cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Study of Hemoglobin Levels in the Blood of Young Dairy Calves and the Alleviation of Anemia by Iron

Summary The hemoglobin concentration of calves was determined at weekly or biweekly intervals for periods ranging from 1 to 105 days of age. The values were highest during the first 15 days of life and gradually decreased until the 30th to 70th day of life. After this time there was a gradual increase in hemoglobin level. A large variation in hemoglobin levels between individual calves was evident. In breeds of which a large number of calves of each sex were studied the females had higher hemoglobin levels from birth to 75 days of age than did the males. Calves of the Red Dane breed and Sindhi-Jersey crossbreds and usually mixed crossbreds had higher hemoglobin values than calves of the Jersey and Holstein breeds. Feeding 100mg. of iron per day to calves that were moderately anemic caused an increase in the number of their red blood cells and hemoglobin levels and thus prevented a further decrease, which normally would have been expected. Iron alone or iron in combination with the copper, cobalt, and manganese cured the anemic condition in these young calves, whereas copper, cobalt, and manganese fed alone had no curative properties. A significant correlation between hemoglobin level and body weight gains was observed in the calves of one herd. Further studies are necessary on the practical importance of these findings.
Inducers of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase and their effects on glutathione synthetase expression

Abstract Synthesis of GSH occurs via two enzymatic steps, the first is catalyzed by γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) and the second is catalyzed by GSH synthetase (GS). A heavy (HS) and light subunit (LS) make up GCS; regulation of both subunits have been well characterized, whereas regulation of GS is largely unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of treatments known to influence the gene expression of GCS subunits on GS expression. Insulin and hydrocortisone treatment of rat hepatocytes or ethanol-feeding of rats for 9 weeks, which increased the expression of GCS-HS only, had no influence on GS expression. However, two-thirds partial hepatectomy in rats which increased the expression of GCS-HS only, also increased GS expression. Treatment of hepatocytes or rats with diethyl maleate, buthionine sulfoximine, tert -butylhydroquinone, or thioacetamide, which increased the expression of both GCS subunits, increased the expression of GS. The GSH synthesis capacity increased 50–100% by treatments that increased only the GCS-HS expression, whereas it increased 161–200% by treatments that increased both GCS-HS and GS expression. Thioacetamide treatment of Chang cells increased cell GSH and GS expression by 50%, but had minimal influence on GCS subunits. Thus, GS induction can further increase the cell’s GSH synthetic capacity and in some cells may be as important as GCS in determining the rate of GSH synthesis.
Automatic analytical tools for reliability and dynamic adaptation of complex distributed systems

The key to simplifying development and execution of large and complex distributed systems is providing adequate development environment and runtime facilities for supporting cooperation, reliability and dynamic adaptation. This paper focuses on analytical tools that assist in development of complex systems. The environment allows scalable specification of complex application behavior using mechanisms for abstracting group behavior and hierarchical composition of components. Behavior specification of applications can be analyzed automatically for two classes of problems: (1) reachability and liveness, and (2) consistency during failure recovery and dynamic adaptation. Consistency is preserved by automatically analyzing dependencies from behavior specification. This approach permits components of a complex system to cooperate in complex ways, and execute continuously for a long time with minimal disruption, despite failure or adaptation of some components.
Self-referenced composite Fabry-Pérot cavity vapor sensors.

We develop a versatile, self-referenced composite Fabry-Perot (FP) sensor and the corresponding detection scheme for rapid and precise measurement of vapors. The composite FP vapor sensor is formed by etching two juxtaposed micron-deep wells, with a precisely controlled offset in depth, on a silicon wafer. The wells are then coated with a vapor sensitive polymer and the reflected light from each well is detected by a CMOS imager. Due to its self-referenced nature, the composite FP sensor is able to extract the change in thickness and refractive index of the polymer layer upon exposure to analyte vapors, thus allowing for accurate vapor quantitation regardless of the polymer thickness, refractive index, and light incident angle and wavelength. Theoretical analysis is first performed to elucidate the underlying detection principle, followed by experimental demonstration at two different incident angles showing rapid and consistent measurement of the polymer changes when the polymer is exposed to three different analytes at various concentrations. The vapor detection limit is found to be on the order of a few pico-grams (~100 ppb).
The Ins and Outs of CCR7 in the Thymus

Although it is widely supposed that chemokines play a role in the thymus, most existing evidence is circumstantial. In this issue, two groups provide direct evidence that the chemokine receptor CCR7 is required for normal thymocyte migration (Ueno, T., F. Saito, D. Gray, S. Kuse, K. Hieshima, H. Nakano, T. Kakiuchi, M. Lipp, R. Boyd, and Y. Takahama. 2004. J. Exp. Med. 200:493–505; Misslitz, A., O. Pabst, G. Hintzen, L. Ohl, E. Kremmer, H. T. Petrie, and R. Forster. 2004. J. Exp. Med. 200:481–491). The two papers focus on distinct and opposite migration events, an early outward migration and a later inward migration. Together these papers provide a fascinating picture of the complex role of CCR7 in orchestrating thymocyte migration.
Behavior of picketed circus elephants

