cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Water Stress on the Temperature Optima of Net CO2 Exchange for Two Desert Species

The temperature dependence of net CO2 exchange was determined at various soil water potentials for two sympatric desert species. Notholaena parryi D. C. Eat. (Pteridaceae) and Encelia farinosa Gray (Compositae). As water stress increased, the temperature optimum of apparent (net) photosynthesis shifted 7 to 10°C downward and the maximum rate decreased for both species. The downward shift in temperature optimum with water stress was the result of a greater fractional stomatal closure with increasing temperature and a lowering of the temperature where maximal CO2 residual conductance of the mesophyll cells occurred. This lowering of the temperature for maximal CO2 residual conductance appears to reflect (1) a greater effect of water stress on gross photosynthesis than on respiration plus photorespiration and (2) the higher temperature optimum for respiration plus photorespiration than for gross photosynthesis. The downward shift in the temperature optimum of apparent photosynthesis can have a significant effect on the predicted carbon balance of plants as the soil water potential decreases.
Formation of tussocks by sedges: effects of hydroperiod and nutrients

Tussock formation is a global phenomenon that enhances microtopography and increases biodiversity by adding structure to ecological communities, but little is known about tussock development in relation to environmental factors. To further efforts to restore wetland microtopography and associated functions, we investigated Carex stricta tussock size in relation to elevation (a proxy for water depth) at a range of sites in southern Wisconsin, USA, and tested the effect of five hydroperiods and N + P addition (15 g N/m2 + 0.37 g P/m2) on tussock formation during a three-year mesocosm experiment. Wet meadows dominated by C. stricta averaged 4.9 tussocks/m2, with a mean volume of 1160 cm3 and height of 15 cm. Within sites, taller tussocks occurred at lower elevations, suggesting a structural adaptation to anoxic conditions. In our mesocosm experiment, C. stricta accelerated tussock formation when inundated, and it increased overall productivity with N + P addition. Within two growing seasons, continuous inund...
Fabrication of out-of-plane refractive concave and convex microlens arrays

This paper describes a novel method to microfabricate out-of-plane convex and concave microlens array with optical axis parallel to the substrate for free-space optics. With wavelength selection and carefully controlled exposure dosage and development in the SU-8 lithography process, the satisfactory surface profiles and uniformity of pixels on the out-of-plane microlens array are obtained. With the optical axis of each pixel parallel with the substrate, these microlens arrays can be we can prealigned with other optical components, such as lens, prism, or mirror, in the mask design. This out-of-plane polymer microlens array can be pre-aligned with other optical components with no additional adjustment and assembly required, and therefore dramatically reduce the running cost and improve the quality and performance of the integrated optical system. Some preliminary results on pre-aligned fiber couplers and fiber bundle couplers fabricated with this out-of-plane microlens array are also presented.
Injection molding: The effect of fill time on properties

The effect of fill time on the mechanical properties, surface appearance, and part dimensions of several polymers was determined. Two crystalline materials, polypropylene and nylon 6,6, and an amorphous material, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), were used. In addition, the effect of the presence of glass fibers was examined using glass fiber reinforced nylon 6,6. The fill time was varied from 0.8 to 20 sec which included both the viscous flow controlled region (short fill times) where laboratory samples are ordinarily molded and the heat transfer controlled region (long fill times) where production parts arc commonly molded. No large variations in tensile properties were observed for polypropylene or nylon, but a 10 percent increase in peak tensile stress and strain for ABS did indicate that molecular orientation increased with increasing fill time. However, significant differences did occur in the properties of glass reinforced nylon. Peak tensile stress increased 15 percent and flexural strength decreased 10 percent as the fill time was increased. Although no change in the flexural modulus was observed, the scatter in the modulus decreased with increasing fill time. These property variations can be attributed to differences in the glass fiber orientation of the skin and core regions of the part. The measurement of molded tensile bar dimensions indicated there was little effect of fill time on the shrinkage of the various polymers except for shrinkage in the length direction for polypropylene. The shrinkage increased from 13 to 15.4 mm/m over the fill time range, a great enough difference to affect the fit of large parts. The most dramatic change with fill time was the surface appearance of the glass reinforced nylon. The surface of samples molded at short fill times had a dark uniform color and smooth appearance while samples molded at long fill times had a lighter color and a porous surface. This surface porosity is due to crystallization prior to complete pressurization of the mold. Therefore, in addition to affecting surface appearance, other surface related properties such as aging and the ability to plate plastic parts could also be affected.
La–SiO2 and Yb–SiO2 systematics in mid-ocean ridge magmas: implications for the origin of oceanic plagiogranite

