cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tomato Metabolic Changes in Response to Tomato-Potato Psyllid ( Bactericera cockerelli) and Its Vectored Pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum

The bacterial pathogen 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) is transmitted by the tomato potato psyllid (TPP), Bactericera cockerelli, to solanaceous crops. In the present study, the changes in metabolic profiles of insect-susceptible (cv CastleMart) and resistant (RIL LA3952) tomato plants in response to TPP vectoring Lso or not, were examined after 48 h post infestation. Non-volatile and volatile metabolites were identified and quantified using headspace solid-phase microextraction equipped with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-HR-QTOFMS), respectively. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to define the major uncorrelated metabolite components assuming the treatments as the correlated predictors. Metabolic changes in various classes of metabolites, including volatiles, hormones, and phenolics, were observed in resistant and susceptible plants in response to the insects carrying the pathogen or not. The results suggest the involvement of differentially regulated and, in some cases, implicates antagonistic metabolites in plant defensive signaling. Upon validation, the identified metabolites could be used as markers to screen and select breeding lines with enhanced resistance to reduce economic losses due to the TPP-Lso vector-pathogen complex in Solanaceous crops.
FRI0164 BANFF INFLAMMATORY INDICES MAY BE SUPERIOR TO THE NIH SCORING IN PREDICTING CKD PROGRESSION IN LUPUS NEPHRITIS

Background: Chronic kidney disease/end stage renal disease (CKD/ESRD) from lupus nephritis (LN) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Advanced tubulointerstitial disease (TID) in LN is a better predicor of renal outcome than glomerular lesions. The current NIH classification is heavily weighted towards glomerular lesions and only provides a semiqualitative assessment of TID. In contrast, Banff classification of renal allograft pathology provides 6 reproducible scores for TID (inflammation, fibrosis, atrophy). Banff scoring may better predict CKD/ESRD in LN than NIH scores Objectives: We compared Banff grading vs. NIH scoring as predictors of CKD progression at 5 years, defined as a decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥30%, a strong risk factor for ESRD and mortality Methods: We included patients with LN class III, IV, V on the index biopsy Jan 2005 and Dec 2018. H&E/PAS stained slides were reviewed and scored by an experienced pathologist. Six TID Banff scores (0/1 vs. 2/3), NIH activity/chronicity (AI/CI) and NIH interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IF/TA), tubulointerstitial inflammation (TII) scores (none/mild vs. moderate/severe) were evaluated as predictors of CKD progression using survival analyses Results: Of the 125 patients, 46 had CKD progression and 20 subsequently developed ESRD. There were no differences between progressors and non-progressors in terms of baseline demographic, clinical data, LN class (Tab 1). Banff ti score (total inflammation) was associated with CKD progression in bivariate and time-dependent analyses. However, NIH TII score and corresponding Banff i score were not predictive (Tab 2, Fig 1). Overall NIH AI and CI were not predictive of CKD progression. Moderate/severe NIH IF/TA was associated with CKD progression as was Banff ci (interstitial fibrosis) score (Tab 2, Fig 2). Banff score for atrophy was not predictive. In a subset of 92 patients with baseline eGFR≥60ml/min/1.73m2 only Banff ti score (but not i score or NIH TII, IF/TA) was predictive of CKD progression (Fig 1) Conclusion: Banff inflammation scores may be superior predictors of CKD/ESRD progression at 5 years, compared to the currently used NIH classification. Detection of inflammation by Banff scores may allow earlier interventions to prevent ESRD Disclosure of Interests: None declared
When event knowledge overrides word order in sentence comprehension: Learning a first language after childhood

Limited language experience in childhood is common among deaf individuals, which prior research has shown to lead to low levels of language processing. Although basic structures such as word order have been found to be resilient to conditions of sparse language input in early life, whether they are robust to conditions of extreme language delay is unknown. The sentence comprehension strategies of post-childhood, first-language (L1) learners of American Sign Language (ASL) with at least 9 years of language experience were investigated, in comparison to two control groups of learners with full access to language from birth (deaf native signers and hearing L2 learners who were native English speakers). The results of a sentence-to-picture matching experiment show that event knowledge overrides word order for post-childhood L1 learners, regardless of the animacy of the subject, while both deaf native signers and hearing L2 signers consistently rely on word order to comprehend sentences. Language inaccessibility throughout early childhood impedes the acquisition of even basic word order. Similar to the strategies used by very young children prior to the development of basic sentence structure, post-childhood L1 learners rely more on context and event knowledge to comprehend sentences. Language experience during childhood is critical to the development of basic sentence structure.
Nanoscale 2D and 3D patterning using programmed DNA assemblies

