cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of MR safety for a new liquid embolic device

Background As an alternative to conventional treatments, a new liquid embolic device (Neucrylate) may be used to treat aneurysms or arteriovenous malformation (AVMs). Because this device contains metal for opacification, an investigation was performed to evaluate MRI issues for this liquid embolic device. Methods The liquid embolic device was evaluated for magnetic field interactions (translational attraction and torque) at 3 T, MRI-related heating at 1.5 T/64 MHz and 3 T/128 MHz and artifacts at 3 T using standardized techniques. In each case, MRI-related heating was assessed with the liquid embolic device in a gelled saline-filled phantom and MRI was performed using relatively high levels of radiofrequency energy. Artifacts were characterized using T1-weighted spin echo and gradient echo pulse sequences. Additionally, conductivity (ie, electrical resistance) measurements were recorded. Results The liquid embolic device exhibited no magnetic field interactions. Heating was at the same level as background temperature rises (ie, the temperatures recorded without the liquid embolic device present in the phantom) under 1.5 T/64 MHz (highest temperature change 1.4°C) and 3 T/128 MHz (highest temperature change 1.8°C) MRI conditions. Artifacts were small in relation to the size and shape of the liquid embolic device. The device was found to pose no risks with regard to the conductivity of the material. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that it is acceptable for a patient with this new liquid embolic device to undergo MRI at ≤3 T. Notably, the associated artifacts are unlikely to create issues for diagnostic MRI examinations.
Symbiosis lost: imperfect vertical transmission of fungal endophytes in grasses.

Abstract: Vertically transmitted symbionts associate with some of the most ecologically dominant species on Earth, and their fixation has led to major evolutionary transitions (e.g., the development of mitochondria). Theory predicts that exclusive vertical transmission should favor mutualism and generate high frequencies of symbiosis in host populations. However, host populations often support lower‐than‐expected symbiont frequencies. Imperfect transmission (i.e., symbiont is not transmitted to all offspring) can reduce symbiont frequency, but for most beneficial symbionts it is unknown whether vertical transmission can be imperfect or during which life‐history stage the symbiont is lost. Using quantitative natural history surveys of fungal endophytes in grasses, we show that transmission was imperfect in at least one stage for all seven host species examined. Endophytes were lost at all possible stages: within adult plants, from adult tillers to seeds, and from seeds to seedlings. Despite this loss, unin...
Dosimetry of Pions

Shortly after the discovery of the negative pion, scientists began to consider the possibility of its application to cancer therapy. Fowler and Perkins (1961) were the first to show quantitatively the potential advantages.
Psychobiological Approaches to Health and Disease

The influence of psychological factors on health or illness has long been recognized. Galen, a Roman physician living in the second century A.D., believed that excessive pessimism, anger, and constant emotional distress led to poor health and premature death. Similarly, Hippocrates believed that the mind influenced bodily functioning (Pattishall, 1989). With the advent of Cartesian dualism, however, interest in the mind’s influence on bodily processes declined. Cartesian dualism maintained that the mind (i.e., psychological influences) and body were distinct and unrelated entities. Interest in psychological factors as possible determinants of health did not reemerge as a legitimate area of scientific inquiry until much later.
Phagocytosis genes nonautonomously promote developmental cell death in the Drosophila ovary

Programmed cell death (PCD) is usually considered a cell-autonomous suicide program, synonymous with apoptosis. Recent research has revealed that PCD is complex, with at least a dozen cell death modalities. Here, we demonstrate that the large-scale nonapoptotic developmental PCD in the Drosophila ovary occurs by an alternative cell death program where the surrounding follicle cells nonautonomously promote death of the germ line. The phagocytic machinery of the follicle cells, including Draper, cell death abnormality (Ced)-12, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), is essential for the death and removal of germ-line-derived nurse cells during late oogenesis. Cell death events including acidification, nuclear envelope permeabilization, and DNA fragmentation of the nurse cells are impaired when phagocytosis is inhibited. Moreover, elimination of a small subset of follicle cells prevents nurse cell death and cytoplasmic dumping. Developmental PCD in the Drosophila ovary is an intriguing example of nonapoptotic, nonautonomous PCD, providing insight on the diversity of cell death mechanisms.
Energy efficiency in web search engines

