment. By reducing the output pressure of the MHCD, we observed heightened production of higher-energy photons, making the photoionization source more effective. The initial performance of the MHCD VUV source has been evaluated by ionizing model analytes such as acetone, azulene, benzene, dimethylaniline, and glycine, which were introduced in solid or liquid phase. These molecules represent species with both high and low proton affinities, and ionization energies ranging from 7.12 to 9.7 eV.
Shape from shading using linear approximation

Abstract In this paper, we present an extremely simple algorithm for shape from shading, which can be implemented in 25 lines of C code ∗ . The algorithm is very fast, taking 0.2 seconds on a Sun SparcStation-1 for a 128 × 128 image, and is purely local and highly parallelizable (parallel implementation included). In our approach, we employ a linear approximation of the reflectance function, as used by others. However, the main difference is that we first use the discrete approximations for surface normal, p and q, using finite differences, and then linearize the reflectance function in depth, Z(x, y), instead of p and q. The algorithm has been tested on several synthetic and real images of both Lambertian and specular surfaces, and good results have been obtained.
Root turnover and productivity of coniferous forests

Fine roots and mycorrhizae have recently been shown to produce a major portion of the organic matter entering decomposition. Roots and mycorrhizae constitute 63 to 70% of total net primary production in Douglas-fir and Pacific silver fir stands. The importance of roots in primary production makes the method of root extraction from the soil important. Wet-sieving with small mesh screens is more effective than hand-sorting for fine roots and mycorrhizae. Screen size, the efficiency of recovery, the physiological status of the roots and conversion factors to derive biomass from the numbers of root tips should be stated. Published data is enhanced if the phenological status of the stand, its age, tree density, and soil texture are quoted.
A nonequilibrium stage model of multicomponent separation processes—V. Computational methods for solving the model equations

Abstract This paper looks at the computational aspects of separation process simulation using a nonequilibrium stage model. Some of the ways in which nonequilibrium simulations are similar to or different from equilibrium stage calculations are discussed, and computational techniques that can be used to solve the nonequilibrium model equations are described.
Endothelial cell, pericyte, and perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocyte interactions regulate cochlear intrastrial fluid-blood barrier permeability.

The integrity of the fluid–blood barrier in the stria vascularis is critical for maintaining inner ear homeostasis, especially for sustaining the endocochlear potential, an essential driving force for hearing function. However, the mechanisms that control intrastrial fluid–blood barrier permeability remain largely unknown. At the cellular level, the intrastrial fluid–blood barrier comprises cochlear microvascular endothelial cells connected to each other by tight junctions (TJs), an underlying basement membrane, and a second line of support consisting of cochlear pericytes and perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocytes. In this study, we use a newly established primary cell culture-based in vitro model to show that endothelial cells, pericytes, and perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocytes interact to control intrastrial fluid–blood barrier permeability. When the endothelial cell monolayer was treated with pericyte—or perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocyte—conditioned media, the permeability of the endothelial cell monolayer was significantly reduced relative to an untreated endothelial cell monolayer. Further study has shown the pericytes and perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocytes to regulate TJ expression in the endothelial cell monolayer. The new cell culture-based in vitro model offers a unique opportunity to obtain information on the organ-specific characteristics of the cochlear blood/tissue barrier. Our finding demonstrates the importance of signaling among pericytes, endothelial cells, and perivascular resident macrophage-type melanocytes to the integrity of the intrastrial fluid–blood barrier.
Activation of methyltetrahydrofolate by cobalamin-independent methionine synthase.