The behavior of 14 female Asian (Elephas maximus) and 3 female African (Loxodonta africana) elephants who performed two shows each day with a circus that traveled to a new location (40 to 250 km from the previous day's lot) daily was studied. When not performing or working, the elephants were picketed in the traditional fashion in two separate groups of 8 and 9 elephants each. While they were picketed, a separate camera and time-lapse recorder videotaped the behavior of members of each group for four ∼8-h periods during the 1995 season, and three ∼24-h periods during 1996 season. The behavior of each member of the focal groups was recorded at 5-min intervals. In 1995, stereotypic weaving accounted for 15.9% (range 0.0 to 41.0%), and head bobbing accounted for 2.8% (range: 0.0 to 14.5%) of observations in eight of the elephants. In 1996, stereotypic weaving accounted for 14.3% (range: 0.0 to 33.2%) and head bobbing accounted for 2.9% (range: 0.0 to 33.0%) of observations in 12 of the elephants. The behavior of individual picketed elephants in 1995 was highly correlated (ranging from r=0.78 to 0.83, P<0.001) with their behavior patterns in 1996, despite season and location differences. The elephants spent an average of 33±1.2% of observations eating in 1996. Stereotypic behavior increased in the 15-min period immediately prior to water, performances and hay, when compared to their frequency during the three preceding 15-min periods indicating `anticipation' of water and performances, and a lack of substrate to manipulate or eat in regards to hay. Time the elephants spent off the picket line (performing, working, giving rides, etc.) tended to be negatively correlated with weaving (r=−0.48, P=0.12, N=12).
Aging of multistressed polymeric insulators

Presents a comprehensive bibliographic survey pertaining to multi-stress-related degradation and aging of polymers with principal focus on their use as HV (high-voltage) insulators. The papers in the survey are arranged in the order of the year of publication, with most recent first and data as far back as 1948. However, the literature search for the 1980s was more intense than that for the earlier years. This is because most older literature is always referred to in the recent papers. The survey listings do not discriminate between simultaneously and sequentially applied stresses, or do they preclude papers in which only one externally applied stress induces other stress factors. The survey is intended to help the researchers in academia and industry, both in making an assessment of the current status of the particular research area(s) of their interest and in seeking directions in which to proceed. >
STOCK STRUCTURE OF SEA OTTERS (ENHYDRA LUTRIS KENYONI) IN ALASKA

Sea otters in Alaska are recognized as a single subspecies (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) and currently managed as a single, interbreeding population. However, geographic and behavioral mechanisms undoubrably constrain sea otter movements on much smaller scales. This paper applies the phylogeographic method (Dizon et al. 1992) and considers distribution, population response, phenotype and genotype data to identify stocks of sea otters within Alaska. The evidence for separate stock identity is genotypic (all stocks), phenotypic (Southcentral and Southwest stocks), and geographic distribution (Southeast stock), whereas population response data are equivocal (all stocks). Differences in genotype frequencies and the presence of unique genotypes among areas indicate restricted gene flow. Genetic exchange may be limited by little or no movement across proposed stock boundaries and discontinuities in distribution at proposed stock boundaries. Skull size differences (phenotypic) between Southwest and Southcentral Alaska populations further support stock separation. Population response information was equivocal in either supporting or refuting stock identity. On the basis of this review, we suggest the following: (1) a Southeast stock extending from Dixon Entrance to Cape Yakataga; (2) a Southcentral stock extending from Cape Yakataga to Cape Douglas including Prince William Sound and Kenai peninsula coast; and (3) a Southwest stock including Alaska Peninsula coast, the Aleutians to Attu Island, Barren, Kodiak, Pribilof Islands, and Bristol Bay.
Environmental biosensors for organochlorines, cyanobacterial toxins and endocrine disrupting chemicals

Environmental biosensors and related techniques for monitoring organochlorines, endocrine disrupting chemicals and cyanobacterial toxins are described. The practical requirements for an ideal environmental biosensor are analyzed. Specific case studies for environmental applications are reported for triazines chlorinated phenols, PCBs, microcystins, and endocrine disrupting chemicals. A new promising approach is reported for microcystins and alkylphenols that utilize electrooptical detection.
Responses to the Papers of Barbara Balliet and Michael Joseph