Today, Web search is a frequent action in the everyday life of many people. To perform it on a large scale, Web companies need energy-hungry data center, which raise environmental and economical challenges. For these reasons, Green Information Retrieval promotes energy and energy-cost awareness in contemporary Web search engines. In this document, we propose to further the research on Green Information Retrieval, which is still at its early stage. Moreover, we illustrate our first results in evaluating and improving the energy efficiency of search servers.
High-temperature rate constant determination for the reaction of OH with iso-butanol.

This work presents the first direct experimental study of the rate constant for the reaction of OH with iso-butanol (2-methyl-1-propanol) at temperatures from 907 to 1147 K at near-atmospheric pressures. OH time-histories were measured behind reflected shock waves using a narrow-linewidth laser absorption method during reactions of dilute mixtures of tert-butylhydroperoxide (as a fast source of OH) with iso-butanol in excess. The title reaction’s overall rate constant (OH + iso-butanol →koverall all products) minus the rate constant for the β-radical-producing channel (OH + iso-butanol →kβ 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-prop-2-yl radical + H2O) was determined from the pseudo-first-order rate of OH decay. A two-parameter Arrhenius fit of the experimentally determined rate constant in the current temperature range yields the expression (koverall – kβ) = 1.84 × 10–10 exp(−2350/T[K]) cm3 molecule–1 s–1. A recommendation for the overall rate constant, including kβ, is made, and comparisons of the results to rate constant ...
The Dark Side of Goal Specificity: Satisficing and Bounded Awareness

Most managerial, professional and decision-making tasks are unstructured. Yet the prescriptions from the goal-setting literature are primarily based on highly structured tasks and are often general...
Configurating and Maintaining for Library FTP Servers

The paper discusses FTP server's serving patterns, sets forth some practical configurating methods according to the real situation of library,and puts forward a few ways and suggestions for security.
Cooperative Task Assignment of Manned /Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Formation in Air Combat

Task assignment method plays a key role in manned /unmanned aerial vehicle formation cooperative air combat.Firstly,a task decomposition method with constraint of timing sequential was presented.Then,the task assignment model was established based on the improved Contract Net Protocol(CNP).The task assignment efficiency was enhanced by adopting the acquaintance model.The timing sequence task was processed by adopting the task validity parameter and blackboard mechanism.Finally,simulation was carried out based on the CNP task assignment model,the result shows the well performance of the task assignment method,which can fulfill the requirement of cooperative air combat.
Investigation on Safety and Hygiene of Rural Drinking Water in Guiyang County

Objective To investigate the safety and hygienic status of rural drinking water in Guiyang County,to analyze the influencing factors of hygienic quality of drinking water based on the existing problems,and to provide the scientific evidence for water resource departments to better implement rural drinking water safety projects.Methods The representative water source in each town,source water,produced water,pipe water from rural drinking water safety projects were selected and monitored.The water quality assessment was conducted according to the national standard.Results The qualified rate of rural water source was 34.38%(55/160),and those of produced water and pipe water were both 8.33%(4/48).Conclusions Management should be strengthened for concerned departments in Guiyang County,which are suffering from unsafe source and quality of rural water,high micro-pollution in drinking water,exceeding heavy metal and fluoride in water source nearby mining area,and less-developed hygienic status of rural drinking water.
Lymphangiography in Patients with Malignancy in a Non-Descended Testicle

AbstractLymphangiography was performed on 23 patients with malignancy in non-descended testicles, 14 of whom had seminomatous and 9 non-seminomatous tumors.Lymph node metastases were shown by lymphangiography in 8 patients: 3 in lumbar nodes, 1 in iliac nodes alone and 4 in lumbar and iliac lymph nodes. Microscopic metastases were shown in lumbar nodes at retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in 2 patients when the lymphangiograms were negative.Iliac lymph node metastases are rare in testicular tumors but may be seen in tumors of non-descended testicles, alone or in combination with lumbar metastatic disease. This information is extremely important for the radiologist as well as the clinician in the management of patients.
40.000 Garotas Desaparecidas: Espetáculo Falacioso, Políticas Sexuais Fora da Ordem e Violência Policial no Rio de Janeiro