DNA offers a high degree of programmability that enables the synthesis of highly structured 2D and 3D materials on the 10-100 nanometer scale using the technical approach called DNA origami. These materials can also be scaled to fabricate micron- and millimeter-scale hierarchical materials that preserve their nanometer-scale structural features. Either form of DNA-based material can be converted to inorganic materials including silica, or used to spatially organize secondary molecules including chromophores, quantum dots, peptides, and proteins for a diverse array of applications in patterning, photonics, excitonics, and medicine. In the first part of my talk I will present work in our group to enable the facile design and scaleable synthesis of structured 2D and 3D materials using DNA origami. In the second part of my talk I will present applications of these structured nanoscale materials to program multiplexed optical barcodes, quantum logic gates, and vaccines using quantum dots, chromophores, and proteins, respectively, organized spatially on the nanometer-scale.
Collecting Computing History is Everyone's Job

This Think Piece challenges the Annals readers who are practitioners in the computing industry to accept the challenge of collecting computing industry history and suggests ways that the readers can do this.
On Noise Performance of Dual-Gated Silicon FET Biosensors With Schottky Contacts

We analyzed the low-frequency noise (LFN) of dual-gated field-effect transistor (DG-FET) biosensors with Schottky contacts. We found the flicker noise at the sensing insulator–semiconductor interface to be the major noise source while employing Schottky contacts to have minimal noise contribution with a sufficiently large back-gate bias voltage. The measured noise dependence on transconductance further indicated the presence of a nonuniform energy distribution of interface trap density at the said sensing interface. Based on these findings, we argued that the DG structure is advantageous over its single-gated (SG) counterpart; although they possess the same intrinsic lower limit of detection (LLOD), the former could offer a larger signal gain at the optimum LLOD thanks to sufficient channel carrier supply through back-gating instead of biasing the sensing interface toward band edge with higher trap density.
Identification of SSX2IP/Msd1 as a Wtip-binding partner by targeted proximity biotinylation

Wilms tumor-1-interacting protein (Wtip) is a LIM-domain-containing adaptor that links cell junctions with actomyosin complexes and modulates actomyosin contractility and ciliogenesis in Xenopus embryos. The Wtip C-terminus with three LIM domains binds binds Shroom3 and modulates Shroom3-induced apical constriction in ectoderm cells. We found that the N-terminal domain localizes to the basal bodies in skin multiciliated cells, but its interacting partners remain largely unknown. Using a novel targeted proximity biotinylation approach with anti-GFP antibody attached to the biotin ligase BirA in the presence of GFP-Wtip-N, we identified SSX2IP as the candidate binding protein. SSX2IP, also known as Msd1 or ADIP, is a centriolar satellite protein that functions as a targeting factor for ciliary membrane proteins. Wtip physically associated with SSX2IP and the two proteins formed mixed spherical aggregates in overexpressing cells in a dose-dependent manner, in a process that resembles phase separation. These results suggest that the interaction between SSX2IP and Wtip is relevant to their functions at the centrosome and basal bodies. The described antibody targeting of biotin ligase should be applicable to other GFP-tagged proteins.
Introduction: An introduction to environmental approaches and prevention

(1985). Introduction: An introduction to environmental approaches and prevention. Prevention in Human Services: Vol. 4, No. 1-2, pp. 1-9.
Ebstein's Malformation; clinical findings and hemodynamic alterations.

Abstract Clinical, electrocardiographic, cardiac catheterization and angiocardiographic findings in Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve were reviewed. Three of our own cases are reported, showing different degrees of the malformation and different degrees of symptoms, from impaired cardiac function, to almost no reduction of cardiac efficiency. Ebstein's malformation may be suspected and diagnosed clinically. However, in some cases the degree of malformation is mild and the findings are less typical clinically. Cardiac catheterization usually leads to the diagnosis. An unusual normalization of the previous right bundle branch block pattern occurred in one of the cases during cardiac catheterization, which lasted for 20 to 25 cardiac cycles and appeared and disappeared without any change in the normal sinus rhythm. The previous delay in the onset of the right ventricular pressures and the broadening and late peak disappeared during the normal conduction. Two possible alternative explanations are offered which might shed some light on the electrical activation and hemodynamics of the right ventricle in Ebstein's malformation. It is possible that the catheter blocked the activation of the atrialized portion of the right ventricle and thus changed the right ventricular hemodynamics. On the other hand, it is possible that aberrant right ventricular conduction mechanism is present in Ebstein's malformation which changed to a shorter and normal intraventricular conduction when interference from the catheter blocked the aberrant pathways. Such aberrant pathways are supported by the occurrence of right ventricular pre-excitation in another case during cardiac catheterization. Angiocardiography in one of the patients showed that in Ebstein's malformation there is a hemodynamically non-functioning part of the right atrium, the atrialized portion of the right ventricle, which is placed between the vigorously contracting right atrium and the functioning small part of the right ventricle.
All for One and One for All