Cobalamin-independent methionine synthase (MetE) catalyzes the final step of de novo methionine synthesis using the triglutamate derivative of methyltetrahydrofolate (CH3-H4PteGlu3) as methyl donor and homocysteine (Hcy) as methyl acceptor. This reaction is challenging because at physiological pH the Hcy thiol is not a strong nucleophile and CH3-H4PteGlu3 provides a very poor leaving group. Our laboratory has previously established that Hcy is ligated to a tightly bound zinc ion in the MetE active site. This interaction activates Hcy by lowering its pKa, such that the thiolate is stabilized at neutral pH. The remaining chemical challenge is the activation of CH3-H4PteGlu3. Protonation of N5 of CH3-H4PteGlu3 would produce a better leaving group, but occurs with a pKa of 5 in solution. We have taken advantage of the sensitivity of the CH3-H4PteGlu3 absorption spectrum to probe its protonation state when bound to MetE. Comparison of free and MetE-bound CH3-H4PteGlu3 absorbance spectra indicated that the N5 i...
Production and Purification of Metal Radionuclides for PET Imaging of Disease

The applications of radiopharmaceuticals labeled with positron-emitting metal radionuclides for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have been increasing steadily over the past 20 years. The methods used for production and purification of the radionuclides are important for producing high specific activity agents, as this is critical for imaging low capacity receptors that are upregulated in diseased tissues. In this review we outline state-of-the-art methodologies for producing four widely used metal radionuclides (Cu-64, Ga-68, Y-86, and Zr-89) and the various purification schemes that are involved in preparing these radionuclides for their use in PET radiopharmaceuticals.
The Killing of African Trypanosomes by Ethidium Bromide

Introduced in the 1950s, ethidium bromide (EB) is still used as an anti-trypanosomal drug for African cattle although its mechanism of killing has been unclear and controversial. EB has long been known to cause loss of the mitochondrial genome, named kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), a giant network of interlocked minicircles and maxicircles. However, the existence of viable parasites lacking kDNA (dyskinetoplastic) led many to think that kDNA loss could not be the mechanism of killing. When recent studies indicated that kDNA is indeed essential in bloodstream trypanosomes and that dyskinetoplastic cells survive only if they have a compensating mutation in the nuclear genome, we investigated the effect of EB on kDNA and its replication. We here report some remarkable effects of EB. Using EM and other techniques, we found that binding of EB to network minicircles is low, probably because of their association with proteins that prevent helix unwinding. In contrast, covalently-closed minicircles that had been released from the network for replication bind EB extensively, causing them, after isolation, to become highly supertwisted and to develop regions of left-handed Z-DNA (without EB, these circles are fully relaxed). In vivo, EB causes helix distortion of free minicircles, preventing replication initiation and resulting in kDNA loss and cell death. Unexpectedly, EB also kills dyskinetoplastic trypanosomes, lacking kDNA, by inhibiting nuclear replication. Since the effect on kDNA occurs at a >10-fold lower EB concentration than that on nuclear DNA, we conclude that minicircle replication initiation is likely EB's most vulnerable target, but the effect on nuclear replication may also contribute to cell killing.
Lin-12/Notch Repeat B: The Effects Of Disulfide Bonding And Hydrophobic Residues On Its Autonomous Folding

Notch proteins are transmembrane proteins involved in controlling cell differentiation, cell growth, and cell death. An extracellular negative regulatory region (NRR) contains three contiguous LIN-12/Notch Repeats (LNRs) - LNRA, LNRB, and LNRC. Previous work from our lab showed that the total number of residues N-terminal to the first cysteine residue from human Notch1 LNRB (hN1LNRB) was critical for correct disulfide bond formation. Because of its more central location in relation to the rest of the protein, hN1LNRB participates in extensive interactions via its hydrophobic residues in the context of the full Notch protein. When expressed and folded in isolation, some of these residues are expected to be exposed to solvent and possibly contribute to the requirement of the additional N-terminal residues for autonomous in vitro folding with formation of the correct disulfide bonds. To test this hypothesis we mutated W52 to A52 and compared its folding pattern to that of the wild-type hN1LNRB. The effect of the total number of disulfide bonds on the autonomous folding of hN1LNRB was also investigated. In this study, the first of three pairs of disulfide bonds in hN1LNRB was eliminated by mutating C45 and C69 to A. Two mutant forms with two pairs of disulfide bonds were folded in vitro under the same conditions as the wild-type and the folding patterns were compared. The data and comparative analysis we present in this work demonstrate the importance of specific hydrophobic interactions and the total number of disulfide bonds as key determinants for the correct folding of an LNR module in addition to the total number of amino acids and Ca2+ ion coordination within the module.
Obstacles to the Professionalization of Mass Media in Post-Soviet Central Asia: a case study of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is the most populous and economically significant of the five Central Asian republics of the former USSR. Although authoritarian, its government appears to recognize the need to train journalists in Western journalistic theory and practice. The observations and experiences of the authors, as recent Fulbright-sponsored journalism scholars in Central Asia, are combined with limited sources on mass media in the region, to discuss the most effective journalism education under current conditions in Central Asia.
Three-dimensional electromagnetic metamaterials that homogenize to uniform non-Maxwellian media