Este artigo analisa o periodo do assim chamado protestos da “Revolucao do Vinagre”, compreendido entre a Copa das Confederacoes de 2013 e a Copa do Mundo de 2014. Alega-se que nesse periodo ha uma mudanca acentuada nas politicas sexuais enquanto que as “politicas sexuais fora da ordem” deixam de ser aceitas e integradas nas manifestacoes populares de 2013 para serem subordinadas e ate mesmo abandonadas durante a Copa do Mundo, visto que a violencia policial contra as profissionais do sexo acelerou, a medida que os protestos populares diminuiram. Uma das alegacoes retoricas que causou, em especial, prejuizo as profissionais do sexo foi a alegacao de que 40.000 mulheres e garotas sao traficadas para cada Copa do Mundo — uma alegacao que se mostrou completamente falsa. Contudo, essas garotas desaparecidas — que sao imaginarias — tambem confirmou-se como sendo um tipo de espetaculo, sendo que esse espetaculo falacioso e dissimulado permitiu o aumento da violencia policial. Este artigo argumenta que as politicas sexuais fora da ordem sao remodeladas e se tornam vulneraveis a espetaculos — mesmo quando o espetaculo em questao e mais notavel por sua invalidez etnografica.
Survival disparities in pediatric skin cancer: Analysis of population-based Florida cancer registry (1981-2009).

e21033 Background: Pediatric melanoma is increasing in incidence, and differences in incidence rates between children and adolescents exist. We identified disparities in pediatric skin cancer survi...
Real time non-contact remote cardiac monitoring

The demands and interests in non-contact health monitoring have increased rapidly in recent years due to its noninvasive method and easy to use in daily life. In this paper, a real time and non-contact based cardiac monitoring system including a sensor is presented. The sensor is capacitively-coupled with human skin and does not cause impediments in the natural movement of the user. Moreover, low power RF module nRF24L01+ and passive components were used for reducing power consumption. Current monitoring systems for premature infants are not convenient due to the usage of patched or adhesive tape for monitoring vital information. The front end circuit is integrated with multiple stages of amplifier, filters, analog to digital converter and the wireless module. The non-contact capacitive electrode was integrated into the leather belt as well as in the chair to monitor electrocardiography (ECG) signals. In this work, a simple and easily accessible ECG monitoring sensor node for body area networks was designed and tested. The proposed system was compared through experiments with the one with Ag/Agcl based electrodes. The results show that the proposed system could accurately be used as a medical grade equipment for long-term health monitoring.
A Positive Generation Effect on Memory for Auditory Context

Self-generation of information during memory encoding has large positive effects on subsequent memory for items, but mixed effects on memory for contextual information associated with items. A processing account of generation effects on context memory (Mulligan in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30(4), 838-855, 2004; Mulligan, Lozito, & Rosner in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32(4), 836-846, 2006) proposes that these effects depend on whether the generation task causes any shift in processing of the type of context features for which memory is being tested. Mulligan and colleagues have used this account to predict various negative effects of generation on context memory, but the account also predicts positive generation effects under certain circumstances. The present experiment provided a critical test of the processing account by examining how generation affected memory for auditory rather than visual context. Based on the processing account, we predicted that generation of rhyme words should enhance processing of auditory information associated with the words (i.e., voice gender), whereas generation of antonym words should have no effect. These predictions were confirmed, providing support to the processing account.
Reemergence of the surface-potential-based compact MOSFET models

This paper addresses current issues in compact MOSFET modeling, provides an overview and some essential details of SP (a new compact MOSFET model developed at Penn State), and presents original results concerning new applications of the symmetric linearization method and streamlined surface potential (/spl phi//sub s/) approximation.
Characterizing power and performance of GPU memory access