The Superorganism . The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies. By Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson . Norton, New York, 2008. 544 pp. $55, C$60.50, £30. ISBN 9780393067040. Summarizing the past couple of decades of research on the ecology and evolution of social insects-with their tightly knit colonies, altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor-Holldobler and Wilson argue that these "superorganisms" represent a basic stage of biological organization, between the organism and the species.
Variable-radius circles in cluster merging: II. Rotational clusters

Variable-radius circles are common constructs in planar constraint solving. We give a complete treatment of variable-radius circles when such circles must be determined simultaneously with placing two groups of geometric entities. Part I sets up the problem statement and considers clusters where the relative motion is translational. It also reviews past work on the subject. Part II treats rotational clusters motion.
3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase Activity in the Endosperm of Maize vivipary Mutants

During seed maturation the levels of the rate-limiting enzyme of isoprenoid biosynthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) decrease while the levels of the isoprenoid compund abscisic acid (ABA) increase. In the present study, we demonstrate that HMGR specific activity is inversely correlated with endogenous ABA levels in Zea mays endosperm during seed development. HMGR specific activity and ABA levels were measured in the endosperm of the maize vivipary mutuants vp2, vp5, and vp7, which are defective in ABA biosynthesis, and vp1, which is defective in an ABA response element. Reduced ABA levels were observed in the endosperm of vp2, vp5, and vp7, whereas HMGR activity levels were higher compared with wild-type sibling endosperm activity. HMGR activities were increased by as much as 37% (vp2), 45% (vp5), and 58% (vp7) in the mutants. Endosperm HMGR activity in the vp1 mutant was also increased (41%) relative to wild-type siblings, even though vp1 does not have reduced ABA levels. In addition, exogenous ABA inhibits HMGR activity 34 to 50% in maize roots. These results sugggest the HMGR activity levels during seed development are regulated via a Vp1-dependent signal transduction pathway that is affected by the reduced ABA content of vp2, vp5, and vp7 endosperm.
Lipiodol as an adjunct to tubal inflation in the diagnosis of sterility

Abstract The use of lipiodol offers a further means of accurately diagnosing tubal obstruction and stenosis as a cause of sterility in women. After tubal inflation has shown nonpatency or stenosis of the tube, the site of closure or stenosis can be accurately detected by its use in connection with roentgenograms. This information is of value in considering the advisability of surgical treatment in an otherwise normal pelvis. Such tubes are always symptomless and frequently unaccompanied by other pelvic lesions; hence there would be no other indication for operation. As a rule, women who consult physicians primarily because of sterility are otherwise normal, and it certainly is not justifiable to subject them to surgical operation without the benefit of as accurate a diagnosis as possible. Uncomplicated tubal occlusion is a frequent cause of sterility and the question of laparotomy is often brought up by the patient. If the site of closure can be located, one can much better judge the value of operation in a given case. Should the obstruction be in the narrowed portion of the tube the prospect of success from a plastic operation on the tube will not be good. With pathologic change at the fimbriated end, which is relatively common, and the lumen patent to this point, operation may be justifiable. It carries with it a fair chance of success, provided other conditions are normal. The technic of injecting lipiodol is simple and involves no special apparatus. It is practically painless. The same care is used as in transuterine inflation of the tubes.
Effect of Optimum Therapeutic Dose of Poldine on Acid Secretion, Gastric Acidity, Gastric Emptying, and Serum Gastrin Concentration After a Protein Meal

An oral optimum therapeutic dose of poldine was established in 5 normal subjects. Acid secretion in response to a protein meal was measured for 3 hr by continuous intragastric titration with sodium bicarbonate. Poldine 30 min before the meal reduced food-stimulated acid secretion from zero to 60% in the 5 subjects (average inhibition 32%). Poldine inhibited histamine-stimulated acid secretion to approximately the same extent. In separate experiments, gastric acidity after the meal was allowed to seek its natural level (i.e., there was no titration with bicarbonate). Poldine reduced average hydrogen concentration of the gastric contents by 85 to 50% from 1.5 to 3 hr after the meal. Since poldine did not alter the volume or the buffer content of the stomach, poldine inhibition of gastric acidity is due entirely to reduction of acid secretion and not to delayed emptying of food buffer. Poldine had no consistent effect on serum gastrin concentration after the meal when pH was maintained at a constant level by titration with bicarbonate; therefore, poldine inhibition of acid secretion is not mediated by a reduction of serum gastrin concentration.
Leave Those Orcs Alone: Property Rights in Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds are online communities visited by millions of users, most with their own economic and property systems. This article aims to attack a fundamental issue facing these new worlds: whether real-world legal systems should apply to virtual world transactions and activities. I argue that, contrary to prevailing legal scholarship, virtual worlds should stay free of stifling and inapplicable real-world laws and theories of property. My goal is to show how a focus on fitting laws to the actual needs and desires of the parties can lead to a result besides simply bolting on existing property systems. The sociable, game-like "homes" of virtual worlds have little to do with providing shelter, safety, or a store of growing investment value. Property systems protecting the latter are counterproductive. I believe that this focus casts a new light on why and when a legal property system is necessary at all. It showcases a grey area where commonplace rules lose their underlying rationale. Second, I try to describe the ways in which brand new societies have evolved functioning and efficient quasi-legal systems. Virtual worlds have existed in their modern form for a scant decade. Yet in that short space the users and developers have evolved dispute resolution systems, understandings on what is "acceptable" in the world, and mechanisms to change existing rules. Even in a state of tremendous power disparities, the powerless can negotiate effectively to reach their desired result. When killing sprees are often the very point of the game, creating a shared consensus on legality in such a short span of time is a tremendous accomplishment. I believe that the result illuminates how legal systems evolve from shared community values into codified law, and on how the governed and the governors interact to create a system.
Access signalling — Q.2931 and related standards