We consider three-dimensional structures consisting of multiple interlocking, disconnected metal networks. We show that, in the low-frequency limit, these systems support photonic bands with linear dispersion relation. The number of such photonic bands is directly controlled by the number of networks and can be arbitrarily large. We construct a non-Maxwellian effective medium for these systems. The effective medium supports multicomponent effective fields, with the numbers of field components designable by geometry.
Virial Theory of Direct Langmuir Collapse

A general virial theorem is proved without any assumption of special symmetries and used to calculate the threshold and time for direct collapse of a two-dimensional Langmuir wave packet. The analysis is shown to apply to ''bump-on-tail'' instabilities, when the ''bump'' is broad, low, and at high velocity. The example of the type-III solar radio-burst problem is treated both numerically and analytically.
Fuzzy logic prioritization of failures in a system failure mode, effects and criticality analysis

Abstract This paper describes a new technique, based on fuzzy logic, for prioritizing failures for corrective actions in a Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA). As in a traditional criticality analysis, the assessment is based on the severity, frequency of occurrence, and detectability of an item failure. However, these parameters are here represented as members of a fuzzy set, combined by matching them against rules in a rule base, evaluated with min-max inferencing, and then defuzzified to assess the riskiness of the failure. This approach resolves some of the problems in traditional methods of evaluation and it has several advantages compared to strictly numerical methods: 1) it allows the analyst to evaluate the risk associated with item failure modes directly using the linguistic terms that are employed in making the criticality assessment; 2) ambiguous, qualitative, or imprecise information, as well as quantitative data, can be used in the assessment and they are handled in a consistent manner; and 3) it gives a more flexible structure for combining the severity, occurrence, and detectability parameters. Two fuzzy logic based approaches for assessing criticality are presented. The first is based on the numerical rankings used in a conventional Risk Priority Number (RPN) calculation and uses crisp inputs gathered from the user or extracted from a reliability analysis. The second, which can be used early in the design process when less detailed information is available, allows fuzzy inputs and also illustrates the direct use of the linguistic rankings defined for the RPN calculations.
Papain-induced lung injury: Alterations in connective tissue metabolism without emphysema☆

Abstract The acute effects of the deposition of papain in the lungs of 4-month-old rabbits have been investigated with an amount not sufficient to cause emphysematous changes. During the first 2 days of in vivo deposition when hemorrhaging and inflammation occur, the total amounts of collagen and elastin in the lung, into which the papain had been instilled, did not change but the concentrations of collagen and elastin decreased 20 and 25% respectively. The rates of synthesis of collagen and other proteins doubled. By 4 weeks, collagen and elastin concentrations returned to, or were slightly above, control levels. The histological appearance and mean linear intercepts of lung sections and the compliance curves of excised lungs of the treated animals were similar to controls by 2 weeks after papain administration. The rabbit lung thus appears able to repair mild injury due to proteolytic enzymes.
Fractional Flow Reserve With Dobutamine Challenge and Coronary Microvascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Symptomatic Myocardial Bridging