These two papers are explosions that clear the mind of preconceptions and stereotypes. Balliet and Joseph tear away the surface of the sign of the book, the sign of historic truth, and reveal the underlying complexities. Balliet shows us an extraordinary paradox. We have been convinced of the universality of the stereotype of the nineteenth-century American middle-class white woman as confined to the domestic sphere, prevented from entering the fast-growing world of the spread of information, an idle player on the cultural stage. We believe that the world of the Yellow Wallpaper is all pervasive. In the Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Gilman describes the virtual imprisonment of a woman to her bedroom to rest and get over her urges to go beyond Victorian standards of acceptable behavior, limiting her to the domestic sphere. In her confinement, she creates a world of hallucination based on patterns in the yellow wallpaper. The room becomes her world and she lives in its fantasy, removed from the real world. It's a powerful image, used in the beginning stages of feminist theory to break into a new era of freedom and potential for women.
Kernel Optimal Component Analysis

Optimal component analysis (OCA) provides a general sub-space formulation that has many applications. Within the framework of linear representations, OCA poses the problem of finding the optimal representations as an optimization one on the underlying manifold such as Grassmann and a stochastic optimization algorithm can then be used to derive optimal representations for recognition and other applications. However, in many applications, as the underlying manifold is intrinsically nonlinear, the effectiveness of linear representations and thus OCA can be limited. To overcome this fundamental limitation, in this paper we propose a kernelized version of optimal component analysis. The basic idea is to (potentially) account the nonlinearity in the feature space through a nonlinear feature mapping so that linear representations in the resulting feature space can be used effectively for nonlinear problems in the given space. The computational complexity associated with the mapping is overcome by performing the mapping implicitly using a property of reproducing kernel Hilbert space. Therefore, kernel optimal component analysis provides a general method to learn application-dependent representations, either linear or nonlinear and a stochastic effective algorithm is presented. Experimental results for recognition show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Metabolic engineering of carotenoid accumulation in Escherichia coli by modulation of the isoprenoid precursor pool with expression of deoxyxylulose phosphate synthase

The recently discovered non-mevalonate pathway to isoprenoids, which uses glycolytic interme- diates, has been modulated by overexpression of Esc- herichia coli D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS) to increase deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate and, consequently, increase the isoprenoid precursor pool in E. coli. Carotenoids are a large class of biologically important compounds synthesized from isoprenoid precursors and of interest for metabolic engineering. However, carotenoids are not ordinarily present in E. coli. Co-overexpression of E. coli dxs with Erwinia uredovora gene clusters encoding carotenoid biosyn- thetic enzymes led to an increased accumulation of the carotenoids lycopene or zeaxanthin over controls not expressing DXS. Thus, rate-controlling enzymes encod- ed by the carotenogenic gene clusters are responsive to an increase in isoprenoid precursor pools. Levels of ac- cumulated carotenoids were increased up to 10.8 times the levels of controls not overexpressing DXS. Lycopene accumulated to a level as high as 1333 lg/g dw and zeaxanthin accumulated to a level as high as 592 lg/ g dw, when pigments were extracted from colonies. Zeaxanthin-producing colonies grew about twice as fast as lycopene-producing colonies throughout a time course of 11 days. Metabolic engineering of carbon flow from simple glucose metabolites to representatives of the largest class of natural products was demonstrated in this model system.
Curled Toes and Perosis-Like Leg Abnormalities in Cage Reared Broilers

Abstract A high incidence of perosis-curled toe type of leg disorder has consistently developed in both cage- and floor pen-reared male broiler chicks of two different genetic strains within 5 to 7 days when fed a nutritionally complete corn-soybean meal diet. Postmortem analysis of affected birds indicate classic perosis as seen in dietary manganese (Mn) deficiency. Ration modifications, such as inclusion of 50 ppm additional Mn or .5 mg/kg vitamin B-2 did not prevent or reduce the development of this leg problem. Birds reared in floor-pens had a reduced incidence (12 to 13%) of perosis-curled toe problem compared with incidence of leg disorders of battery-reared birds (20 to 60%). In most instances, a positive relationship between rate of weight gain and severity of leg abnormalities was apparent. Reduction in photoperiod from 24 hr/day to 12 hr/day substantially reduced incidence of leg disorders; however, growth rate was also reduced. The practical basal diet employed in all experiments promotes satisfactory rate of growth and feed efficiency and may be an excellent assay diet for experimentation into perosis-like broiler leg problems.
REGULATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSUMER FINANCE INDUSTRY