Analytical expressions for the variation in D La and D Yb with increasing liquid SiO2 for olivine, plagioclase, augite, hornblende, orthopyroxene, magnetite and ilmenite (Brophy in Contrib Mineral Petrol 2008, online first) have been combined with numerical models of hydrous partial melting, of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) cumulate gabbro melting, and fractional crystallization of slightly hydrous mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) magma to assess a melting versus fractionation origin for oceanic plagiogranite. For felsic magmas (>63 wt.% SiO2) the modeling predicts the following. MOR cumulate gabbro melting should yield constant or decreasing La and constant Yb abundances with increasing liquid SiO2. The overall abundances should be similar to those in associated mafic magmas. MORB fractional crystallization should yield steadily increasing La and Yb abundances with increasing SiO2 with overall abundances significantly higher than those in associated mafic magmas. Application to natural occurrences of oceanic plagiogranite indicate that both MOR cumulate gabbro melting and MORB fractionation are responsible. Application of the model results to Icelandic rhyolites strongly support a fractional crystallization rather than a crustal melting origin.
The adsorption site and orientation of CH3S on Ni(111)

Abstract The angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectra for 0.15 monolayers (ML) of sulfur, and 0.25 ML methyl thiolate formed at 100 K and annealed to 150 and 250 K, on Ni(111) are analyzed to determine the structures of these species. It is found that sulfur adsorbs on the face-centered cubic hollow site on Ni(111) with a SNi bond length of 2.20±0.02 A . The thiolate species formed at 150 K has the CS bond tilted at ∼35° to the surface normal with a CS bond length of 1.85±0.02 A and a SNi bond length similar to that for adsorbed sulfur (2.2 A). The methyl group is tilted toward the bridge site and the thiolate appears to be adsorbed on the face-centered cubic site although there may also be adsorption in the hexagonal close packed site. The species formed at 250 K adsorbs on a reconstructed surface where the chemical shift of the S 2p core level indicates that it adsorbs at a four-fold site and the angle-resolved XPS data indicate that the CS bond is oriented normal to the surface. The calculated angular variations in intensity are consistent with this interpretation but cannot distinguish between the various models proposed for the reconstructed surface.
Gender and opinions about mental illness as predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help

Help-seeking attitudes have been an important part of research into the kinds of college students who do and do not seek psychotherapy. The current study investigated the relationship between stude...
Modulation domain texture decomposition

We introduce a novel texture analysis algorithm capable of extracting visually meaningful and locally coherent sub-textural components from images. The algorithm operates in the modulation domain where texture is represented by locally coherent amplitude and frequency modulation functions. The texture components are iteratively extracted based on a new quantitative coherency measure. The effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated on several well-known Brodatz textures.
Space shuttle large format camera coverage of areas in Africa: A review of the mission and the photographs acquired

Abstract During October, 1984, the United States Space Shuttle Challenger carried a large format cartographic camera for an engineering evaluation that took an excellent set of high resolution photographs of limited areas worldwide with many in Africa. The results of this experiment (for both worldwide coverage and African coverage) are reviewed. The coverage of Africa, the number of photographs taken, and the films used are all reviewed in detail. The very high quality of 78 percent of the photographs of Africa is discussed. Some present and anticipated uses are reviewed. Some examples of the photographs of Africa are reproduced to illustrate the characteristics of the photography.
Materials quality assurance for VLSI manufacturing

Abstract The VLSI process quality, and resulting product quality, depends significantly on the material characteristics of the permanent and temporary structures manufactured in the silicon wafer which, in turn, depend on the properties of processing materials. Therefore, materials quality control is the backbone of any VLSI quality assurance and improvement program. Instrumental analysis of the chemical and physical properties of materials involved forms the program's starting point. Cost-benefit analysis, careful evaluation of applicable instrumentation, people skills and experience, as well as managerial considerations of local cultural paradigms, are the key issues to be considered during both decision and program implementation phases. Cautious generalizations, resulting from Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Integrated Circuit Division's experience with their materials quality program, are presented here along with conclusions regarding the program's favorable impact on VLSI products' quality and overall business objectives.
A Multiscale Approach to Sensor Fusion and the Solution of Linear Inverse Problems

The application of multiscale and stochastic techniques to the solution of linear inverse problems is presented. This approach allows for explicit and easy handling of a variety of difficulties commonly associated with problems of this type. Regularization is accomplished via the incorporation of prior information in the form of a multiscale stochastic model. We introduce the relative error covariance matrix (RECM) as a tool for quantitatively evaluating the manner in which data contribute to the structure of a reconstruction. In particular, the use of a scale space formulation is ideally suited to the fusion of data from several sensors with differing resolutions and spatial coverage (e.g., sparse or limited availability). Moreover, the RECM both provides us with an ideal tool for understanding and analyzing the process of multisensor fusion and allows us to define the space-varying optimal scale for reconstruction as a function of the nature (resolution, quality, and coverage) of the available data. Examples of our multiscale maximum a posteriori inversion algorithm are demonstrated using a two channel deconvolution problem formulated to illustrate many of the features associated with more general linear inverse problems.
World climate and milk production.

