cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nanophotonic phase noise filter in silicon

Narrow-linewidth light sources have far-reaching applications from communication1 to metrology2–4. Benchtop linewidth reduction methods such as feedback5,6 and feed-forward7,8 schemes have been used to reduce the linewidth of lasers. The feedback scheme typically has a limited bandwidth and depends on the laser characteristics and the feed-forward scheme is highly sensitive to gain and delay mismatches. Here, we report the demonstration of an integrated nanophotonic phase noise filter, which can be placed after a low-cost laser to significantly suppress its phase noise independent of the light source. The hybrid-integrated electronic–photonic system measures and suppresses the phase noise of the input light using an electronic–photonic loop without interacting with the light source. Using the integrated phase noise filter, laser linewidth reduction from 2.55 MHz to 4 kHz and from 200 kHz to 320 Hz is demonstrated. The silicon photonic and complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) electronic chips were hybrid-integrated within a footprint of 3 mm2. An optoelectronic device that measures and suppresses the phase noise of a source has been realized in an integrated silicon platform.
Healing the Broken Heart; The Immunomodulatory Effects of Stem Cell Therapy

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality within the United States. Current treatments being administered to patients who suffered a myocardial infarction (MI) have increased patient survival, but do not facilitate the replacement of damaged myocardium. Recent studies demonstrate that stem cell-based therapies promote myocardial repair; however, the poor engraftment of the transferred stem cell populations within the infarcted myocardium is a major limitation, regardless of the cell type. One explanation for poor cell retention is attributed to the harsh inflammatory response mounted following MI. The inflammatory response coupled to cardiac repair processes is divided into two distinct phases. The first phase is initiated during ischemic injury when necrosed myocardium releases Danger Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) and chemokines/cytokines to induce the activation and recruitment of neutrophils and pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages (MΦs); in turn, facilitating necrotic tissue clearance. During the second phase, a shift from the M1 inflammatory functional phenotype to the M2 anti-inflammatory and pro-reparative functional phenotype, permits the resolution of inflammation and the establishment of tissue repair. T-regulatory cells (Tregs) are also influential in mediating the establishment of the pro-reparative phase by directly regulating M1 to M2 MΦ differentiation. Current studies suggest CD4+ T-lymphocyte populations become activated when presented with autoantigens released from the injured myocardium. The identity of the cardiac autoantigens or paracrine signaling molecules released from the ischemic tissue that directly mediate the phenotypic plasticity of T-lymphocyte populations in the post-MI heart are just beginning to be elucidated. Stem cells are enriched centers that contain a diverse paracrine secretome that can directly regulate responses within neighboring cell populations. Previous studies identify that stem cell mediated paracrine signaling can influence the phenotype and function of immune cell populations in vitro, but how stem cells directly mediate the inflammatory microenvironment of the ischemic heart is poorly characterized and is a topic of extensive investigation. In this review, we summarize the complex literature that details the inflammatory microenvironment of the ischemic heart and provide novel insights regarding how paracrine mediated signaling produced by stem cell-based therapies can regulate immune cell subsets to facilitate pro-reparative myocardial wound healing.
Establishing professional online communities for world language educators

Professional isolation, a familiar issue in world language education, has been exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article addresses this issue by providing world language educators with practical guidance related to establishing high‐functioning professional networks online. Empirical findings related to computer‐mediated communication (CMC) in language learning and teacher training contexts support the articulation of four critical considerations for successful online professional communities: that participants (a) possess requisite technical knowledge to navigate the platforms being utilized; (b) develop requisite reflective and evaluative competencies; (c) exhibit ongoing, sustained engagement; and (d) engage collaboratively with other participants. In concert, successful treatment of these considerations not only provides practitioners with a temporary solution to engage in physically distant collaboration, but also may help establish a more robust, sustainable professional development infrastructure for world language teachers in the future.
SHP2 is a multifunctional therapeutic target in drug resistant metastatic breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is an extremely recalcitrant disease capable of bypassing current targeted therapies via engagement of several growth promoting pathways. SH2 containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP2) is an oncogenic phosphatase known to facilitate growth and survival signaling downstream of numerous receptor inputs. Herein, we used inducible genetic depletion and two distinct pharmacological inhibitors to investigate the therapeutic potential of targeting SHP2 in MBC. Cells that acquired resistance to the ErbB kinase inhibitor, neratinib, displayed increased phosphorylation of SHP2 at the Y542 activation site. In addition, higher levels of SHP2 phosphorylation, but not expression, were associated with decreased survival of breast cancer patients. Pharmacological inhibition of SHP2 activity blocked ERK1/2 and AKT signaling generated from exogenous stimulation with FGF2, PDGF, and hGF and readily prevented MBC cell growth induced by these factors. SHP2 was also phosphorylated upon engagement of the extracellular matrix (ECM) via focal adhesion kinase. Consistent with the potential of SHP2-targeted compounds as therapeutic agents, the growth inhibitory property of SHP2 blockade was enhanced in ECM-rich 3D culture environments. In vivo blockade of SHP2 in the adjuvant setting decreased pulmonary metastasis and extended the survival of systemic tumor-bearing mice. Finally, inhibition of SHP2 in combination with FGFR-targeted kinase inhibitors synergistically blocked the growth of MBC cells. Overall, our findings support the conclusion that SHP2 constitutes a shared signaling node allowing MBC cells to simultaneously engage a diversity of growth and survival pathways, including those derived from the ECM.
Sex differences in the impact of parental obesity on offspring cardiac SIRT3 expression, mitochondrial efficiency, and diastolic function early in life.