Power is a major limiting factor for the future of HPC and the realization of exascale computing under a power budget. GPUs have now become a mainstream parallel computation device in HPC, and optimizing power usage on GPUs is critical to achieving future goals. GPU memory is seldom studied, especially for power usage. Nevertheless, memory accesses draw significant power and are critical to understanding and optimizing GPU power usage. In this work we investigate the power and performance characteristics of various GPU memory accesses. We take an empirical approach and experimentally examine and evaluate how GPU power and performance vary with data access patterns and software parameters including GPU thread block size. In addition, we take into account the advanced power saving technology dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) on GPU processing units and global memory. We analyze power and performance and provide some suggestions for the optimal parameters for applications that heavily use specific memory operations.
A Note on Paradigms in Information Science

It is my landerstanding that one of the basic purposes of this Institute, though certainly not the only one, is to discuss the foundations, the prospective shape, and the methods of a science of information capable of providing a unifying theoretical framework to the increasing number of disciplines in which information appears to play a central role. This paper is conceived as an attempt to contribute to that specific goal.
Racial disparity in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma survival.

6569 Background: Although blacks have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) compared to whites, black non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients experience worse survival than white patients. This st...
Phonemic awareness development in 2.5- and 3.5-year-old children: an examination of emergent, receptive, knowledge and skills

The National Institutes of Health has deemed illiteracy a national health crisis based on reading proficiency rates among American children. In 2002, the National Early Literacy Panel identified six pre-reading skills that are most crucial precursors to reading mastery and predict future reading outcomes. Of those skills, phonological awareness, and in particular phonemic awareness, is the strongest independent predictor of early reading outcomes. However, limited research has addressed the development of these component skills due in part to the fact that many of the measures used to assess sub-skills such as phonemic awareness are oral production measures that cannot easily be administered with children under the age of five, and are not designed to detect implicit or emerging knowledge. To address this limitation, we developed and administered two receptive measures of phonemic awareness to 2.5- and 3.5-year-old children. We found evidence for the emergence of this component skill earlier in ontogeny than is currently acknowledged in the literature. Overall, children performed at above chance rates on measures of receptive phonemic awareness at the level of the individual phoneme as early as 2.5-years-old. Results are discussed in terms of the need for a paradigm shift in prevailing models of how phonological awareness develops, as well as the potential to identify children at-risk for reading failure at an earlier point in ontogeny than is currently feasible.
Voluntary Remands: A Critical Reassessment

This Article explores and critiques the administrative law doctrine of voluntary remand. When petitioners challenge an agency policy, the agency may ask the reviewing court to return the policy to the agency for reconsideration-effectively terminating the court's role in the case. Voluntary-remand motions risk agency opportunism and political manipulation, but are nevertheless routinely and uncritically granted by courts. The Article explores the theory and history of voluntary-remand doctrine, observing that modern administrative law developments negate many of the doctrine's core assumptions. Accordingly, the Article calls for reassessing courts' willingness to grant voluntary remands.
Temporal reflected logistic regression for probabilistic heart failure survival score prediction

Heart failure (HF) has a highly variable annual mortality rate and there is an urgent need of determining patient prognosis to enable informed decision-making about heart failure treatment strategies. Existing survival risk prediction models either require features that limit their applicability or pose difficulties for parameter estimation as physicians have to use a limited set of variables with known hazard ratios published in literature. We propose a new model to predict the probabilistic survival score after HF diagnosis based on all clinical variables derived from the electronic health record (EHR). We formalize the parameter estimation problem by using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) principle and devise an effective and efficient algorithm to solve the optimization problem. Experimental results using EHR data of 234 HF patients validate the superiority of this new model in predicting prognosis over the currently used Seattle Heart Failure Model.
Combined Endoscopic-Percutaneous Biliary Restoration Following Severe Bile Duct Injury During Cholecystectomy.