World climates may be generally considered as being tropic, semitropic, temperate and arctic. Each of these climatic zones presents a special complex of the physical or meteorological, and biological factors which constitutes the natural environment. Each climate complex encompasses a multitude of plant and animal species that have evolved successfully by adaptive processes resulting from interactions with the meteorological environment. Man has learned to survive successfully in climates ranging from the tropics to the arctic through shelters and behavioral practices which have provided the necessary microenvironment in the various climatic zones. The situation is similar for the world's milk producing animals, however, European-evolved cattle that lactate at acceptable levels for most commercial operations face difficulties in growing, lactating, and reproducing efficiently in extremely hot or cold climates unless the microenvironment is modified. Since the symposium relates to food or milk production and climate, emphasis was placed on the production of milk in climatic zones where climate has limitations on production, efficiency and increasing populations are demanding more readily available sources of milk and meat.
Evaluation of alkali metal chlorides and nitrates as column packins in gas-solid chromatogrpahy

Abstract Retention volume (1)Alkali nitrate columns retard elution greater than alkali chloride columns. (2)Retention volume generally follows boiling point. If two compounds have the same boiling point, the more polar compound has the greater retention volume. (3)Chain branching, through decreased polarity, reduces retention volume. (4)Electron releasing groups enhance adsorption; electron withdrawing hinder it. (5)Ortho substituents cause stronger effects than meta substituents.
Aircraft control design using improved time-domain stability robustness bounds

This paper addresses the issue of "conservatism" in the time-domain stability robustness bounds obtained by the Lyapunov approach. A state transformation is employed to improve the upper bounds on the linear time-varying perturbation of an asymptotically stable linear time-invariant system for robust stability. This improvement is due to the variance of the conservatism of the Lyapunov stability condition with respect to the basis of the vector space in which the Lyapunov function is constructed. The proposed analysis is applied to a VTOL aircraft control example to provide a constant linear state feedback control that is stability robust for the full range of parameter variations given.
Time Reversal Optical Tomography

There has been a surge of interest in diffuse optical tomography (DOT) that uses near-infrared light to detect, localize and diagnose maladies such as breast cancer and brain injury. Scattering and light attenuation limit the resolution and accuracy of DOT methods that use small differences in optical properties to distinguish lesions from normal tissue. Researchers need a DOT approach that can, for example, quickly reconstruct images to detect and map tumors at early growth stages and determine if they are malignant or benign.
Rodent models of cerebral cortical developmental defects

Disorders of cerebral cortical development are an important cause of long-term disability in humans. Many new genetic causes and mechanisms have been identified recently. Animal models of these disorders provide insight into pathways that can be used for the development of new therapies.
Relational Development as Negotiated Order in Hostage Negotiation

This article applies negotiated order theory to explore how disputants negotiate relational limits in 10 actual hostage negotiations. Four relational limits are defined through the intersection of affiliation (the degree of liking, trust, and acceptance) and interdependence (the strength of parties’rights and obligations to one another): moving toward the other (high affiliation, high interdependence), moving with the other (high affiliation, low interdependence), moving away from the other (low affiliation and low interdependence), and moving against the other person (low affiliation, high interdependence). Spatial and implicit verbal immediacy language cues were used to operationalize affiliation and interdependence in each utterance across the 10 hostage negotiations. The results indicated that when parties created a “moving against” and “moving away” relational pattern, they experienced more difficulty building a relational consensus during the negotiations. When parties rotated between “moving toward” and “moving with” relational phases, they were more successful in building relational consensus. The results also revealed that disputants in hostage negotiations develop relational rhythms by moving within fairly stable cooperative or competitive relational patterns.
PERSONALITY AND LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR: A RESTATEMENT1

This restatement of the theoretical framework underlying the research program of the University of Michigan Personality and Language Behavior Research Group addresses two theoretical issues that are at present particularly relevant to a theory of second language acquisition: the statue of constructs in the theory that have been transported or transposed from other fields, and the process (and criteria) of theory validation. Defining and assessing the value of “borrowed” constructs is of course serious concern of any interdisciplinary, applied science. Once that has been accomplished to satisfaction, however, the even more imposing task remains of testing the fit of those constructs within the larger context, in this case, a general theory of second language acquisition. Using as an example the development of the language ego paradigm (Guiora 1972). we first assess the moorings of its theoretical constructs in psychology and linguistics. We then examine the nature of the empirical evidence and argumentation that bears on its validity.
Susceptibility of the early Earth to irreversible glaciation caused by carbon dioxide clouds