This paper provides a brief description of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) specified access signalling protocol Q.2931 and the supporting layer 2 signalling ATM adaptation layer (SAAL) that provides the release 1 signalling mechanism Digital Signalling System No 2 (DSS2). In addition to identifying the functions that are required to be incorporated in a signalling protocol to support call/connection establishment, in-call control and clear-down for a basic point-to-point call, the extensions required for a point-to-multipoint call are also considered. The paper then considers further extensions that have been produced to enable the negotiation, modification and look-ahead in relation to the connection in order to provide the capability set 2 step 1 DSS2 signalling mechanism. In conclusion, a simple road map to the DSS2 ITU-T standards in provided.
Insulator-metal transitions at microindentations

For all tetrahedrally bonded semiconductors (five group IV plus nine III-V compounds and nine II-VI compounds), it is shown that the critical pressure needed to transform the semiconductor into the metallic state correlates with the microindentation hardness number. The same is done for five alkaline earth oxides. The critical transition pressures have been estimated from Herzfeld’s theory—that is, from the compression at which the dielectric constant diverges to infinity. Experimental transition pressures also correlate with hardness numbers, and they correlate with the activation energies for dislocation motion. Since these transitions are electronic they can be influenced by photons, doping (donors enhance while acceptors inhibit them), currents, surface states, etc. Microindentation also provides a simple experimental tool for observing pressure and/or shear induced transformations.
An MPC-Based Approach to Provable System-Wide Safety and Liveness of Autonomous Ground Traffic

An important area of cyber-physical systems research is the development of smart ground transportation systems due to their potentially significant impact on safety, the economy, and the environment. We propose an approach based on model predictive control (MPC) for the development of provably collision free autonomous ground transportation systems, and present an autonomous intersection management framework. The MPC approach enables a vehicle to generate its own motion locally in time based on an optimization framework, incorporating constraints based on the states of other vehicles in the neighborhood, the speed limit of a road, the maximum values of acceleration and deceleration, etc. Safety and liveness of the traffic are however system-wide properties, not merely neighborhood properties, and the challenge is to augment this distributed optimization with coordination rules that guarantee overall system-wide safety as well as liveness of the traffic. We design two vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) coordination rules, along with a vehicle-to-infrastructure rule, and establish the system-wide safety and liveness of the autonomous traffic based on each vehicle's MPC motion planner, operating in conjunction with an algorithm that orders vehicles according to their runtime properties. We also conduct a comparative simulation study of the throughput performance at an intersection of the above approach against another popular algorithm, the All-Way STOP.
Occurrence of both growth hormone- and prolactin-immunoreactive material in the cells of human somatotropic pituitary adenomas containing mammotropic elements.

With the use of immunoperoxidase staining, both growth hormone- and prolactin-immunoreactivity were demonstrated in the cells of 6 pituitary adenomas removed because of frank or suspected acromegaly. By double immunostaining of individual sections or comparison of adjacent immunostained sections, partial to almost complete identity of the cell populations containing growth hormone and prolactin was found in 5 of the tumors.
Relative Valuation Roles of Equity Book Value, Net Income, and Cash Flows during a Macroeconomic Shock: The Case of Mexico and the 1994 Currency Crisis

Using a sample of Mexican firms traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange during the period 1992–1997, we investigate whether the relation between the firms' stock prices and their book values, earnings, and cash flows changes during the 1994 Mexican currency crisis. In pooled cross‐sectional tests we find the valuation coefficient on book value does not significantly change during the crisis period, while its incremental explanatory power increases. We also find the valuation coefficient on and incremental explanatory power of earnings decline during the crisis period. However, the decline in the valuation and explanatory power of earnings is attributable to the presence of negative earnings. These results are inconsistent with those from Barth et al. (1998) who find that the valuation and incremental explanatory power of book values (earnings) increase (decrease) as individual firms' financial health decreases in the U.S. Our results also differ from those of studies that examine the valuation of accounting ...
Asymmetric Cochlear Processing Mimics Hemispheric Specialization