Combined Endoscopic-Percutaneous Biliary Restoration Following Severe Bile Duct Injury During Cholecystectomy
Traumatic brain injury, temperament, and violence in incarcerated youth: a mediation analysis based on Delisi and Vaughn's theory of temperament and antisocial behavior

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with violent behavior. A possible key mechanism to explain the relationship between TBI and violence is DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament-based theory of an...
Heavy Alkaline-Earth Metal Organometallic and Metal Organic Chemistry: Synthetic Methods and Properties

Despite the growing utility of heavy alkaline-earth metal organometallics, their high reactivity resulted in limited accessibility. Over the last decade, synthetic strategies have been developed to overcome challenges, resulting in unprecedented growth of this chemistry. The synthetic accessibility is going hand in hand with exciting and ever expanding utilities of the compounds in applications as diverse as catalysis or materials chemistry. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the various synthetic methodologies along with considerations on their structure–property relationships.
Dried blood spot compared to plasma measurements of blood-based biomarkers of brain injury in neonatal encephalopathy.

Data correlating dried blood spots (DBS) and plasma concentrations for neonatal biomarkers of brain injury are lacking. We hypothesized that candidate biomarker levels determined from DBS can serve as a reliable surrogate for plasma levels. In the context of a phase II multi-center trial evaluating erythropoietin for neuroprotection in neonatal encephalopathy (NE), DBS were collected at enrollment ( < 24 h), day 2, 4, and 5. Plasma was collected with the first and last DBS. The relationship between paired DBS-plasma determinations of brain-specific proteins and cytokines was assessed by correlation and Bland–Altman analyses. For analytes with consistent DBS-plasma associations, DBS-derived biomarker levels were related to brain injury by MRI and 1-year outcomes. We enrolled 50 newborns with NE. While S100B protein, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL)1 β, IL-6, IL-8 demonstrated significant DBS-plasma correlations, Bland–Altman plots demonstrated that the methods are not interchangeable, with a 2 to 4-fold error between measurements. No significant relationships were found between DBS levels of TNFα, IL-6, and IL-8 and outcomes. Further work is needed to optimize elution and assay methods before using DBS specimens as a reliable surrogate for plasma levels of candidate brain injury biomarkers in NE.
Relative effects of LDL-C on ischemic stroke and coronary disease: A Mendelian randomization study

Objective To examine the causal relevance of lifelong differences in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for ischemic stroke (IS) relative to that for coronary heart disease (CHD) using a Mendelian randomization approach. Methods We undertook a 2-sample Mendelian randomization, based on summary data, to estimate the causal relevance of LDL-C for risk of IS and CHD. Information from 62 independent genetic variants with genome-wide significant effects on LDL-C levels was used to estimate the causal effects of LDL-C for IS and IS subtypes (based on 12,389 IS cases from METASTROKE) and for CHD (based on 60,801 cases from CARDIoGRAMplusC4D). We then assessed the effects of LDL-C on IS and CHD for heterogeneity. Results A 1 mmol/L higher genetically determined LDL-C was associated with a 50% higher risk of CHD (odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32−1.68, p = 1.1 × 10−8). By contrast, the causal effect of LDL-C was much weaker for IS (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.96−1.30, p = 0.14; p for heterogeneity = 2.6 × 10−3) and, in particular, for cardioembolic stroke (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.84−1.33, p = 0.64; p for heterogeneity = 8.6 × 10−3) when compared with that for CHD. Conclusions In contrast with the consistent effects of LDL-C-lowering therapies on IS and CHD, genetic variants that confer lifelong LDL-C differences show a weaker effect on IS than on CHD. The relevance of etiologically distinct IS subtypes may contribute to the differences observed.
Dependent capitalism and the middle-income trap in Europe na East Central Europe

The post-2008 slowdown in economic convergence by countries of east central Europe towards the level of western Europe is interpreted with the help of a concept of dependent capitalism. Convergence appeared to be rapid up to that year, but then stalled, albeit with differing results depending on the measure used. Dependent capitalism meant that the driver for economic growth comes from inward investment by multinational companies (MNCs). Domestically owned businesses failed when faced with international competition, and their agenda hampers policies supporting an active role from the state. Inward investment is attracted by low wages and has contributed to substantial growth, but the slowdown in investment was accompanied by much slower economic growth and dangers that past investment could turn into a burden on the external balance. The strategies pursued by incoming MNCs have brought areas of upgrading, but frequently leave technological levels somewhat behind those of western Europe. Even where they use the same technologies as in their home countries, wages still remain significantly lower. Achieving full convergence would require a different growth model following a substantial change in economic policies: this does not appear likely in the near future.
Arc Hyperbolic sine creep theory applied to torsion-tension member of circular cross section