SIMPLE energy-balance climate models of the Budyko/Sellers type1,2 predict that a small (2–5%) decrease in solar output could result in runaway glaciation on the Earth. But solar fluxes 25–30% lower early in the Earth's history3,4 apparently did not lead to this result. One currently favoured explanation is that high partial pressures of carbon dioxide, caused by higher volcanic outgassing rates and/or slower rates of silicate weathering, created a large enough greenhouse effect to keep the planet warm5–7. This does not resolve the problem of climate stability, however, because as we argue here, the oceans can freeze much more quickly than CO2 can accumulate in the atmosphere. Had such a transient global glaciation occurred in the distant past when solar luminosity was low, it might have been irreversible because of the formation of highly reflective CO2 clouds, similar to those encountered in climate simulations of early Mars8. Our simulations of the early Earth, incorporating the possible formation of such clouds, suggest that the Earth might not be habitable today had it not been warm during the first part of its history.
MODELING NUCLEOBASE RADICALS IN THE GAS PHASE. EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF 2-HYDROXYPYRIDINIUM AND 2-(1H)PYRIDONE RADICALS

Isomeric radicals corresponding to hydrogen atom adducts to 2-hydroxypyridine (1) and 2-(1H)pyridone (2) were investigated by neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry and combined ab initio and density functional theory calculations. Gas-phase protonation of 1 and 2 occurred preferentially at the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, respectively, to give a single 2-hydroxypyridinium ion 3+. The calculated topical proton affinities in 1 were 922, 602, 777, 649, 786, 694, and 746 kJ mol-1 for the N-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, and OH positions, respectively. The topical proton affinities in 2 were 756, 824, 815, 692, and 930 kJ mol-1 for the N-1, C-3, C-5, C-6, and carbonyl oxygen positions, respectively. The 2-hydroxy-(1H)pyridinium radical (3•) was generated by collisional neutralization of ion 3+ and found to be stable on a 4.67 μs time scale. Radical 3• dissociated by losses of the hydroxyl and amine hydrogen atoms and by ring cleavages. MP2 and B3LYP calculations with the 6-311G(2d,p) basis set established t...
Pattern classification using a linear associative memory

Abstract Pattern classification is a very important image processing task. A typical pattern classification algorithm can be broken into two parts; first, the pattern features are extracted and, second, these features are compared with a stored set of reference features until a match is found. In the second part, usually one of the several clustering algorithms or similarity measures is applied. In this paper, a new application of linear associative memory (LAM) to pattern classification problems is introduced. Here, the clustering algorithms or similarity measures are replaced by a LAM matrix multiplication. With a LAM, the reference features need not be separately stored. Since the second part of most classification algorithms is similar, a LAM standardizes the many clustering algorithms and also allows for a standard digital hardware implementation. Computer simulations on regular textures using a feature extraction algorithm achieved a high percentage of successful classification. In addition, this classification is independent of topological transformations.
IFPA Senior Award Lecture: Reproductive immunology in perspective – Reprogramming at the maternal–fetal interface

Involvement of the maternal and fetal immune systems in the events of pregnancy was generally overlooked by reproductive biologists until the mid-twentieth century when many landmark explorations were reported. Now, more than half a century later, it is well understood that with the initiation of pregnancy, immune cells in mammalian uteri are reprogrammed, losing their cytotoxic potential and providing an immunosuppressive environment suitable for harboring the genetically different fetus. We propose that it is the placenta that is mainly responsible for this conversion and maintenance throughout pregnancy. Studies in our laboratory indicate that trophoblast-derived soluble HLA-G has a subtle but well defined role in programming uterine placental macrophages, a potentially destructive immune cell population. Thus, placental HLA-G plays a critical role in assuring that the developing fetus emerges unscathed at parturition.
DNA methylation is associated with transcription of Snail and Slug genes.

Snail and Slug play critical roles in the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), the mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) and in the maintenance of mesenchymal morphology. In this research, we investigated the correlation of DNA methylation with the transcriptional level of these two genes during the EMT/MET process. First, we used several cell lines associated with EMT/MET processes of induced pluripotent stem cell generation and differentiation, trophoblast invasion, as well as cancer progression to examine the association between DNA methylation and transcription levels of these two genes. We found an inverse correlation between DNA methylation of first intron regions and transcription levels of Snail and Slug genes in these EMT/METs. To further verify the results, we treated two trophoblast cell line BeWo and HTR8/SVneo and one induced pluripotent stem cell line with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase, which caused increased expression of these two genes. Lastly, we cloned the promoters of both Snail and Slug into pGL3-Basic vector, after in vitro DNA methylation and transfection into IMR90 and HTR8/SVneo cells; we observed the significant reduction of their promoter activity due to DNA methylation. In summary, based on these results, DNA methylation is one of the molecular mechanisms regulating Snail and Slug genes during EMT/MET process.
Failure of nerve-blocking agents to prevent the effects of placental gonadotrophins in the rabbit.