Otoacoustic emissions or OAEs (reflections of cochlear energy produced during the processing of sound) were measured in response to two types of stimuli, rapid clicks and sustained tones, in each ear of neonates. OAEs were larger to tones when elicited in the left ear and to clicks when elicited in the right. This finding is similar to those of enhanced processing of tones in right auditory cortical areas and of rapid stimuli on the left, given strong crossed connections from ear to brain. These findings indicate that processing at the level of the ear may facilitate lateralization of auditory function in the brain.
The cap-choke catheter antenna for microwave ablation treatment

A matched-dipole type catheter antenna is described for intracavitary and/or transluminal microwave treatment of diseases that may be responsive to thermal ablation therapy. This cap-choke antenna consists of an annular cap and coaxial choke design that can yield specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions in, and can produce heating of, tissue surrounding the distal end of the catheter antenna. The cap-choke antenna is simple in construction, provides the desired SAR distribution, and is efficient, i.e., the measured power reflection coefficient is 2% in tissue equivalent phantom modeling materials.
Sub-picosecond pulses at 100 W average power from a Yb:YLF chirped-pulse amplification system.

We present a high-repetition-frequency, diode-pumped, and chirped-pulse amplification system operating at 106 W average output power with excellent beam quality (M2=1.3), based on cryogenically cooled Yb:YLF. 1 nJ seed pulses, derived from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser, are first amplified to 1 mJ pulse energy at 10 kHz repetition frequency in a regenerative amplifier. The second-stage, multipass amplifier increases the pulse energy to 10.6 mJ, resulting in a spectral width of 2.2 nm. The pulses are compressed to 865 fs in duration, which is 1.26 times the transform limit.
The Discouraged-Business-Major Hypothesis Revisited: Could Economics be the Encouraged-Business-Major?

The term “Discouraged-Business-Major” (DBM) describes students who become discouraged with the rigorous standards of colleges of business and migrate to colleges of arts and sciences to complete a degree in economics under relaxed requirements (Salemi and Eubanks 1996). Following Salemi and Eubanks, the present authors examine a decade of demographic characteristics and ability measures for every economics and business graduate at a large Midwestern university. They find DBMs, but also note that major selection dynamics are much more complex than originally expected. Finally, they employ a multinomial logit model to estimate the marginal effects of student characteristics on major choice.
Roads as Conduits for Exotic Plant Invasions in a Semiarid Landscape

Roads are believed to be a major contributing factor to the ongoing spread of exotic plants. We ex- amined the effect of road improvement and environmental variables on exotic and native plant diversity in roadside verges and adjacent semiarid grassland, shrubland, and woodland communities of southern Utah (U.S.A.). We measured the cover of exotic and native species in roadside verges and both the richness and cover of exotic and native species in adjacent interior communities (50 m beyond the edge of the road cut) along 42 roads stratified by level of road improvement ( paved, improved surface, graded, and four-wheel- drive track ). In roadside verges along paved roads, the cover of Bromus tectorum was three times as great (27%) as in verges along four-wheel-drive tracks ( 9%). The cover of five common exotic forb species tended to be lower in verges along four-wheel-drive tracks than in verges along more improved roads. The richness and cover of exotic species were both more than 50% greater, and the richness of native species was 30% lower, at interior sites adjacent to paved roads than at those adjacent to four-wheel-drive tracks. In addition, environmental variables relating to dominant vegetation, disturbance, and topography were significantly correlated with exotic and native species richness and cover. Improved roads can act as conduits for the inva- sion of adjacent ecosystems by converting natural habitats to those highly vulnerable to invasion. However, variation in dominant vegetation, soil moisture, nutrient levels, soil depth, disturbance, and topography may render interior communities differentially susceptible to invasions originating from roadside verges. Plant communities that are both physically invasible (e.g., characterized by deep or fertile soils) and disturbed ap- pear most vulnerable. Decision-makers considering whether to build, improve, and maintain roads should take into account the potential spread of exotic plants.
Effects of impurities on the phase transition of an itinerant electron antiferromagnet

Theory of the phase transition of an itinerant electron antiferromagnet is similar to superconductivity theory, including singular contributions to the specific heat and other properties at the transition temperature. The effects of a small concentration of normal impurities, which are pair breaking for the antiferromagnet, are calculated for temperatures nearT c . The principal effect of normal homovalent impurities is temperature smearing of the phase transition due to inhomogeneous electron-impurity scattering. This temperature smearing removes the singularities, leaving peaks with finite amplitudes which depend on the impurity concentration in a simple manner. Recent experimental results for chromium are discussed.
Inhomogeneous approximation of the critical nearest particle systems