Parental obesity contributes to diastolic dysfunction in young offspring (1–3 days after weaning) in a sex-dependent manner, as well as reduced cardiac SIRT3 expression and altered mitochondrial bi...
Unfulfilled promise of better decisions

Climate services have long sought to bridge the gap between climate science and improved societal decision-making. Now, a study finds that fulfilling that promise will require rethinking the norms, institutions and governance of science itself.
Plasma expansion and relativistic filamentation in intense laser-irradiated cone targets

Compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) cone targets have been shown to produce increased MeV photons on the NIF-ARC by 10× over flat targets. Multiple x-ray frames can potentially be generated by firing the NIF-ARC's beamlets into distinct cone targets at few nanosecond relative delays. This requires that the cone targets with delayed beams are not degraded by their proximity to previous targets. One concern is that the spatial wings of a beam fired into one target can fall on neighboring targets, producing a preformed plasma that may interfere with laser light reaching the tip of the cone. In this work, 3D hydra simulations of realistic targets and beam parameters show that hundreds of micrometer scale length preplasmas are produced in cones within 1 mm of the laser spot. 2D particle-in-cell simulations of the intense main pulse in this preplasma indicate a density threshold for the onset of relativistic filamentation in our conditions. Applying our modeling approach to a NIF-ARC shot with an intentional 15 J prepulse yields good agreement with experimental results.
Surgical Free Flaps and Grafts in Head and Neck Reconstruction: Principles and Postoperative Imaging

This review article discusses the basic principles behind the use of flaps and grafts for reconstructive surgery in the head and neck, with a special emphasis on the types of commonly used free flaps, their imaging appearance as well as some frequently encountered postoperative complications. Given the ubiquity and complexity of these reconstructive techniques, it is essential that head and neck radiologists be familiar in distinguishing between the expected evolving findings, complications, and tumor recurrence.
HONOR, ANGER, AND BELITTLEMENT IN ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS

SUMMARY The author considers the phenomenon of honor (tim�u ) by examining Aristotle’s description of it and its role in ethical and political life. His study of honor leads him to two related phenomena, anger (org�u ) and belittlement or contempt (olig�? ria); examining them helps him define honor more precisely. With his examination of honor the author shows how densely interwoven Aristotle’s ethical theory is; he illuminates such diverse things as the human good, political life and friendship, virtue, vice, incontinence, flattery, wealth and pleasure; he shows how the metaphysical principles of dunamis and energeia are at work in human affairs; he treats the passion of anger as well as the moral attitude of contempt that provokes it, and he situates both within the study of rhetoric.
Effect of phorbol and bryostatin I on chondrogenic expression of chick limb bud, in vitro

The ability of phorbol esters to promote tumor formation and alter cell differentiation has been attributed to its action on a number of critical cellular functions, in particular, on protein phosphorylation, through the activation of protein C kinase. The present paper describes the effects of PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13 acetate) on in vitro chondrogenesis in non-passaged, embryonic limb bud cells, relative to the effects of Bryostatin I. This compound also activates C kinase and binds competitively to the phorbol ester receptor, yet does not affect cell differentiation. Levels of PMA as low as 10(-7) M markedly reduced cartilage formation in 4-day cultures, as indicated by nodule count and Alcian blue staining for chondroitin sulfate. Coadministration of Bryostatin I at equimolar concentration prevented the PMA inhibitory effect on chondrocytic expression. This confirms other findings that phorbol activation of C kinase cannot exclusively account for the activity of phorbol on cell expression, i.e., that other pathway(s) must also be involved. Altering the time of PMA exposure demonstrated that PMA inhibited chondrocyte phenotypic expression, rather than cell commitment: early (0-48 h) exposure to PMA (during chondrocytic commitment in vitro) had little inhibitory effect on the staining index, whereas, exposure from 49-96 h (presumably post-commitment) and 0-96 h had moderate and strong inhibitory effects, respectively, on cartilage synthesis. Further research on the phorbol/Bryostatin I interaction should add to our knowledge of the control processes involved in tumor promotion and cell differentiation.
Ion-exchange displacement chromatography of proteins