CONSUMER FINANCE COMPANIES are declining in relative importance as a source of consumer cash loans, largely because their statutory regulation has failed to keep pace with changing economic conditions. This is a case study of this phenomenon based on the industry in New York State. The first part of the study is an historical analysis of the objectives and rationale of statutory regulation of the consumer finance industry. The second part analyzes in detail the changes which have taken place in the consumer cash loan market and their effects on the industry's performance. The principal findings of the analysis are as follows: (1) Special statutes, enacted separately in each of the states, created their consumer finance industries by legalizing rates substantially higher than those allowed under their general usury laws. The prime objectives of the higher rates was to eradicate loan-sharking by making it possible for lenders to operate profitably within the legal ceiling. They were, therefore, limited to the relatively small loans in which the loan sharks specialized. These small loans were high cost partly because of their size and partly because of their necessitous character. (2) The existence of a rate ceiling is justified by the failure of competition to operate in the high-cost consumer loan field. The latter is explained primarily by the stigma attached to borrowing from high-rate lenders and, in most high-cost loan transactions, to the urgency of the borrower's need which weakens his bargaining power. The graduated rate device is designed to ensure the supply of a full range of high-cost loans. And the loan-size limits imposed on consumer finance companies are explainable by historical, political, and legal circumstances. (3) Over time, consumer finance companies' legal loan-size limits have changed little. But inflation, increased consumer real incomes, and changed spending patterns have widened the size range of high-cost (necessitous and other) loans. As a result, the demand for these loans has become concentrated in a size range above consumer finance companies' loan ceilings. (4) The industry's structure and performance (e.g., operating efficiency) partly adapt to the prevailing rate ceiling and may widen the range of loan services which are made available in states with lower rate maxima. Decision on the rate level to be adopted therefore hinges not only on the range of loan services to be supplied, but also on such features of the industry as the degree of concentration and convenience of office location. (5) Virtually all consumer finance companies in every state charge the legal maximum rate not only because consumers are insensitive to the rate level, but also because of the danger of price warfare in the oligopolistic market created by licensing policy and their experience that rate cuts bring about lowered rate ceilings. Charging the statutory maximum rate, lenders partly adjust their loan offerings to their rate, with the result that the rate ceiling affects not only their profit rates but the nature and volume of their business.
Seeking a place for East Asian regionalism: challenges and opportunities under the global financial crisis

Abstract After the devastating experience of the Asian financial crisis more than ten years ago, East Asia launched regional economic cooperation efforts. East Asia's mixed response to the global financial crisis a decade later, however, reveals how certain impetuses that gave rise to unified efforts to regional institution building in East Asia at the time of the AFC derived, fundamentally, from the region's defensive desire as it positioned itself within the harsh global economic and political environment of that time. The GFC triggered reorganization of global economic governance by discrediting neoliberal principles, introducing a new global governance structure and allowing reliance of domestic stimuli for economic recovery. Those shifts, in turn, led to the loss of East Asia's basic mandate towards regional cooperation. In other words, the focus of solving the region's economic vulnerability has now moved from regional arrangement to national and global stages. In particular, the East Asian governme...
Ex Post (In) Efficient Negotiation and Breakdown of Trade

The last decade has seen a growth of new approaches in contract theory that go beyond the traditional models of complete and incomplete contracting to incorporate some of the most prominent psychological biases when modeling the behavior of contracting partners. Many of the traditional contracting models have been expanded to incorporate behavioral dimensions such as loss aversion, time inconsistency, or over-optimism, which allows researchers to more realistically explain the observed contracting behavior in the economy. 1 The property rights and incomplete contracting literature has only very recently started to embrace these new extensions. One of the central building blocks of incomplete contracting theories is the assumption that parties to a contract will always engage in ex post efficient renegotiation in the case of (un)foreseen shocks (Hart and Moore 1988, 1990). As long as the valuation of the good is higher for the buyer than the seller, mutually beneficial trade should occur. However, the risk that contracting partners will extract surplus in renegotiations (hold up) leads to underinvestment ex ante, especially when investments are relationship-specific. While these models have been very influential, several recent theories have raised doubts about whether it is a reasonable assumption that ex post renegotiation will always reach efficient outcomes. Hart and Moore (2008) and Hart (2009) argue that contracts act as a reference point for the feelings of entitlement of contracting parties. They show that rigid contracts (fixed price) work well in normal times. However, when a
The Role of Inferential Accuracy in Performance Rating

The presence of shared implicit theories of performance is used in explaining the failure of behavioral anchors to improve performance ratings. It is proposed that efforts to improve rating accuracy also will be hampered by a preoccupation with observation. Instead, attention needs to be focused on the inferential accuracy of the rater and the cognitive processes and implicit theories upon which raters rely.
The design and evaluation of path matching schemes on compressed control flow traces

A control flow trace captures the complete sequence of dynamically executed basic blocks and function calls. It is usually of very large size and therefore commonly stored in compressed format. On the other hand, control flow traces are frequently queried to assist program analysis and optimization, e.g. finding frequently executed subpaths that may be optimized. In this paper, we identify path interruption and path context problems in querying an intraprocedural path over control flow traces. While algorithms that perform pattern matching on compressed strings have been proposed, solving new challenges requires the extension of traditional algorithms. We design and evaluate four path matching schemes including those that match in the compressed data directly and those that match after decompression. In addition, simple indices are also designed to improve matching performance. Our experimental results show that these schemes are practical and can be adapted to environments with different hardware settings and path matching requests.
Turnover of embryonic messenger RNA in preimplantation mouse embryos