Abstract In this paper we consider reversible nearest particle systems defined by λ( x ) = 1 + f ( x ) and β( n ) = c α n −α , α > 1. When α > 2, let f ( x ) = − b /( b + | x | γ ), b > 0. Let m be the first moment of β( n ). Then the system survives if γ > 1 or γ = 1 and α > 2(1 + b/m ) and dies out if γ b/m ). When 1 f ( x ) = b /(1 + | x | γ ), b > 0, γ > 0. Then the system survives if γ > α − 1 or γ b > b c and dies out if γ −1 or γ = α − 1 and b b > c where b c is ome positive finite constant.
Experimental measurements with a LiF(W) scintillator

Abstract We have constructed a scintillation detector using LiF(W) and studied its response to neutron and gamma sources. We could not detect any signals from low energy photons because its scintillation efficiency is only 6–7% of the efficiency of NaI(Tl). We did observe the Compton edges due to 137 Cs and 40 K sources. We also observed thermal neutrons by the reaction 6 Li(n, α) 3 H. The thermal neutron peak had a resolution (FWHM) of ≈17%. Finally, we observed events due to the cosmic ray muon flux in our laboratory.
Treatment of immunological infertility by sperm washing and intrauterine insemination.

The purpose of this study is to review our experience with sperm washing and intrauterine insemination as a method to reduce the presence of sperm antibodies in serum of couples with immunological infertility. Our results support the premise that sperm washing and intrauterine insemination can diminish the level of sperm-bound immunoglobulins and can improve the chance of conception in a selected group of couples with a diagnosis of immunological infertility. Patients with >50% attachment of IgG, IgA, or both antisperm antibodies in this study had a greater chance of achieving a pregnancy. The high level of antibody attachment seen in our study appears to represent true immunological infertility and therefore is more likely to respond to therapy that reduces antibody attachment and bypasses cervical mucus.
Investigation on binder homogeneity of RAP/RAS mixtures through staged extraction

There has been a growing concern in paving industry about the degree of blending between virgin and recycled binders as more and more recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) have been used in recent years. So far, only a few studies have been conducted in an effort to address the blending issues, among which a method named staged extraction, or progressive extraction, was used to extract asphalt binder from aggregates layer by layer and yielded promising results. However, this method is still controversial. This study validated the feasibility of staged extraction by addressing the concerns over solvent effects on testing results, potential selective dissolution of binder fraction by the solvent, desirable solvent selection and binder homogeneity of raw RAP and RAS materials. It was found that among the solvents used in the study, trichloroethylene (TCE) was the most effective for staged extraction that dissolved the asphalt binder without preferential dissolution. Meanwhile, TCE was also found to have the highest dissolution rate. The RAP/RAS binder was observed to be homogeneous throughout the film thickness. Ultimately, with TCE as the solvent, a step-extraction method with varying wash times was developed to improve on the typical equal-time extraction, and was applied on 50% RAP and 10% RAS mixtures. The new step-extraction method was found to be more effective than the equal-time extraction. Partial blending was observed within the asphalt film coating RAP aggregates, while the RAS-virgin blending on RAS aggregates should be further evaluated.
Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century

The article reviews the book “Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century,” by Richard Edwards.
Mobile apps and the approaching zombie apocalypse

The mobile handset (and now tablet) market is coming a tangled mess, with strong advocates for device specific applications on the one hand and strong web standards within the browser on the other. This talk will reflect a bit on the history of mobile applications, focusing on the user issues involved in this debate. This is critical as too often the debate focuses on the business needs of application development.The mobile space has gone through, and will continue to go through profound shifts in technology and user capabilities. This talk will focus on the heterogeneous set of devices that will descend upon us all, a 'zombie apocalypse' of devices that will swarm upon us and upset the simple 'one app, one device' model that we still so quaintly adhere to today.
Biological and engineering design considerations for vascular tissue engineered blood vessels (TEBVs)

Considerable advances have occurred in the development of tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) to repair or replace injured blood vessels, or as in vitro systems for drug toxicity testing. Here we summarize approaches to produce TEBVs and review current efforts to (1) identify suitable cell sources for the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle cells, (2) design the scaffold to mimic the arterial mechanical properties and (3) regulate the functional state of the cells of the vessel wall. Initial clinical studies have established the feasibility of this approach and challenges that make TEBVs a viable alternative for vessel replacement are identified.
Health care of the chronically mentally ill: the culture broker model.