INTRODUCTION THE mechanisms by which human chorionic and equine gonadotrophins (HCG and PMS, respectively) stimulate the ovary are incompletely understood. The literature on this subject has been summarized by Zondek and Sulman (1945) and Evans and Simpson (1950). Both gonadotrophins are much more effective in the normal than in the hy-pophysectomized animal. It is now generally agreed, following the lead of Leonard (1934), that HCG synergizes with pituitary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to activate ovarian hypertrophy, estrogen secretion and follicular maturation and luteinization. The report of Friedman (1932) that intrafollicular injection of HCG induces luteinization in the rabbit ovary and the finding of Hill and Parkes (1931) and Hinsey and Markee (1933), that intravenous HCG stimulates ovulation in the recently hypophysectomized mature rabbit, do not contradict the synergism hypothesis; in either case HCG may have synergized with FSH already liberated from the hypophysis.
A solitary pulmonary nodule due to Mycobacterium gordonae.

Mycobacterium gordonae is rarely pathogenic in humans. In this case it was cultured from the tissue of a resected pulmonary nodule in an immunocompetent patient. One year after comp
Habit strength, drive, and drug effects: Round 2

The effect of chlorpromazine (CPZ) on resistance of leverpressing to extinction was examined under varying levels of habit strength (H) and drive (D). Resistance was decreased by CPZ and increased by augmented H and D. The increments of resistance were essentially alike for CPZ and placebo groups, in accordance with theoretical expectation.
Peers in MOOCs: Lessons Based on the Education Production Function, Collective Action, and an Experiment

Economic theory about peers can help learning scientists and designers scale their work from the scale of small classrooms to limitless learning experiences. I propose: 1. We may increase productivity in online learning by changing technologies around peers; many structures around peers can scale with class size. 2. It is not always in students' best interests to be good peers, and collective action failures may worsen with class size. I conducted an experiment in a NovoEd MOOC for teachers that was motivated by these propositions; it leads to future questions about unintended and emergent effects.
Comparison of Two Simulation Methods to Compute Solvation Free Energies and Partition Coefficients

The thermodynamic integration (TI) and expanded ensemble (EE) methods are used here to calculate the hydration free energy in water, the solvation free energy in 1-octanol, and the octanol-water partition coefficient for a six compounds of varying functionality using the optimized potentials for liquid simulations (OPLS) all-atom (AA) force field parameters and atomic charges. Both methods use the molecular dynamics algorithm as a primary component of the simulation protocol, and both have found wide applications in fields such as the calculation of activity coefficients, phase behavior, and partition coefficients. Both methods result in solvation free energies and 1-octanol/water partition coefficients with average absolute deviations (AAD) from experimental data to within 4 kJ/mol and 0.5 log units, respectively. Here, we find that in simulations the OPLS-AA force field parameters (with fixed charges) can reproduce solvation free energies of solutes in 1-octanol with AAD of about half that for the solute hydration free energies using a extended simple point charge (SPC/E) model of water. The computational efficiency of the two simulation methods are compared based on the time (in nanoseconds) required to obtain similar standard deviations in the solvation free energies and 1-octanol/water partition coefficients. By this analysis, the EE method is found to be a factor of nine more efficient than the TI algorithm. For both methods, solvation free energy calculations in 1-octanol consume roughly an order of magnitude more CPU hours than the hydration free energy calculations.
Biochemical analysis of a 40,000 mol. wt mouse serum protein which binds β2-microglobulin and has serological cross-reactivity with H-2 antigens

Abstract A 40,000 (40 K) mol. wt mouse serum protein which binds β 2 -microglobulin (β 2 M) has been purified to homogeneity by a modification of the procedure of Kvist & Peterson (1978). Biochemistry 17, 4794–4801. After gel filtration, sodium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography on an anti-H-2 a immunoabsorbent column, four proteins with apparent mol. wts of 12, 40, 55 and 75 K were specifically immunoprecipitated with rabbit anti-H-2 a . These individual proteins were subsequently purified to homogeneity by preparative SDS-PAGE. The identity of the 12 K mol. wt protein was unequivocally established to be mouse β 2 M based on amino acid composition, N -terminal analysis and reactivity with rabbit anti-β 2 M. The 40 K mol. wt protein was the only protein that bound β 2 M since radioimmunoprecipitation analysis of the high mol. wt fraction from fresh serum (with rabbit anti-β 2 M) yielded only the 40 K mol. wt protein and β 2 M. This result also precluded the possibility of a pre-existing complex of the 55 and 75 K mol. wt proteins with the 40 K mol. wt protein and β 2 M. The copurification of the 55 and 75 K mol. wt proteins with the 40 K mol. wt protein and β 2 M, was explained on the basis of their immunological cross-reactivity. The 55 and 75 K mol. wt proteins were found to be structurally distinct from the 40 K mol. wt protein as judged by amino acid analysis and peptide mapping. The similarity in amino acid composition of the 40 K mol. wt protein and H-2, in addition pto its cross-reactivity with H-2 xenoantisera, suggested the possibility of their structural relationship. However, the 40 K mol. wt protein differed from H-2 in the following respects: (1) H-2 alloantigenic determinants were not present on the 40 K. mol. wt protein, (2) the 40 K mol. wt proteins from two strains of mice had similar peptide maps indicating the lack of structural polymorphism in these strains, (3) the 40 K mol. wt protein had a more acidic and less restricted p I value than H-2, and (4) no common peptides were found in proteolytic digests of H-2 and the 40 K mol. wt proteins as analysed by two different methods. These results demonstrate that the β 2 M-binding murine serum protein is not specifically associated with other proteins, is not generated from a precursor present in the serum and bears no apparent homology to H-2 molecules despite serological cross-reactivity.
Noninvasive Assessment of Regional and Global Myocardial Contractility in Normal Control Subjects and in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathies.