We have estimated the average half-life of embryonic messenger RNA in mouse embryos at two stages of preimplantation development. Embryos were collected at 48 and 75 h post-hCG and cultured overnight in the presence of [3H]uridine. Beginning at 65–68 h (morulae) or 92–94 h (early blastocysts), the label was withdrawn and replaced with unlabelled uridine, and samples were taken at intervals thereafter for RNA isolation. Label in cytoplasmic, poly(A)-containing RNA was measured after binding to oligo(dT)-cellulose, and was normalized to label in 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA, separated on sucrose gradients. The stability of rRNA in both stages was verified directly, as was the integrity and purity of the isolated mRNA. With morulae, the mRNA decay curve was monophasic, with an average half-life of 9·5 ± 0·9 h. In three experiments with early blastocysts the decay curve appeared to be biphasic, consisting of short-lived (less than 6 h) and long-lived (30–50 h) components; in two other experiments a short-lived component was not evident. In all cases, however, the overall average half-life of mRNA in early blastocysts, determined by linear regression assuming monophasic kinetics, was greater than that in morulae. Our data indicate that the stability of embryonic mRNA increases by at least twofold during the morula-to-blastocyst transition. The results are considered in terms of the transcriptional dependency of early mouse embryos and the regulation of maternal and embryonic mRNA.
Socio-demographic, anthropometric, and psychosocial predictors of attrition across behavioral weight-loss trials

Preventing attrition is a major concern in behavioral weight loss intervention studies. The purpose of this analysis was to identify baseline and six-month predictors associated with participant attrition across three independent clinical trials of behavioral weight loss interventions (PREFER, SELF, and SMART) that were conducted over 10 years. Baseline measures included body mass index, Barriers to Healthy Eating, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI), Hunger Satiety Scale (HSS), Binge Eating Scale (BES), Medical Outcome Study Short Form (MOS SF-36 v2) and Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire (WEL). We also examined early weight loss and attendance at group sessions during the first 6 months. Attrition was recorded at the end of the trials. Participants included 504 overweight and obese adults seeking weight loss treatment. The sample was 84.92% female and 73.61% white, with a mean (± SD) age of 47.35 ± 9.75 years. After controlling for the specific trial, for every one unit increase in BMI, the odds of attrition increased by 11%. For every year increase in education, the odds of attrition decreased by 10%. Additional predictors of attrition included previous attempts to lose 50-79 lbs, age, not possessing health insurance, and BES, BDI, and HSS scores. At 6 months, the odds of attrition increased by 10% with reduced group session attendance. There was also an interaction between percent weight change and trial (p<.001). Multivariate analysis of the three trials showed education, age, BMI, and BES scores were independently associated with attrition (ps ≤ .01). These findings may inform the development of more robust strategies for reducing attrition.
Cavity optomechanics

Cavity enhancement of optical fields is providing a new way to couple light and mechanical motion. Its application to mechanical cooling and amplification, example implementations, and prospects for new science and technology are reviewed.
Cross-talk between freezing response and signaling for regulatory transcriptions of MIR475b and its targets by miR475b promoter in Populus suaveolens

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation of their target genes, yet the transcriptional regulation of plant miRNAs by promoter is poorly understood. Here, we firstly clone pri-miR475b cDNA and its native promoter from P. suaveolens and characterize Psu-MIR475b as class-II gene transcribed by RNA polymerase II. By 5′ deletion analysis of Psu-miR475b promoter in a series of promoter-GUS chimeric vectors, we functionally identify three positive regulatory regions and multiple cis-acting elements responsible for Psu-miR475b promoter activity in response to freezing stress and exogenous hormone treatment. Moreover, the Psu-miR475b promoter activity displays a tissue-specific manner, negatively regulated by freezing stress and positively by MeJA, SA or GA treatment. Importantly, we comparatively analyze the time-course transcriptional profiles of Psu-miR475b and its targets in Psu-miR475b over-expression transgenic plants controlled by Psu-miR475b-specific promoter or CaMV 35S constitutive promoter and explore the regulatory mechanism of Psu-miR475b promoter controlling transcriptional expressions of Psu-MIR475b and its targets in response to freezing stress and exogenous hormone treatment. Our results reveal that Psu-miR475b promoter-mediated transcriptions of Psu-MIR475b and its targets in response to freezing stress may be involved in a cross-talk between freezing response and stress signaling process.
Students’ Perceptions of Oral Screencast Responses to Their Writing: Exploring Digitally Mediated Identities