The chronically mentally ill tend to receive inadequate medical care for nonpsychiatric illnesses and to have poor health care status. Their medical problems lead to excessive morbidity and mortality and adversely affect their adjustment to psychiatric illness. The authors argue that many of the barriers to medical care for these patients can be overcome by using case managers as “culture brokers”—persons who provide bridges between the worlds of the chronically mentally ill and medical providers. This paper presents the culture broker model and its roots in anthropology, and illustrates its application to the medical care of the chronically mentally ill with case examples.
Reduction of nonlinear embedded boundary models for problems with evolving interfaces

Embedded boundary methods alleviate many computational challenges, including those associated with meshing complex geometries and solving problems with evolving domains and interfaces. Developing model reduction methods for computational frameworks based on such methods seems however to be challenging. Indeed, most popular model reduction techniques are projection-based, and rely on basis functions obtained from the compression of simulation snapshots. In a traditional interface-fitted computational framework, the computation of such basis functions is straightforward, primarily because the computational domain does not contain in this case a fictitious region. This is not the case however for an embedded computational framework because the computational domain typically contains in this case both real and ghost regions whose definitions complicate the collection and compression of simulation snapshots. The problem is exacerbated when the interface separating both regions evolves in time. This paper addresses this issue by formulating the snapshot compression problem as a weighted low-rank approximation problem where the binary weighting identifies the evolving component of the individual simulation snapshots. The proposed approach is application independent and therefore comprehensive. It is successfully demonstrated for the model reduction of several two-dimensional, vortex-dominated, fluid-structure interaction problems.
The Validity of the Equilateral Tetrahedron as a Spatial Reference System

The error involved in the use of the equilateral tetrahedron reference system for electrocardiographic or vectorcardiographic studies has been investigated by means of an electrical dipole placed in the esophagus. Vectors plotted from the potential differences between electrodes defining the reference system were found to correspond fairly closely to the actual position of the dipole, indicating that the error is small.
Effect of puromycin treatment on the regeneration of hemisected and transected rat spinal cord

The effect of puromycin on spinal cord regeneration was studied following implantation into the site of spinal cord hemi- or transection of Gel-foam saturated with puromycin (1mM) in a saline carrier, implantation of Gel-foam sponge saturated with saline (carrier control), or lesion alone (lesion control). The spinal cords of 107 rats were studied with light and electron microscopy 7, 14, 30, 60 and 90 days postoperative (DPO). Spinal cord hemisected animals developed a dense cicatrix at the site of lesion replete with connective tissue, blood vessels, and myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibres which could be traced to peripheral sources. Rostrally at the C.N.S.-cicatrix interface, there were reactive neuroglial cells, occasional nerve fibres and finger-like projections of spinal cord (due to cavitation lesions) which contained neuroglia, axons and dendrites. Implantation of saline in Gel-foam resulted in the same morphology as in hemisected animals except for increased lesion size due to mechanical factors and decreased cicatrix density during the first 30 DPO. Puromycin treatment resulted in a cicatrix with initial decreased cell density but which contained a new class of nerve fibres at 30 DPO. These nerve fibres were oriented in a rostro—caudal direction, were unmyelinated, 0.1–0.2 μm in diameter and had expanded smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Some of these nerve fibres were degenerating at 30 DPO and all were absent by 60 DPO. The puromycin-treated spinal cord within 200 μm rostral to the basal lamina contained nerve terminal conglomerates, which resembled boutons, in fascicles from 30–90 DPO (duration of experiment). Hemisection of the spinal cord by crushing 1-11/2 segments rostral to the site of puromycin implantation at 30 DPO resulted in degeneration of these nerve fibres in the cicatrix as well as the degeneration of nerve terminal conglomerates just rostral to the basal lamina. The regenerative capacity of the spinal cord is discussed in relationship to these findings.
Introduction to the Symposium: Responses of Terrestrial Arthropods to Variation in the Thermal and Hydric Environment: Molecular, Organismal, and Evolutionary Approaches'

CONTEXT FOR THE SYMPOSIUM Within the temperate realm, temperature and water availability are the dominant environmental parameters that determine species distributions (Gates, 1993). The physiological effects of thermal and water variability are interactive, because temperature strongly affects water loss, and evaporative water loss is often a critical mechanism for preventing overheating. Understanding how organisms respond on short and evolutionary time scales to variation in the thermal and hydric environment is therefore a central question of of modern biology. These issues have recently become more urgent, as societal decisions require predictive models of the ecological effects of variation in global climate (Kareiva, et al., 1993). Terrestrial arthropods provide particularly valuable models for the study of the biological effects of thermal and hydric variability due to their ecological importance, species diversity, ease of rearing, and short generation times. However, use of terrestrial arthropods as model organisms for evolutionary and environmental studies ultimately depends on a solid understanding of their cellular and organismal physiology. Traditionally our understanding of the physiology of invertebrates has lagged well behind our knowledge of vertebrates, partly due to the focus of research on biomedicine, and partly due to technical limitations imposed by small body sizes. Recent advances in molecular biology, computer, and micro-analytical technologies have overcome many of these technical limitations, and we are entering an era of rapid advances in our understanding of the genetics, cell biology, and physiology of terrestrial arthropods. At the same time, ecologists and evolutionary biologists are conducting rigorous empirical studies of the fitness consequences of environmental variation and organismal responses. Together, these advances are providing information of basic importance to medicine, agriculture, ecology, and evolutionary biology.
Lack of effect of ovariectomy on divalent cation regulation of skeletal adenylate cyclase.