Abstract Dextran-based polyelectrolyte displacers were successfully employed for the displacement purification of proteins in ion-exchange displacement systems. The effect of molecular mass was investigated by examining the efficacy of DEAE-dextran and dextran sulfate displacers of various molecular masses in cation- and anion-exchange systems, respectively. Induced salt gradients produced during these displacement experiments were measured in order to study their effect on the protein separations. The unique characteristics of these displacements were well predicted by simulations obtained from a steric mass action (SMA) ion-exchange model. These displacements differ from the traditional vision of displacement chromatography in several important ways: the isotherm of the displacer does not necessarily lie above the feed component isotherms; the concentration of the displaced proteins can sometimes exceed that of the displacer; higher-molecular-mass displacers are not necesarily more efficacious than lower-molecular-mass compounds; and the salt gradients induced by the adsorption of the displacer produce different salt micro-environments for each displaced protein.
Collisional quenching of high rotational levels in A 2Σ+ OH

Collisional removal of the v′=0 level of the A 2Σ+ state of the OH radical has been studied as a function of rotational level N′ at room temperature. OH in high rotational levels of the X 2Πi state were created by 193 nm photolysis of HNO3 and excited to A 2Σ+ by a tunable dye laser. Time decays of fluorescence at varying pressures were measured. For O2 and H2, the quenching cross section σQ decreased with increasing N′ until N′∼10; for higher N′ it appears to remain approximately constant. Xe behaves the same way except that the decrease continues to N′=15. For Kr, σQ appears to decrease to within experimental error of zero at N′=10; and for N2 it was within error of zero above N′=10. These results have implications for laser-induced fluorescence atmospheric monitoring of OH and combustion temperature determinations, as well as a fundamental understanding of collisional quenching. Quenching of OH, N′∼1, by HNO3 was found to be 81±8 A2.
Antenatal Antioxidant Prevents Nicotine-Mediated Hypertensive Response in Rat Adult Offspring

Previous studies have demonstrated that perinatal nicotine exposure increased blood pressure (BP) in adult offspring. However, the underlying mechanisms were unclear. The present study tested the hypothesis that perinatal nicotine-induced programming of hypertensive response is mediated by enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the vasculature. Nicotine was administered to pregnant rats via subcutaneous osmotic mini-pumps from Day 4 of gestation to Day 10 after birth, in the absence or presence of the ROS inhibitor N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) in the drinking water. Experiments were conducted in 8-mo-old male offspring. Perinatal nicotine treatment resulted in a significant increase in arterial ROS production in offspring, which was abrogated by NAC. Angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced BP responses were significantly higher in nicotine-treated group than in saline-treated control group, and NAC treatment blocked the nicotine-induced increase in BP response. Consistent with that, the nicotine treatment significantly increased both Ang II-induced and phorbol [12, 13]-dibutyrate (PDBu, a Prkc activator)-induced arterial contractions in adult offspring, which were blocked by NAC treatment. In addition, perinatal nicotine treatment significantly attenuated acetylcholine-induced arterial relaxation in offspring, which was also inhibited by NAC treatment. Results demonstrate that inhibition of ROS blocks the nicotine-induced increase in arterial reactivity and BP response to vasoconstrictors in adult offspring, suggesting a key role for increased oxidative stress in nicotine-induced developmental programming of hypertensive phenotype in male offspring.
Pleural mass forming extramedullary hematopoiesis masquerading as a malignant neoplasm

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) represents the presence of immature hematopoietic elements and their differentiation into mature blood components outside of the medullary bone and may be seen in a variety of circumstances in the postnatal period, but is most strongly associated with disorders of the hematopoietic system. Postnatally, EMH is typically identified at sites of fetal hematopoiesis, the spleen, and liver, but occasional reports have identified it in nearly every tissue of the body. We report a case of EMH presenting as pleural mass, initially suspected to represent a neoplastic process in a patient with multiple comorbidities, including history of carcinoma, but without co-existing hematologic disorder. On-site evaluation of the fine-needle aspiration specimen was initially suspicious for a malignant neoplasm, but further evaluation revealed the lesion to be a mass forming focus of non-hepatosplenic EMH. In the era of increasing utilization of imaging, mass forming EMH is increasingly detected. When unsuspected, EMH may present a diagnostic challenge for the pathologist and may be confused for a neoplastic process.
K-theory for 2-categories

Abstract We establish an equivalence of homotopy theories between symmetric monoidal bicategories and connective spectra. For this, we develop the theory of Γ-objects in 2-categories. In the course of the proof we establish strictification results of independent interest for symmetric monoidal bicategories and for diagrams of 2-categories.
CARBOHYDRATE VARIATIONS ACCOMPANYING THE MOSAIC DISEASE OF TOBACCO