This study explores the intersections between facework, feedback interventions, and digitally mediated modes of response to student writing. Specifically, the study explores one particular mode of feedback intervention—screencast response to written work—through students’ perceptions of its affordances and through dimensions of its role in the mediation of face and construction of identities. Students found screencast technologies to be helpful to their learning and their interpretation of positive affect from their teachers by facilitating personal connections, creating transparency about the teacher’s evaluative process and identity, revealing the teacher’s feelings, providing visual affirmation, and establishing a conversational tone. The screencast technologies seemed to create an evaluative space in which teachers and students could perform digitally mediated pedagogical identities that were relational, affective, and distinct, allowing students to perceive an individualized instructional process ena...
ROLE OF CALCIUM IN COMPLEMENT DEPENDENT HEMOLYSIS.

SummaryThe cation requirements of two complement dependent hemolytic systems, one involving red cells from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and the other involving antibody coated sheep red cells, are similar when studied in undiluted human serum as a source of complement. Both are inhibited by the presence of Na3HEDTA, but not by Na2Mg EDTA. These results suggest that the need for Ca+ + in complement dependent hemolysis is not absolute, while the need for Mg++ is.
Extension of Motile Life Span of Spermatozoa of the Domestic Fowl by Amino Acids and Proteins

SummaryGlycine, when added to saline diluents at concentrations between 0.003 and 0.133 molar, extends the life span of spermatozoa of the domestic fowl as measured by persistence of motility at 22°C. Glycine was relatively more effective on dilute than on concentrated semen suspensions. Certain egg-white proteins had a similar effect on the life span of sperm. Conalbumin and a derived protein, hydroxylamidoovomucoid, were more effective than other proteins from egg white. Purification of the saline diluent alone served to prolong the life span of spermatozoa and correspondingly reduce the effects of glycine and proteins.
Discrete switching commands for tracking and vibration suppression using a quantized, compliant camera orientation system

This paper presents a method to generate discrete switching commands for a camera orientation system exhibiting quantization and flexibility to achieve smooth-pursuit like movements. Existing vibration suppression techniques and camera positioning devices have shown notable results but focused only on point-to-point movements. A desired motion profile can be generated by incorporating a classical feedback controller with PWM quantization but each unit actuator is required to produce high-frequency switching that can potentially damage the complaint mechanism. The proposed controller generates pulse-like switching commands for smooth-pursuit like motion to match the velocity of an object of interest. Then, switching commands for vibration suppression are generated to avoid high-frequency switching. The proposed method has been evaluated by using a robotic system which has a total of 32 piezoelectric actuator. The experiment results show that the camera orientation system successfully achieved dynamic vision given the proposed commands in an open-loop manner.
Screening for Osteoporosis

The burden of fracture will increase with growth of the elderly population, and by 2020 an estimated half of Americans over 50 years of age may be at risk of fractures from osteoporosis and low bone density (1). Osteoporosis screening has been proposed to identify and treat individuals at high risk of fracture in an effort to reduce fracture-related morbidity and mortality. Mass osteoporosis screening (large-scale screening of whole population groups) is not likely to be cost-effective in any setting (2), so more selective approaches to disease detection have been investigated.
Delineating potential epileptogenic areas utilizing resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in epilepsy patients

Seizure localization includes neuroimaging like electroencephalogram, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with limited ability to characterize the epileptogenic network. Temporal clustering analysis (TCA) characterizes epileptogenic network congruent with interictal epileptiform discharges by clustering together voxels with transient signals. We generated epileptogenic areas for 12 of 13 epilepsy patients with TCA, congruent with different areas of seizure onset. Resting functional MRI (fMRI) scans are noninvasive, and can be acquired quickly, in patients with different levels of severity and function. Analyzing resting fMRI data using TCA is quick and can complement clinical methods to characterize the epileptogenic network.
Investigating altered liver metabolic function following spaceflight

M induces deleterious effects, including muscle atrophy. However, little is Known about the effect of spaceflight on liver function and a metabolic profile of liver has not been characterized. We obtained liver tissue from n = 6 mice flown aboard STS-135, with age-matched ground and baseline controls. Analysis of the samples was performed by Metabolon, and a total of 298 metabolites were identified. 38 metabolites were significantly downregulated in spaceflight and 21 were significantly upregulated with spaceflight. Using the Human Metabolome Database, a list of enzymes correlating to the metabolites was compiled. 229 enzymes correlated with downregulated metabolites, 297 correlated with upregulated metabolites and 23 enzymes correlated with both up and downregulated metabolites. Analysis using EGAN software (akt.ucsf.edu) for genes correlating with downregulated metabolites suggested that the most highly enriched KEGG pathways were metabolic pathways (2.69 E-79) and fat digestion and absorption (3.7 E-36). Fatty acid and amino acid metabolic pathways were also highly enriched. Nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolic pathways were among the most highly enriched KEGG pathways for genes correlated with upregulated metabolites (6.92 E-21). Analysis of gene ontology (GO) terms showed that lipid metabolic processes, including lipase and oxidoreductase activity, were the most enriched for downregulated metabolites. In contrast, functions correlating to upregulated metabolites included ligase and transferase activities; among them, NAD+ADP-ribosyltransferase activity was enriched (3.33 E-09). Continued analysis of these results will provide more insight on the role of microgravity in altering liver metabolism that may contribute to pronounced muscle atrophy in long-term spaceflight.
Intermixing of InGaAs/GaAs Quantum Well Using Multiple Cycles Annealing