A multiaxial creep theory is presented in this paper which will predict the total deformations of a load-carrying member at any specified time after load. Load-deformation relations are derived based on the assumption that the isochronous stress-strain diagram of the material can be represented by an arc hyperbolic sine function [see, eq (2)]. A closed solution was obtained for the torsion-tension member considered in this investigation. Experimental data were obtainsed for nylon and high-density polyethylene members in a controlled-environment room and for 17-7PH stainless-steel members at 972° F. Good agreement was found between theory and experiment.
Wasting less electricity before use

New research finds that global inefficiencies in power transmission and distribution infrastructure result in nearly a gigatonne of CO2-equivalent annually. Countries can use this overlooked mitigation opportunity in their transition to a clean power sector.
White Blood Cell Counts, Lymphocyte Subsets, and Incident Diabetes Mellitus in Women Living With and Without HIV

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with expansion of proinflammatory lymphocyte subsets. We investigated the relationship of total white blood cell (WBC) count and lymphocyte subsets with incident DM in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). Higher CD4 and CD8 T cell counts, lymphocyte count, and total WBC count were associated with incident DM among both women with and without HIV, although the association of CD8 was not statistically significant among women without HIV.
Street-level Repression: Protest, Policing, and Dissent in Uganda:

In many countries, police are both guardians of public safety and the primary instruments of state repression. Used to quell dissent, excessive police action can drive further collective action, le...
Predictive Signatures of 19 Antibiotic-Induced Escherichia coli Proteomes

Identifying the mode of action (MOA) of antibacterial compounds is the fundamental basis for the development of new antibiotics, and the challenge increases with the emerging secondary and indirect...
Practicing Connections: A Framework to Guide Instructional Design for Developing Understanding in Complex Domains

Research suggests that expert understanding is characterized by coherent mental representations featuring a high level of connectedness. This paper advances the idea that educators can facilitate this level of understanding in students through the practicing connections framework: a practical framework to guide instructional design for developing deep understanding and transferable knowledge in complex academic domains. We start by reviewing what we know from learning sciences about the nature and development of transferable knowledge, arguing that connectedness is key to the coherent mental schemas that underlie deep understanding and transferable skills. We then propose features of instruction that might uniquely facilitate deep understanding and suggest that the connections between a domain’s core concepts, key representations, and contexts and practices of the world must be made explicit and practiced, over time, in order for students to develop coherent understanding. We illustrate the practicing connections approach to instructional design in the context of a new online interactive introductory statistics textbook developed by the authors.
Non-invasive quantification of throat-size distribution and corresponding capillary pressure

Abstract Pore-throat-size distribution (PSD) controls fundamental petrophysical properties regulating the fluid flow in porous rocks and impacts characterization of water and hydrocarbon reserves. However, the methods available for estimating PSD (e.g. mercury injection porosimetry, gas adsorption/condensation, and electron microscopy) require rock samples and, thus, are not adequate for field applications using borehole geophysical measurements. Therefore, the aims of this paper include (1) appraising pore geometry features (e.g., tortuosity, PSD) using multi-physics formation data, (2) introducing a new non-invasive process to estimate PSD through the combined interpretation of permittivity, resistivity, as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, and (3) demonstrating that the new process can be applied to reliably estimate capillary pressure curves and displacement pressure. We introduce a process based on a new equation for non-invasive estimation of PSD in porous media. This novel throat-size equation requires information obtained through the analysis of NMR and electric measurements. We calculate the distribution of pore sizes from the T 2 distribution by assuming the pores can be approximated by spheres. The pore-to-throat size ratio and the tortuosity are estimated from the combined analysis of permittivity, resistivity, and NMR measurements. Then, we can use the pore-size distribution and the pore-to-throat ratio to calculate the PSD. The new non-intrusive process relies on fundamental petrophysics and entirely removes the necessity of calibration efforts. Results demonstrate that the relative differences between the calculated mean pore-throat sizes against the corresponding values obtained from mercury injection capillary pressure (in core samples) and the generalized network modeling results (in pore-scale images) are approximately 10 % and 40 % , respectively. These differences are not expressive since the effective pore-throat sizes can vary by orders of magnitude in different rock types.
938-P: A Human Gut Commensal, Parabacteroides Distasonis, Enhances Type 1 Diabetes Autoimmunity via Molecular Mimicry