Both estrogen and androgen have been reported to attenuate cyclic AMP responses to parathyroid hormone stimulation in cultured bone cells. The present study examines the effect of in vivo estrogen deficiency on skeletal adenylate cyclase (AC) activity. The AC activity was compared in bone membranes prepared from normal female guinea pigs and from age-matched guinea pigs 3 weeks after ovariectomy. Histomorphometric analysis of femoral specimens from the ovariectomized guinea pigs demonstrated significant decreases in percentage bone volume, the percentage eroded surfaces and osteoclast numbers, and increased osteoid thickness, compared with the normal controls. No differences were found in basal AC activity, the ability of bone AC to be stimulated by parathyroid hormone (bPTH(1–34)) or isoproterenol, or in the regulation of AC activity by calcium and magnesium. We conclude that bone AC is not a direct target for estrogen effects on bone cells and that the reported effects of sex steroids on cAMP levels in bone cells probably act via an indirect mechanism.
Preliminary Measurements of Midsummer Metabolism in Beds of Eelgrass, Zostera Marina

Measurement of community metabolism in a coastal pond eelgrass bed gave values of 2.9 g O2 m—2 day —1 for apparent production and 3.6 g O2 m—2 day—1 for night respiration. The excess of consumption over production during a full day in early August is indicative of the declining state of the plants by midsummer. Measurements of upstream—downstream dissolved oxygen in a tidal river eelgrass bed showed unusual transients and occasional high values for production and respiration. These observations may have been related to turbulent tidal transport, to exchanges of oxygen between the water and lacunar spaces within the Zostera, and to higher metabolic rates in faster currents. See full-text article at JSTOR
An MPEG-7 scheme for semantic content modelling and filtering of digital video

Part 5 of the MPEG-7 standard specifies Multimedia Description Schemes (MDS); that is, the format multimedia content models should conform to in order to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms and applications. However, the standard does not specify how the content or the associated model may be filtered. This paper proposes an MPEG-7 scheme which can be deployed for digital video content modelling and filtering. The proposed scheme, COSMOS-7, produces rich and multi-faceted semantic content models and supports a content-based filtering approach that only analyses content relating directly to the preferred content requirements of the user. We present details of the scheme, front-end systems used for content modelling and filtering and experiences with a number of users.
Dual Optical Recordings for Action Potentials and Calcium Handling in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Models of Cardiac Arrhythmias Using Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Indicators

Reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotency has been used to investigate disease mechanisms and to identify potential therapeutics. However, the methods used for reprogramming, in vitro differentiation, and phenotyping are still complicated, expensive, and time-consuming. To address the limitations, we first optimized a protocol for reprogramming of human fibroblasts and keratinocytes into pluripotency using single lipofection and the episomal vectors in a 24-well plate format. This method allowed us to generate multiple lines of integration-free and feeder-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from seven patients with cardiac diseases and three controls. Second, we differentiated human iPSCs derived from patients with Timothy syndrome into cardiomyocytes using a monolayer differentiation method. We found that Timothy syndrome cardiomyocytes showed slower, irregular contractions and abnormal calcium handling compared with the controls. The results are consistent with previous reports using a retroviral method for reprogramming and an embryoid body-based method for cardiac differentiation. Third, we developed an efficient approach for recording the action potentials and calcium transients simultaneously in control and patient cardiomyocytes using genetically encoded fluorescent indicators, ArcLight and R-GECO1. The dual optical recordings enabled us to observe prolonged action potentials and abnormal calcium handling in Timothy syndrome cardiomyocytes. We confirmed that roscovitine rescued the phenotypes in Timothy syndrome cardiomyocytes and that these findings were consistent with previous studies using conventional electrophysiological recordings and calcium imaging with dyes. The approaches using our optimized methods and dual optical recordings will improve iPSC applicability for disease modeling to investigate mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias and to test potential therapeutics.
In-Core Neutron Flux Instrumentation

A survey of the new work in the neutron monitoring of a nuclear power reactor is presented. The sensors have been moved into the reactor and the three modes of measurement necessary to cover the ten decades of the in-core neutron range from startup to rated power are described. The system specifications and life performance data are reviewed. Several innovative extensions of in-core monitoring such as the traversing probe and the Campbell method are covered in detail.