In a previous investigation (Dunlap, I930) the mosaic disease of tobacco was found to be accompanied by a decrease in the total carbohydrate content of the host plant. To supplement these results, the effects of mosaic upon the amounts of each of the various carbohydrate materials in tobacco leaves were studied. Quantitative analyses were planned for the reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars, dextrin, starch, and pentosans in healthy and mosaic leaves of tobacco, gathered at different times of the day and also in material previously exposed to different conditions of light and of temperature. Variations in the carbohydrate fractions, if found to accompany the diseased condition, might show some disorder to exist in the metabolic activities of the host. By exposing the plants to unusual environmental conditions, any such disorders could be made more apparent by accelerating or inhibiting the activity of the enzyms involved in carbohydrate transformations. Only a few comparative analyses of the carbohydrates in the tobacco plant under normal and mosaic-diseased conditions have been reported. Bailey (I924) found smaller amounts of sugar and starch in mosaic leaves of tobacco than in healthy leaves. In the case of other virus diseases of certain plants. the effects of the disease upon the sugar and starch contents have also been recorded. Brewer and others (I926) found a reduction of the sugars and polysaccharides in tomato plants affected with the mosaic disease. On the other hand, True and Hawkins (I9I8), Campbell (I925), and Rosa (I927) have reported increases of carbohydrates in connection with the blight of spinach, potato leaf-roll, and tomato yellows, respectively. Dunlap (1930) found a decrease in the total carbohydrate content of diseased leaves to be characteristic of the several different mosaic diseases studied, and an increase in this content was found to accompany the virus diseases of the yellows type. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Population Pharmacokinetics of High-Dose Zidovudine in a Phase I Cancer Study

High doses of zidovudine, fluorouracil and calcium folinate have been simultaneously administered as a weekly 24-hour infusion in a chemotherapeutic protocol for cancer patients with solid tumours. The established therapeutic regimen, fluorouracil and calcium folinate, acts by inhibiting thymidylate synthase in tumour tissues. The theoretical basis for incorporation of zidovudine into this chemotherapeutic regimen is to interfere with the thymidine salvage pathway leading to more effective depletion of thymidine nucleotide levels and enhanced cytotoxicity to rapidly proliferating cells. Patient plasma sampling was performed prior to termination of the 24-hour infusion to assess steady-state levels and during a 4-hour postinfusion period to observe the decay kinetics. Samples were assayed for zidovudine by high-performance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetic profiles were evaluated for 11 patients administered doses at escalating levels in the range of 7 to 15 g/m2 of zidovudine (6 patients received 3 dose levels, 1 patient received 2 levels, and 4 patients received only 1 level). The data was analysed using NONMEM, a computer program for population pharmacokinetic analysis. A 2-compartment pharmacokinetic model with parallel first-order and Michaelis-Menten elimination was used as the structural model, and a constant variance model was used to model intraindividual error. First-order clearance was modelled as being proportional to a covariate (serum creatinine clearance). Population estimates for volumes of the central and peripheral compartments were 24.3 and 62.5L, respectively. Estimates of first-order clearance and intercompartmental clearance in L/h were (0.436 × serum creatinine clearance) [in ml/min] and 50.2, respectively. The Michaelis-Menten constants, Vmax and Km, were 22.0 mg/L/h and 9.28 mg/L, respectively, where Vmax is the maximum velocity of the capacity-limited process and Km is the concentration at half the maximum velocity. The 2-compartment parallel elimination model described provided a good fit for the nonlinear kinetics observed for zidovudine at high doses. NONMEM was found to be useful for pharmacokinetic analysis of a small population with dense sampling.
The timing of resource availability does not affect reproductive allotment or the rate of oocyte development in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga crassipalpis

The flesh fly, Sarcophaga crassipalpis, is anautogenous and largely relies on adult-acquired income resources for reproduction, but allocates some larvally derived capital into the first clutch. Therefore, the timing of adult resource acquisition may be important for both reproductive timing and magnitude of capital vs. income resources allocated to reproduction. Specifically, we predict that flesh flies that wait longer to acquire adult income resources will allocate greater quantities of larvally derived capital to the first clutch. 2. To test how reproductive allocation in flesh flies responds to the timing of adult protein availability, we provided pulses of protein only on day 3, 6, 9, or 12 after eclosion, a series of times equivalent to the onset of oogensis and early, middle and late oogenic development in individuals fed ad libitum. Protein pulses contained isotopically distinct carbon ( 13 C), allowing us to distinguish between larval capital and adult-income resources allocated towards reproduction. 3. Neither the timing of oocyte development nor reproductive allotment (egg number by egg size) was altered by the timing of protein availability. 4. There was no effect of adult protein acquisition timing on the quantity of larvally derived somatic capital vs. adult-acquired income carbon allocated to reproduction. While flesh flies have remarkable pre-feeding plasticity in reproductive timing, they appear to have little post-feeding plasticity in allocation of stored reserves towards reproduction.
Transcutaneous oxygen tension in patients with calciphylaxis