The authors investigate the effect of intermixing in shallow InGaAs/GaAs quantum well structure using impurity free induced disordering (IFVD) technique. The degradation of the photoluminescence (PL) signal is due to the severe loss of As from the material during high temperature annealing at above intermixing activation energy. The recovery of the PL signal from the intermixed InGaAs/GaAs quantum-well has been found to be achieved by applying a cycle-annealing at 800degC which is below activation temperature.
Rethinking capacity per unit cost

Verdu's seminal work offers an elegant characterization of capacity per unit cost, but many results hold only when a cost-free input symbol is available. Furthermore, optimal transmission strategies under such scenarios typically result in infinitesimal spectral efficiency. We argue that the existence of a cost-free symbol is unrealistic and that the resulting low-rate transmission policies are not applicable to narrowband systems. We therefore examine capacity per cost when no cost-free symbol is available. In this case, the corresponding transmission rates are bounded away from zero. Specifically we propose a cost function for wireless channels that balances both energy and temporal costs. Using this cost function, we explore the capacity per cost regions of single- and multiple-user channels.
Hegelian Spirits in Sellarsian bottles

Though Wilfrid Sellars portrayed himself as a latter-day Kantian, I argue here that he was at least as much a Hegelian. Several themes Sellars shares with Hegel are investigated: the sociality and normativity of the intentional, categorial change, the rejection of the given, and especially their denial of an unknowable thing-in-itself. They are also united by an emphasis on the unity of things—the belief that things do “hang together.” Hegel’s unity is idealist; Sellars’ is physicalist; the differences are substantial, but so are the resonances.
BiCMOS-Based Compensation: Toward Fully Curvature-Corrected Bandgap Reference Circuits

We present a novel BiCMOS-based temperature compensation technique aiming at complete correction of the curvature in the temperature response of bandgap references. The source of the appearance of this curvature is because the well-known nonlinear term $T\ln (T)$ in the base–emitter voltage ( $V_{BE}$ ) is not completely canceled across all temperature points. Here, we show that the gate-source voltage ( $V_{GS}$ ) of a subthreshold-operating MOSFET, biased with a proportional to absolute temperature current, also exhibits the $T\ln (T)$ nonlinear temperature dependence. We leverage the existence of $T\ln (T)$ in the temperature response of $V_{GS}$ to directly cancel the nonlinear term $T\ln (T)$ in $V_{BE}$ . A theoretical analysis of the proposed compensation approach is presented. As a proof of concept, a current-mode voltage reference circuit, utilizing the proposed approach, is designed in IBM’s 8HP Silicon–Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology. Thermal characteristics of the compensation components are examined through extensive simulations and are also experimentally evaluated, for the first time. Measurement results of the reference circuit show that the circuit outperforms the temperature performance of the state-of-the-art SiGe reference circuits. Possible origins of observed temperature dependences and mitigation techniques are discussed. The proposed compensation approach can be realized in any BiCMOS/CMOS technology for implementing either current-mode or voltage-mode high precision reference circuits.
Amplifying Progress toward Multiple Development Goals through Resource Recovery from Sanitation

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize that current sanitation gaps must be closed to better serve those without access to safely managed systems (Target 6.2: universal sanitation coverage) and those connected to sewers without wastewater treatment (Target 6.3: halving the proportion of untreated wastewater). Beyond mitigating environmental and health concerns, implementing resource recovery sanitation systems could simultaneously improve the availability of agricultural nutrients (SDG 2) and household energy (SDG 7). This study estimates the potential for global, regional, and country-level resource recovery to impact nutrient and household electricity use through 2030. We distinguish impacts from newly installed sanitation systems (to achieve universal coverage), newly treated wastewater systems (to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater), and existing system replacement, while also considering urban and rural disparities and spatial colocation of nutrients with agricul...
Genome Sequence Skimming of Rhodobacter Sphaeroides 2.4.1T

Rhodobacter sphaeroides2.4.1T is a facultative photoheterotroph belonging to the β-3 subdivision of the Proteobacteria[1]. This group of organisms reflects a diverse range of metabolic activities and a complex genome organization. Studies from our laboratory reveal that R. sphaeroides2.4.1T possesses two different circular chromosomes, of sizes -3.0 Mbp (CI), and -0.9 Mbp (CII) which broke with the long-held dogma regarding our understanding of prokaryotic genome structure and organization [2,3]. Although the concept that the prokaryotic genome can consist of more than a single chromosome has gained universal acceptance, the kinds of genes and their distribution within the second chromosome were previously unknown. Important questions leading to an understanding of the genome complexity of R. sphaeroides2.4.1T revolve around the actual genetic content and its organization, present on each chromosome.
Cardiorespiratory coupling: common rhythms in cardiac, sympathetic, and respiratory activities.