The aim of the present study was to develop a new noninvasive approach for the assessment of regional and global myocardial contractility without the need for pharmacological intervention to alter load. Thirty-four healthy adults and five adults with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were studied. Patients with diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism were eliminated from the study. The remainder underwent echocardiography, sphygmomanometric blood pressure determination, and carotid pulse tracings. Left ventricular cross section in the parasternal long-axis four- and two-chamber views was divided into 20 segments. Associated measurements of end-systolic pressure and left ventricular ejection time enabled shortening, shortening rate, and ejection fraction / afterload relationships to be determined. A discriminant analysis showed that the ejection fraction / afterload relationship in patients with DCM differed substantially from that of control subjects and was the most sensitive in this regard. Endocardial shortening, mid-wall shortening, and ejection fraction / afterload relationships demonstrated linearity or nonlinearity for control subjects. This study thus permits the assessment of contractility in individual subjects without the need for drug interventions because load alteration stems from the variation of wall stress from base to apex in the left ventricle. More importantly, the approach may be applied to patients with segmental abnormalities of contractile function.
Inhibition of Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) and Lactoperoxidase (LPO) by Goitrin and Ricinine

The plant toxins, goitrin and ricinine, inhibit TPO and LPO. Goitrin (0.3 mM) completely inhibits the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of iodide and is nine times more potent than ricinine. Both toxins also inhibit the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of guaiacol, although less efficiently than iodide oxidation. Goitrin is oxidized by H2O2 in the presence, but not in the absence, of peroxidase, whereas ricinine is not oxidized. Iodide stimulates (twofold) the rate of goitrin oxidation. Spectra obtained with mixtures of LPO, H2O2, and goitrin indicate that LPOoxid oxidizes goitrin and is converted back to native LPO. Thus, both LPOoxid and LPO-Ioxid oxidize goitrin but LPO-Ioxid is more effective. Because of their well known toxicity, neither of these toxins derived from Brassicae plants (goitrin) and castor beans (ricinine) is considered a serious dietary problem.
De-novo cholangiocarcinoma in native common bile duct remnant following OLT for primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory and obstructive disease of the intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts of unknown etiology. Currently, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the only definitive treatment for PSC-related end-stage liver disease. However, PSC has been known to recur in the grafted liver. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy is more commonly performed than choledochocholedochostomy for PSC, although choledochocholedochostomy has been found to be safe and efficacious for PSC if the distal common bile duct is uninvolved at the time of OLT. Our case is unique in that it describes a patient who developed de-novo cholangiocarcinoma in the remnant portion of the native common bile duct six years after OLT with choledochocholedochostomy for PSC-associated end-stage liver disease without having PSC recurrence. In conclusion, our case report indicates that choledochocholedochostomy may not be desirable in PSC due to an increased risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma in the native common bile duct. This risk exists as well with a Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy in the remaining intra-duodenal and intra-pancreatic biliary epithelium, although in theory to a lesser extent. Therefore, the risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma in the recipient common bile duct can only be completely eliminated by performing a Whipple procedure at the time of OLT.
Angioplasty and stents for peripheral and central venous lesions

Balloon angioplasty is currently the first line percutaneous treatment for hemodialysis-related venous stenoses at any location. Well-performed venography is critical for treatment decisions; equivocal or occult lesions can be confirmed by physical examination (all accesses) or static intra-access pressures in the venous limb (grafts only). Lesions selected for treatment should be at a location that explains the clinical o hemodynamic abnormality that led to the diagnostic venogram. Prolonged inflations with oversized balloons have traditionally been used for better results. Stents are generally reserved for failures of balloon angioplasty, most commonly central vein lesions, especially occlusions. Accurate deployment of stents that match the size of the adjacent normal vein is critical to avoid interference with a future permanent or catheter access. This will also minimize restenosis due to stent slippage. Wallstents are the most widely used stents in this application because of their flexibility, self-expandability, and positional stability. Other commercially available stents are either unsuitable (Palmaz stents) or understudied. Procedure success is defined as anatomic (≤530% residual stenosis) and at least one clinical or hemodynamic indicator of success. The best long-term outcomes are achieved by aggressive screening and repetitive treatment.
Early Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants

BACKGROUND: The use of early nasal continuous positive airway pressure (ENCPAP) as the mode of initial respiratory support for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants has been increasing. The impact of CPAP and oxygen on gut mucosa and perfusion in premature infants is not known. The relation between ENCPAP and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) has not been adequately addressed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the use of an individualized respiratory management strategy encouraging the use of ENCPAP is associated with an increased risk of NEC, and to determine risk factors for NEC in premature infants supported by CPAP. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on VLBW infants (birth weight RESULTS: Data on 343 premature infants were collected for this study. Mean birth weight was 999 ± 289 g and gestational age was 28 ± 2.6 weeks. The majority of patients were managed with ENCPAP, with only 13% of patients intubated in the delivery room. The overall incidence of NEC was 7% (n = 24). The exposure to ENCPAP did not increase the risk for NEC compared with the use of a ventilator. CONCLUSIONS. The risk of NEC in VLBW premature infants was not increased by the use of ENCPAP. Initial respiratory support with ENCPAP seems to be a safe alternative to routine intubation and mechanical ventilation in premature infants.
International Centre for Diffraction Data and American Society for Metals database survey of thermoelectric half-Heusler material systems

Phase diagrams and X-ray powder diffraction patterns provide critical information for thermoelectric (TE) research. We have conducted a survey of phase diagrams and powder diffraction patterns of TE systems in the ASM (American Society for Metals) Metal/Alloy database and ICDD (International Centre for Diffraction Data) PDF (Powder Diffraction File), respectively, for their availability and crystal systems. In this report, we focus on TE materials that have the half-Heusler XYZ structure, and related compounds, based on a set of materials selection rules. We found that among 306 potential XYZ compounds that we have surveyed, 234 have powder diffraction patterns in the PDF, but only 28 have phase diagram information, and 67 do not have any crystallographic information. Among the 234 phases with powder patterns, 84 were reported to have cubic F43m half-Heusler type structure, and the remainder have hexagonal, orthorhombic or other structure types. Some XYZ compounds have both cubic and hexagonal phases. This information will provide the basis for future activities for the improvement of the databases. These activities include filling the missing gaps in both phase equilibria database and the PDF, as well as adding TE and pertinent physical properties to the PDF.
High Performance MP Unstructured Finite Element Simulation of Chemically Reacting Flows

We describe the performance of MPSalsa, a MP code that simulates complex systems with strongly coupled fluid flow, thermal energy transfer, mass transfer and non-equilibrium chemical reactions. MPSalsa uses 3D unstructured finite element methods, fully implicit time integration, and general gas-phase and surface-species chemical kinetics to solve the coupled nonlinear PDEs on complex domains. It is designed around general kernels for domain partitioning, unstructured message passing, distributed sparse-block matrix representation of the fully summed global finite element equations, and preconditioned Krylov iterative solvers. Using these techniques, we obtained sustained rates of 210+ Gflop/s for a 3-D chemically reacting flow problem.
The Role of High-Throughput Laboratories in Homeland Security

Infectious diseases pose threats from natural and manmade sources, and arguably the situation is getting worse. The outbreak of the coronavirus causing the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) shows that the world is linked by thousands of people traveling millions of miles every single day who can spread SARS or new strains of influenza with pandemic potential.1 The world is also becoming a more dangerous place, with rogue nations and terrorist networks aggressively seeking nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Of these, biological weapons are the cheapest to produce and likely the most attractive because they can be used anonymously.
The effects of ultraviolet-B radiation on freshwater invertebrates: Experiments with a solar simulator

There is concern that decreases in stratospheric ozone will lead to hazardous levels of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation at the Earth's surface. In clear water, UV-B may penetrate to significant depths. The purpose of the current study was to compare the sensitivity of freshwater invertebrates to UV-B. We used a solar simulator, calibrated to match local ambient solar radiation, to expose five species of freshwater invertebrates to enhanced levels of UV-B radiation. UV-B measurements in a eutrophic pond revealed that 10% of the irradiance penetrated to 30-cm depth and 1% to 57-cm depth. The irradiance at the upper 5-20 cm was comparable to levels used in the simulator. Median lethal dose (LD 50 ) values were determined for the cladocerans Ceriodaphnia reticulata, Scapholeberis kingii (two induced color morphs), and Daphnia magna; the ostracod Cyprinotus incongruens; and the amphipod Hyalella azteca. Among the species, 96-h LD 50 estimates were quite variable, ranging from 4.2 to 84.0 μW cm -2 . These estimates indicated S. kingii to be highly sensitive and H. azteca, C. reticulata, and D. magna to be moderately sensitive, whereas the ostracod C. incongruens was very tolerant to UV-B radiation. Overall, this study suggests that, in shallow ponds without physical refuges, UV-B radiation would have the strongest effects upon cladocerans and amphipods occurring in the water column, whereas ostracods would be better protected.
Under-Reporting Of Returns By Alternative Asset Funds