Abstract Calciphylaxis is a severe complication of chronic renal failure, confined almost exclusively to patients on dialysis therapy. Histological characteristics of calciphylaxis include small-vessel calcifications of skin, subcutaneous tissue, and visceral organs. These vascular changes promote tissue ischemia that often results in tissue necrosis. In this study, we investigated the extent of skin ischemia in patients with calciphylaxis by means of transcutaneous oxygen tension (TCPo 2 ) measurement, a noninvasive test that accurately assesses skin oxygenation. TCPo 2 levels were measured in 21 patients with calciphylaxis and 21 age- and sex-matched patients without evidence of calciphylaxis (controls). TCPo 2 levels were measured bilaterally at the chest, anterior abdomen, and upper thigh while patients breathed room air and after a 30-minute exposure to 100% fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio 2 ). Compared with controls, patients with calciphylaxis showed significantly lower TCPo 2 levels at each body region. In both controls and patients with calciphylaxis, lower TCPo 2 levels correlated with increased weight and use of hemodialysis. No correlation with serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum calcium, or serum phosphorus values was present, although 39% of the patients with calciphylaxis had markedly elevated PTH values (sixfold greater than normal; >300 pg/dL). Low TCPo 2 levels in patients with calciphylaxis were documented in body regions with and without skin lesions. In patients with calciphylaxis, extremely low TCPo 2 values (≤30 mm Hg while patients breathed room air) were present in 62% of the body regions with skin lesions and 26% of the body regions without lesions. Room-air TCPo 2 levels ≤30 mm Hg were present in only 0.8% of the body regions of control patients. TCPo 2 levels obtained while patients breathed 100% Fio 2 remained lower in patients with calciphylaxis than in controls. In conclusion, TCPo 2 levels are abnormally low in patients with calciphylaxis, indicating that severe and diffuse skin ischemia exists, even at areas free of skin lesions. Low TCPo 2 values did not substantially increase with 100% Fio 2 in many patients with calciphylaxis, suggesting a fixed insufficiency of the skin vessels. This study shows that TCPo 2 measurements may allow rapid and noninvasive screening for skin ischemia before the development of skin lesions in patients with calciphylaxis.
Drinking through the pain.

A feature of abusive alcohol drinking has been modeled successfully in experiments with rats. The experiments show that changes in NMDA signaling in specific neural circuits accompany the transition to aversion-resistant drinking.
The Social Economics of Hugo Eisenhart Gustav von Schmoller

Most contemporary economists feel ill at ease with respect to big topics — national economic organisation, interpretation of economic history, relations of economic and political power, origins and functions of economic institutions. The terrain is unsuitable for our tools. We find it hard to frame meaningful questions, much less to answer them. (James Tobin, Nobel Laureate)
Activation of a pertussis toxin-sensitive, inhibitory G-protein is necessary for steroid-mediated oocyte maturation in spotted seatrout

Oocyte maturation (OM) is initiated in lower vertebrates and echinoderms when maturation-inducing substances (MIS) bind oocyte membrane receptors. This study tested the hypothesis that activation of a G(i) protein is necessary for MIS-mediated OM in spotted seatrout. Addition of MIS significantly decreased adenylyl cyclase activity in a steroid specific, pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive manner in oocyte membranes and microinjection of PTX into oocytes inhibited MIS-induced OM, suggesting the steroid activates a G(i) protein. MIS significantly increased [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding to ovarian membranes, confirming that MIS receptor binding activates a G-protein, and immunoprecipitation studies showed the increased [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding was associated with Galpha(i1-3) proteins. Radioligand binding studies in ovarian membranes using GTPgammaS and PTX demonstrated that the MIS binds a receptor coupled to a PTX-sensitive G-protein. This study provides the first direct evidence in a vertebrate model that MIS-induced activation of a G(i) protein is necessary for OM. These results support a mechanism of MIS action involving binding to a novel, G-protein coupled receptor and activation of an inhibitory G-protein, the most comprehensive and plausible model of MIS initiation of OM proposed to date.
System Design Approaches to Integrated Controls

One obstacle to effective control integration, particularly in aircraft systems, is the premature partitioning of the total system into semiautonomous subsystems. This partitioning results from functional divisions that are based on older technology. A requirements definition process is proposed that allows the requirements to be specified independently of an assumed design mechanization. The designer is then given more freedom to use the capabilities or new technology to produce more efficient total systems using integrated control techniques.
Flexible multibody dynamics and adaptive finite element techniques for model synthesis and estimation