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the selective destruction of pancreatic β-cells by autoreactive T-cells. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified over 150 regions that influence the risk of developing T1D, but genetics alone cannot account for the increasing incidence of T1D. Various environmental factors have been examined to identify their potential contributions, however, no report has demonstrated a direct role of these environmental factors in T1D onset. In the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of T1D, over 90% of the anti-insulin CD4+ T-cell clones target amino acids 9-23 of the insulin B chain (insB:9-23). More importantly, insB:9-23 specific T-cells have been identified in islets obtained from human organ donors with T1D as well as peripheral blood lymphocytes of living T1D patients. In this study, focusing on the main insulin epitope, insB:9-23, we explored whether a microbial insB:9-23 mimic could modulate T1D. We demonstrate that a microbial insB:9-23 mimic of Parabacteroides distasonis, a human gut commensal, exclusively stimulates NOD mouse T-cells specific to insB:9-23. Indeed, immunization of NOD mice with either the bacterial mimic peptide or insB:9-23 further verified the cross-reactivity in vivo. P. distasonis colonization of the female NOD mice gut accelerated T1D onset. In addition, adoptive transfer of splenocytes from NOD mice colonized with P. distasonis to NOD.SCID recipients conferred the enhanced disease phenotype. Integration analysis of published DIABIMMUNE T1D gut microbiome data revealed that P. distasonis is lacking in the gut microbiota of the children below age 1 who will eventually develop T1D in Russia and Estonia. Notably, P. distasonis insB:9-23 mimic can stimulate human T-cell clones specific to insB:9-23. Taken together, our studies define a potential molecular mimicry link between T1D pathogenesis and the gut microbiota. Disclosure K. Girdhar: None. E. Altindis: None. Q. Huang: None. I. Chow: None. C. Brady: None. A. Raisingani: None. T. Tran: None. W. Kwok: None. M. A. Atkinson: None. C. Kahn: Advisory Panel; Self; ERX Pharmaceuticals, Kaleido Biosciences, Inc., Consultant; Self; Flagship Pioneering, Sana/Cobalt. Funding National Institutes of Health (1K01DK117967-01, R01DK031026, R01DK033201, P01AI042288); G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation; Iacocca Family Foundation
Potassium Diode Pumped Alkali Laser demonstration using a closed cycle flowing system

Abstract The first Potassium Diode Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL) with flowing gain medium in closed cycle system has been demonstrated. A slope efficiency of 31% for continuous wave operation was achieved with a maximum output power 5 W. The flow loop was operated with a helium buffer gas pressure of 800 Torr and an alkali metal temperature of 185 °C. An examination of laser performance vs flow speed demonstrated higher efficiencies with increasing flow speeds.
Role of the chemically non-innocent ligand in the catalytic formation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide from methanol and water with the metal as the spectator.

The catalytic mechanism for the production of H2 and CO2 from CH3OH and H2O by [K(dme)2][Ru(H) (trop2dad)] (K(dme)2.1_exp) was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Since the reaction occurs under mild conditions and at reasonable rates, it could be considered an ideal way to use methanol to store hydrogen. The predicted mechanism begins with the dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde through a new ligand–ligand bifunctional mechanism, where two hydrogen atoms of CH3OH eliminate to the ligand’s N and C atoms, a mechanism that is more favorable than the previously known mechanisms, β-H elimination, or the metal–ligand bifunctional. The key initiator of this first step is formed by migration of the hydride in 1 from the ruthenium to the meta-carbon atom, which generates 1″ with a frustrated Lewis pair in the ring between N and C. Hydroxide, formed when 1″ cleaves H2O, reacts rapidly with CH2O to give H2C(OH)O–, which subsequently donates a hydride to 6 to generate HCOOH and 5. H...
Electronic nose simulation of olfactory response containing 500 orthogonal sensors in 10 seconds