Self-reported interim rates of return have always drawn a skeptical eye. Alternative assets have generally provided the least transparency of any investment class, and thus the reported returns have often been considered suspect. A previous study compared the reported returns for a sample of alternative asset funds to the “true” returns (with the “true” return being defined as the rate of return needed to equate the cash flows from the investment), and found that the alternative asset funds generally provided accurate returns. This paper (using the same data set) examines the issue from a different perspective, and concludes that every single alternative asset fund in the sample actually under-reported the rate of return.
Embedded core testing using genetic algorithms

Testing of embedded cores is very difficult in SOC (system-on-a-chip), since the core user may not know the gate level implementation of the core, and the controllability and observability of the core are limited by other cores and the user defined logic surrounding the core. One simple but expensive method to solve this problem is to add a wrapper around each core in the SOC, and shift in/out every bit at the core input, output, and possibly its internal state. An approach to remove part of these wrappers using controllability and observability evaluation via random inputs is proposed at the high level (i.e. no gate-level information needed). To achieve better results than the random input vectors, a genetic algorithm is used in this paper to justify the test patterns provided by the core designer. Several high level benchmarks are experimented and results show that with the test patterns generated by the genetic algorithm, both the wrapper size and the test application time are further reduced, while the fault coverage of each core is improved.
Electronic nicotine delivery systems: is there a need for regulation?

Purpose Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) purport to deliver nicotine to the lungs of smokers. Five brands of ENDS were evaluated for design features, accuracy and clarity of labelling and quality of instruction manuals and associated print material supplied with products or on manufacturers' websites. Methods ENDS were purchased from online vendors and analysed for various parameters. Results While the basic design of ENDS was similar across brands, specific design features varied significantly. Fluid contained in cartridge reservoirs readily leaked out of most brands, and it was difficult to assemble or disassemble ENDS without touching nicotine-containing fluid. Two brands had designs that helped lessen this problem. Labelling of cartridges was very poor; labelling of some cartridge wrappers was better than labelling of cartridges. In general, packs of replacement cartridges were better labelled than the wrappers or cartridges, but most packs lacked cartridge content and warning information, and sometimes packs had confusing information. Used cartridges contained fluid, and disposal of nicotine-containing cartridges was not adequately addressed on websites or in manuals. Orders were sometimes filled incorrectly, and safety features did not always function properly. Print and internet material often contained information or made claims for which there is currently no scientific support. Conclusions Design flaws, lack of adequate labelling and concerns about quality control and health issues indicate that regulators should consider removing ENDS from the market until their safety can be adequately evaluated.
Potential Fallacy of Correlating Hedonic Responses with Physical and Chemical Measurements

Perceived intensity (strength) and hedonic responses (like/dislike) were obtained from 29 judges for three sensory systems: color in orange juice, oral viscosity of apricot nectar, and sweetness in lemonade. Intensity functions were directly related to concentration of the additives in each system, and were positively correlated (p < 0.001) with corresponding instrumental analysis—Hunter a values for orange juice, Brookfield viscosity at 30 rpm for apricot nectar, and refractive index of lemonade. Intensity judgments were stable for individuals and for the group from the beginning to the end of the 7-wk study. In contrast, hedonic responses varied extensively among judges, showed changes in direction for some judges from the beginning to the end of the study, and the group means showed an inverse or no linear correlation with the corresponding instrumental values. Intensity and hedonic responses are distinct behaviors which exhibit different functions with stimulus concentration, usually linear for the former and cubic for the latter. In most sensory-instrumental comparisons, linear correlation can be applied validly only to perceived intensity, within the linear portion of the usually sigmoidal curve but not to cubic or quadratic preference, acceptance, or hedonic responses.
Size and shape in similarity coefficients based on metric characters

A variety of quantitative measures of distance and similarity have been used in physical anthropology, often without sufficient prior testing of their usefulness and understanding of their meaning. A variety of such coefficients were compared by applying them to an odontometric sample. It was found that Penrose's size-shape dichotomy extends not only to his coefficients but to all other similarity measures as well, such as the coefficient of racial likeness, generalized distance, canonical variates, and Q-mode correlation. Only size differences were detected by the C.R.L., Penrose's size distance, D2, and canonical variates, and as a result these methods failed to produce an accurate classification. Penrose's shape distance and Q-mode correlation coefficients produced better results due to their determination of similarity on the basis of more important shape and morphological differences. The D2 and canonical variates methods were converted to shape measures through Q-mode standardization of the raw data, whereupon they also produced more meaningful results.