Abstract This paper develops a general approach for the efficient modeling and animation of non-rigid multibody objects. We develop a new family of physics-based modeling primitives that can undergo free motions as well as parameterized and free-form deformations. Starting with parameterized geometric primitives and adding global geometric deformations, local finite-element deformations, mass distributions and elasticities, we create deformable models that display correct physical behaviors. In order to further enhance the accuracy of our shape representation we develop adaptive finite element techniques. Our algorithm ensures that during element subdivision the desirable finite element mesh properties of conformity, non-degeneracy and smoothness are maintained. In this way not only can we represent more accurately an object surface, but also more efficiently because new model nodes are added only when necessary in a local fashion. Furthermore, in the paper we adapt and implement efficient constraint methods for connecting physical primitives together to make articulated multibody objects. We demonstrate the computationally efficient performance of our algorithms for the synthesis and visualization of deformable models, as well as for estimating the shapes and motions of deformable objects.
Alignment of the stellar spin with the orbits of a three-planet system

In our Solar System, the Sun's equator and the planets' orbital planes are almost in alignment. This probably reflects the way they formed, from a single spinning disk of gas. Many exoplanet systems do not display this arrangement, however, and isolated 'hot Jupiters' are often misaligned and even have a retrograde orbit. This paper reports an exoplanet system that features alignments similar to those in the Solar System. Analysis of planetary transits across starspots on the Sun-like star Kepler-30 shows that the orbits of its three planets are aligned with the stellar equator. These findings support the suggestion that high orbital tilts (obliquities) are confined to systems that have experienced dynamic interactions of the type that produce hot Jupiters and potentially rule out stardisk misalignments as a cause.
COMPARATIVE SOCIAL MOBILITY REVISITED: MODELS OF CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE IN 16 COUNTRIES*

This paper reanalyzes 3-stratum intergenerational mobility classifications, assembled by Hazelrigg and Garnier for men in 16 countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Log-linear and log-multiplicative models are used to compare mobility regimes and to estimate effects of industrialization, educational enrollment, social democracy, and income inequality on immobility and other parameters of the mobility process. Several models of mobility fit the data equally well, so criteria of plausibility and parsimony are applied to choose one model of stratum-specific immobility and another model of vertical mobility with uniform immobility. We find substantial similarity in mobility and immobility across countries, but the exogenous variables do explain systematic differences among countries. Cross-national variations are complex because most of the exogenous variables have different effects on different parameters of the mobility regime. Relative to other factors, industrialization and education have weaker effects on mobility regimes than has usually been supposed.
Transcriptome of axenic liver stages of Plasmodium yoelii.

Plasmodium liver stages or early exo-eythrocytic forms (EEFs) contain antigens that are essential for achieving sterile, protective immunity against malaria. Yet, attempts at identifying these antigens have been hampered by the challenge of obtaining large numbers of purified EEFs, uncontaminated with hepatocyte material. Using a recently described system for producing axenically cultured EEFs from Plasmodium yoelii, we have constructed a cDNA library and generated 1453 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) resulting in 652 unique transcripts. Analysis of the library provides insight into processes required for the initiation and development of Plasmodium liver stages, such as protein degradation, cell cycle progression and nutrient transport. Analysis of the gene expression profile of liver stages, as revealed by this library, suggests that liver stages represent a shift from “sporozoite-like” to “blood-stage-like”. This is the first study of the transcriptional repertoire of Plasmodium liver stages.
Production and allocation policies in a two-class inventory system with time and quantity dependent waiting costs

This paper presents an integrated production and inventory allocation model in a two-echelon supply chain system. The higher echelon is a manufacturer, who produces a single commodity. The lower echelon consists of two types of major commodity distributors who might face stochastic or deterministic demands from multiple retailers. Our analytical model provides optimal decision policies that minimize total production and customer waiting costs from the manufacturer's perspective when there are time and quantity dependent customer waiting costs. We identify the value of the integrated policy and compare it with typical approximations such as aggregating the multiple demands or applying the single demand multiple times.
Yeast tRNAPhe conformation wheels: a novel probe of the monoclinic and orthorhombic models

A series of conformation wheels is constructed from the recently refined X-ray crystallographic data of monoclinic and orthorhombic yeast tRNAPhe. These circular plots relate the primary chemical structure (i.e., base sequence) directly to the secondary and tertiary structure of the molecule. The circular sequence of backbone torsion angles displays a unique pattern that is useful both in distinguishing the ordered and disordered regions of the molecule and in comparing the three sets of experimental data. Composite conformation wheels describe the fluctuations in the "fixed" parameters (phi', phi, chi) and independent conformation wheels reveal the changes in the "variable" parameters (omega', omega, psi, psi') of the three different yeast tRNAPhe models. Additional plots of base-stacking parameters help to visualize the intimate interrelationship between chemical sequence and three-dimensional folding of yeast tRNAPhe. The composite data illustrate several conformational schemes that position the bases of adjacent nucleosides in a parallel stacked array and reveal an even larger number of conformations that introduce bends or turns in the polynucleotide chain.
Kinetic analysis of the thermal degradation of printed wiring boards