Cardiorespiratory coupling is an encompassing term describing more than the well-recognized influences of respiration on heart rate and blood pressure. Our data indicate that cardiorespiratory coupling reflects a reciprocal interaction between autonomic and respiratory control systems, and the cardiovascular system modulates the ventilatory pattern as well. For example, cardioventilatory coupling refers to the influence of heart beats and arterial pulse pressure on respiration and is the tendency for the next inspiration to start at a preferred latency after the last heart beat in expiration. Multiple complementary, well-described mechanisms mediate respiration’s influence on cardiovascular function, whereas mechanisms mediating the cardiovascular system’s influence on respiration may only be through the baroreceptors but are just being identified. Our review will describe a differential effect of conditioning rats with either chronic intermittent or sustained hypoxia on sympathetic nerve activity but also on ventilatory pattern variability. Both intermittent and sustained hypoxia increase sympathetic nerve activity after 2 weeks but affect sympatho-respiratory coupling differentially. Intermittent hypoxia enhances sympatho-respiratory coupling, which is associated with low variability in the ventilatory pattern. In contrast, after constant hypobaric hypoxia, 1-to-1 coupling between bursts of sympathetic and phrenic nerve activity is replaced by 2-to-3 coupling. This change in coupling pattern is associated with increased variability of the ventilatory pattern. After baro-denervating hypobaric hypoxic-conditioned rats, splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity becomes tonic (distinct bursts are absent) with decreases during phrenic nerve bursts and ventilatory pattern becomes regular. Thus, conditioning rats to either intermittent or sustained hypoxia accentuates the reciprocal nature of cardiorespiratory coupling. Finally, identifying a compelling physiologic purpose for cardiorespiratory coupling is the biggest barrier for recognizing its significance. Cardiorespiratory coupling has only a small effect on the efficiency of gas exchange; rather, we propose that cardiorespiratory control system may act as weakly coupled oscillator to maintain rhythms within a bounded variability.
Intestinal Macromolecular Transport Supporting Adaptive Immunity

The gastrointestinal tract performs opposing functions of nutrient absorption, barrier maintenance, and the delivery of luminal substances for the appropriate induction of tolerogenic or protective adaptive immunity. The single-layer epithelium lining the gastrointestinal tract is central to each of these functions by facilitating the uptake and processing of nutrients, providing a physical and chemical barrier to potential pathogens, and delivering macromolecular substances to the immune system to initiate adaptive immune responses. Specific transport mechanisms allow nutrient uptake and the delivery of macromolecules to the immune system while maintaining the epithelial barrier. This review examines historical observations supporting macromolecular transport by the intestinal epithelium, recent insights into the transport of luminal macromolecules to promote adaptive immunity, and how this process is regulated to promote appropriate immune responses. Understanding how luminal macromolecules are delivered to the immune system and how this is regulated may provide insight into the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and potential preventative or therapeutic strategies.
Pre- and Post-Procedure Nursing Care

The Association for Radiologic and Imaging Nursing (ARIN) and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) are professional organizations that provide guidelines for care in preparing patients for radiology procedures prior to admission, on the day of the procedure, and post-procedure. Patients are assessed for discharge to home or transfer to the inpatient unit. This chapter will focus on the special care of these patients undergoing interventional radiology procedures, common complications, assessment, interventions, and measuring patient’s outcomes.
Refute Thyself: The Socratic Method in Plato’s Republic Book 4

In this article I discuss Plato’s use of method in the Republic in light of the Socratic method. I show that in Book 4 this method is a key moment in the conversion from a political way of life (wh...
Real time volumetric intrasurgical optical coherence tomography with 4D visualization of surgical maneuvers (Conference Presentation)

Ophthalmic surgery is typically performed through an en-face only surgical microscope that provides limited depth information. This work introduces a high speed (400 kHz) microscope integrated optical coherence tomography (MIOCT) system which provides real time volumetric “4D” visualization via a heads-up stereoscopic display. The MIOCT system provides sub retinal visualization of tools and enables surgeons to perform delicate manipulation of retinal structures during mock surgical procedures. Following these mock surgical procedures in porcine eyes, this system will be readily translated into human ophthalmic microsurgery.