Background: Myocardial bridging (MB) results in compression of the coronary artery lumen in systole, extending into diastole with resultant hemodynamic alternation as reflected by fractional flow reserve (FFR). MB has also been associated with coronary endothelial dysfunction. The objective of this study was to investigate relationship between FFR with dobutamine challenge and coronary microvascular endothelial dysfunction in symptomatic MB. Methods and Results: Seventeen consecutive patients who had cardiac catheterization assessment of MB were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to normal (% increase in coronary blood flow [%CBF] ≥50%, n=7) or impaired (%CBF <50%, n=10) coronary microvascular endothelial function assessed on vasoreactivity in the coronary artery with intracoronary infusion of acetylcholine (Ach). Myocardial ischemia was then assessed using FFR at rest and during i.v. dobutamine infusion challenge across the MB with intracoronary pressure wires. FFR was significantly decreased at peak dobutamine infusion compared to at rest in the impaired group (0.85±0.06 vs. 0.91±0.05, P=0.001), but not in the normal group (0.93±0.05 vs. 0.91±0.07, P=0.618). Both FFR at rest and at peak dobutamine infusion had a positive correlation with %CBF by Ach in the impaired group (r2=0.46, P=0.030; r2=0.52, P=0.018, respectively). Conclusions: Microvascular endothelial dysfunction was associated with decreased FFR at peak dobutamine stress in patients with symptomatic MB. (Circ J 2014; 78: 685–692)
Impact of acute epinephrine removal on hepatic glucose metabolism during stress hormone infusion

We examined the effect of acute discontinuation of an epinephrine (EPI) infusion on hepatic glucose metabolism during stress hormone infusion (SHI). Glucose metabolism was assessed in 11 conscious, 20-hour fasted dogs using tracer and arteriovenous techniques after a 3-day exposure to SHI. SHI increased EPI, norepinephrine, cortisol, and glucagon levels (approximately sixfold to 10-fold), which led to marked hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and accelerated glucose metabolism. On day 3, EPI infusion was acutely discontinued for 180 minutes in five dogs while infusion of the other hormones was continued (SHI - EPI). In the remaining six dogs, all hormones were continued for the duration of the study (SHI + EPI). In SHI - EPI, EPI levels decreased from 1,678+/-191 to 161+/-47 pg/mL. Isoglycemia (183+/-10 to 185+/-15 mg/dL) was maintained with an exogenous glucose infusion. Arterial insulin levels increased from 41+/-8 to 64+/-8 microU/mL. Whole-body glucose utilization increased from 3.5+/-0.5 to 9.4+/-1.9 mg/kg/min. Nonesterified fatty acids ([NEFAs] 763+/-292 to 147+/-32 micromol/L) decreased. Net hepatic glucose output decreased (2.6+/-0.6 to 0.1+/-0.3 mg/kg/min). In SHI + EPI, hepatic glucose metabolism remained unaltered. In summary, EPI plays a pivotal role during SHI by stimulating glucose production and inhibiting glucose utilization. In part, these effects are mediated by restraining pancreatic insulin secretion.
Structure-Property Correlations of Atomistic and Coarse-Grained Models of Polymer Melts

Polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) integral equation theory of polymer melts is applied to investigate the role of local chemical structure on interchain packing and thermodynamic properties such as the isothermal compressibility, cohesive energy, and solubility parameters. Chemically realistic rotational isomeric state model (RIS) level calculations are carried out for polyethylene and isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene. A strong correlation between the thermodynamic properties and the local depletion regime of interchain packing is found. A series of coarse-grained models of decreasing local realism are then investigated, and various schemes are constructed to estimate the coarse-grained model parameters in terms of polymer structure. For the discrete semiflexible chain and the Gaussian thread models the effects of backbone characteristic ratio and chain branching are incorporated by employing an effective stiffness, or aspect ratio. A strategy for carrying out the mapping from the atomistic to coarse-grained level based on single-chain conformational and interchain packing considerations is studied. For polyethylene and polypropylene, by enforcing an equality of the zero-angle scattering of the atomistic and coarse-grained models, good agreement is found between the local radial distribution functions and reduced solubility parameters predicted by the various models. Numerical predictions of the semiflexible chain model and analytical results for the Gaussian thread liquid are obtained and compared against RIS-level calculations and experimental estimates of the melt solubility parameters. At least within a homologous series of materials, it appears that appropriately calibrated coarse-grained descriptions can reproduce various structural and thermodynamic properties. This suggests that polymer alloy miscibility can be studied within a homologous series of materials by computationally convenient, coarse-grained models.