The non-isothermal pyrolysis of printed wiring boards (PWBs) was investigated by simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) in the temperature range of 300–1200 K. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out on PWBs samples at three different heating rates of 10, 20, and 30°C/min. In this study, the kinetic parameters of PWBs pyrolysis have been estimated using model free and model fitted methods.
Racial and Ethnic Variation in Pain Following Inpatient Palliative Care Consultations

Studies have documented high levels of pain in hospitalized individuals at the end of life, with minorities reporting higher levels of pain than whites. In response, inpatient palliative care (IPC) teams have grown rapidly to improve care of seriously ill individuals. Although research indicates that IPC teams effectively reduce and maintain control of pain, racial and ethnic differences in pain following IPC consultation remain unclear. This study investigated racial and ethnic pain differences after an IPC intervention in 385 seriously ill white, black, and Latino individuals aged 65 and older. Using the 11-point Numeric Rating Scale for pain, individuals were asked to rate their pain intensity at four points during hospitalization (before IPC consultation, 2 and 24 hours after the consultation, and at hospital discharge). Results indicate that whites (F1.657, 173.998 = 16.528, P < .001), blacks (F1.800, 95.410 = 7.103, P = .002), and Latinos (F1.388, 73.584 = 10.902, P < .001) all experienced significant reductions in pain after the intervention. Adjusted multivariate models testing between-group racial and ethnic differences revealed that Latinos were 62% more likely than whites to report experiencing pain at hospital discharge (relative risk = 0.38, 95% confidence interval = 0.15-0.97). Regardless of race or ethnicity, IPC effectively reduces and controls pain after consultation. Despite pain decreases, Latinos remain more likely than whites to report pain at follow-up. Further research is needed to determine the mechanisms in operation and to better understand and address the needs of this population.
Towards an Anthropology of Services

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes an anthropology of services with implications for service science and design. Contemporary services are often presented as a rupture with previous economic regimes such as manufacturing, a discontinuity that allows services to be conceptualized as a professional domain. We argue instead that services have long characterized the human condition and that they are always embedded in local contexts. An anthropology of services explicates these social contexts to develop more varied and grounded approaches to service encounters, notions of co-production and co-creation, value propositions and service systems. Paradoxically, an anthropology of services draws attention to the conceptual and methodological messiness of service worlds and in doing so it contributes to expanding our understanding of the variety of services, the limits to their conceptualization as objects of design and the possibilities for intervening in and around them to contribute to human betterment.
Blunt Renal Trauma in Children with the Prune-Belly Syndrome

AbstractWe report significant blunt renal injury resulting from 3 traumatic events in 2 boys with the prune-belly syndrome. Manifestations of the syndrome influenced the clinical and radiographic assessment of the urinary tract injuries. Nonoperative management resulted in excellent outcomes without long-term sequelae.
Improving performance of adaptive component-based dataflow middleware

Making the best use of modern computational resources for distributed applications requires expert knowledge of low-level programming tools, or a productive high-level and high-performance programming framework. Unfortunately, even state-of-the-art high-level frameworks still require the developer to conduct a tedious manual tuning step to find the work partitioning which gives the best application execution performance. Here, we present a novel framework, with which developers can easily create high-performance dataflow applications, without the tedious tuning process. We compare the performance of our approach to that of three distributed programming frameworks which differ significantly in their programming paradigm, their support for multi-core CPUs and accelerators, and their load-balancing approach. These three frameworks are DataCutter, a component-based dataflow framework, KAAPI, a framework using asynchronous function calls, and MR-MPI, a MapReduce implementation. By highly optimizing the implementations of three applications on the four frameworks and comparing the execution time performance of the runtime engines, we show their strengths and weaknesses. We show that our approach achieves good performance for a wide range of applications, with a much-reduced development cost.
Spurious field suppression in overlapping domain decomposition methods

A fully overlapping decomposition method is proposed to solve the vector Helmholtz equation. Of particular interest is the modeling of in situ antennas on platforms and the design optimizations of irregularly arranged arrays. In this paper, we address the issue of spurious field suppression arising from completely non-conformal meshing in the fully overlapping decomposition method.
Word retrieval in fluent and nonfluent dysphasia: Utilization of pictogram

Connected speech samples were elicited from 10 nonfluent and 10 fluent dysphasic subjects utilizing two contexts, picture and pictogram descriptions. Incidences of word retrieval problems were identified and assigned to nine word retrieval categories. Results revealed pictogram elicited a greater incidence of word retrieval problems, and therefore, proved as a more informative context for identifying word retrieval problems in mild dysphasia. Also, certain word retrieval categories were selectively used by specific dysphasic classification categories and severity levels.
Generalized partially linear models with missing covariates

In this article we study a semiparametric generalized partially linear model when the covariates are missing at random. We propose combining local linear regression with the local quasilikelihood technique and weighted estimating equation to estimate the parameters and nonparameters when the missing probability is known or unknown. We establish normality of the estimators of the parameter and asymptotic expansion for the estimators of the nonparametric part. We apply the proposed models and methods to a study of the relation between virologic and immunologic responses in AIDS clinical trials, in which virologic response is classified into binary variables. We also give simulation results to illustrate our approach.
Creep cavitation and grain boundary structure in type 304 stainless steel

Abstract Grain boundary cavitation in Type 304 stainless steel under creep loading was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that cavitation varied significantly among different grain boundaries even when they were similarly oriented to the stress direction. Drastic changes in cavitation were also often observed across twin boundaries intersecting a grain boundary facet; this finding indicated that grain boundary structure plays an important role in cavitation. The correlation between cavity density and boundary structure was characterized by high voltage electron microscopy and Kikuchi patterns. The results were analyzed in the light of modern grain boundary models. In general, cavities were found on most random high-angle boundaries, whereas coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries tended to resist cavitation. Of the total boundaries (excluding twins), 53% were CSL boundaries; this percentage greatly exceeds available theoretical predictions based on random grain orientation.
DNA related to the transforming gene(s) of avian sarcoma viruses is present in normal avian DNA

INFECTION of fibroblasts by avian sarcoma virus (ASV) leads to neoplastic transformation of the host cell. Genetic analyses have implicated specific viral genes in the transforming process1–4, and recent results suggest that a single viral gene is responsible4. Normal chicken cells contain DNA homologous to part of the ASV genome5–8; moreover, embryonic fibroblasts from certain strains of chickens can produce low titres of infectious type C viruses either spontaneously9 or in response to various inducing agents10. None of the viruses obtained from normal chicken cells, however, can transform fibroblasts, and results with molecular hybridisation indicate that the nucleotide sequences responsible for transformation by ASV are not part of the genetic complement of the normal cell11. We demonstrate here that the DNA of normal chicken cells contains nucleotide sequences closely related to at least a portion of the transforming gene(s) of ASV; in addition, we have found that similar sequences are widely distributed among DNA of avian species and that they have diverged roughly according to phylogenetic distances among the species. Our data are relevant to current hypotheses of the origin of the genomes of RNA tumour viruses12 and the potential role of these genomes in oncogenesis13.
New satellite‐based systems for ionospheric tomography and scintillation region imaging

[1] The new constellation of radio beacons called Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography (CERTO) will be available for measurements of ionospheric total electron content and radio scintillations. These beacons transmit unmodulated, phase-coherent waves, VHF, UHF, and L band frequencies. A fixed radio of 3/8 is used between successive frequencies. Total electron content (TEC) can be measured using the differential phase technique. The range between beacon and receiver is removed from the phase measurements, leaving a differential phase that is proportional to TEC. The three CERTO frequencies cover a wide range for determination of the radio scintillation effects caused by diffraction after propagation though ionospheric irregularities. All of the CERTO beacons are in low Earth orbit with inclinations ranging from equatorial to polar. Each satellite that carries CERTO has other plasma instruments that complement the beacon data. In addition, a Scintillation and Tomography Receiver in Space (CITRIS) instrument will be placed in orbit to detect signals from the CERTO beacons and from the array of 56 Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) VHF/S band radio beacons placed around the word by the French Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales. CITRIS will record ionospheric occultations and radio scintillations with a unique occultation and ground-to-space geometry. New algorithms have been developed for the multifrequency CERTO and CITRIS data to provide improved acquisition and analysis of TEC and scintillation data in ionospheric studies. The data from the CERTO constellation of beacons and receivers may be used to update space weather models.
Commentary: Collaborations from Anthropology, Occupational Therapy and Disability Studies

In her 2007 Inaugural speech as president of the Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA) Marcia Inhorn cited "Occupational Science-Disability Studies" as one of the disciplines with which medical anthropology should intersect. She confounded occupational science and disability studies, fields that have carefully avoided each other's territory, usually with respect. As I draft this discussion and Gelya Frank prepares her introduction, we must thank Marcia Inhorn for bringing us together again.
The use of conjugate gradients methods with a segregated finite volume procedure for solving transient, incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

PISO (pressure-implicit with splitting of operators) is an algorithm devised to solve the transient incompressible Navier-Stokes and energy equations. In that it uses separate equations for each of two pressure corrections, velocity components and transported scalars, PISO is known as a segregated solution procedure. Preconditioned, generalized conjugate gradient (GCG) methods in combination with schemes for vectorization and storage minimization are described in the paper for the purpose of solving both the symmetric and non-symmetric algebraic equation systems that result from the PISO algorithm. Of particular interest in the paper is a comparison of the present procedure with a procedure described by Chin et al. (1992) in which preconditioned conjugate gradient methods are used to solve the Jacobian matrix used in the Newton iteration of the fully coupled non-linear equations. The two methods are similar in that both techniques are based on a discretization using staggered control volumes with the power-law method for modelling advection-diffusion transport.