An electronic nose using fast gas chromatography with an uncoated 500 MHz SAW resonator can produce an olfaction response consistent with an array of 500 or more orthogonal sensors in 10 seconds. This new eNose is providing law enforcement officers, environmental scientists, quality control specialists, and olfaction researchers with a new investigative tool. The GC/SAW is an optimal electronic nose which provides a recognizable high resolution visual image of specific vapor mixtures (fragrances) containing many different chemical species. The GC/SAW simultaneously is able to quantify the concentration of the individual chemical compounds present in odors universally. It is this universality which leads to such a wide diversity of applications.
Central pattern-generating neurons and the search for general principles.

This paper selectively reviews cellular-level studies of neurons and neural networks that function to generate rhythmic physiological and behavioral events. Studies of biological rhythms during the last 75 years have modified Sherrington's concept of nervous tissue as primarily reflexive to include the fact that some neuronal activity is also endogenously rhythmic. As a functional group, neurons that initiate and maintain physiological or behavioral rhythms are referred to as central pattern generators. Comparative studies reveal a disorienting variety of biological rhythms and underlying central pattern generator control mechanisms. This paper outlines the taxonomic diversity of biological rhythms, the strengths and limitations of various models for studying central pattern generators, and the ongoing search for general principles of rhythm generation. Studies of rhythmic phenomena displayed by intact, unanesthetized mammals have been greatly enriched by data and concepts derived from invertebrate centra...
Tunable absorption based on plasmonic nanostructures loaded with graphene

We present simulations of a hybrid graphene-plasmonic device constituted by periodic metallic nanowires placed over a dielectric spacer layer and a metallic film. The spacer layer is composed of a thin silica layer combined with an one-atom-thick graphene sheet. An electrically controlled ultra-compact absorption modulator can be realized based on the proposed theoretical device.
Estrogen-induced zonal changes in rat liver sinusoids

Abstract Estrogen-containing oral contraceptives have been associated with changes in hepatic sinusoids in women. This association has not been studied systematically. To define, quantitate, and locate the estrogen-induced changes within the zones of the hepatic acinus, a morphometric analysis of sinusoids was performed in rat liver. Female rats received oral ethynyl estradiol, dissolved in corn oil, in doses of 0.125 mg/100 g body wt per day for either 2 or 6 wk. Control groups received corn oil in volumes equal to the ethynyl estradiol group or were untreated. After 2 or 6 wk, livers were fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde, and 5-μm sections were prepared and analyzed in an automatic image analyzer (Quantimet 720). The ratio of the volume fraction of the sinusoids in zone 1 to that in zone 3 was 2.04 ± 0.15 (SE) after 2 wk of ethynyl estradiol administration, as compared with 0.87 ± 0.05 (SE) in rats given corn oil and 0.76 ± 0.03 (SE) in untreated controls. The differences between the two control groups and the ethynyl estradiol group were significant (P
Transforming Community College Education at The City University of New York

The City University of New York (CUNY) developed and implemented two evidence-based, educational initiatives at its community colleges. Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), on six campuses, helped 55 percent of students who enter with one or two developmental needs earn an associate degree within three years. This compares with 20 percent for non-ASAP students who needed remediation. An external random assignment study by MDRC found that ASAP increased credits earned, completion of developmental coursework, and first-to-second semester retention. An independent study out of Columbia University Teachers College estimated that despite higher initial expenses, ASAP’s higher graduation rate costs the university $6,500 less per three-year graduate. The second innovation, CUNY’s New Community College (NCC), opened with 300 students in Fall 2012. It offers A.A. and A.S. degrees for transfer to baccalaureate programs, plus occupational A.A.S. degrees. Using a curriculum organized around problem-solving for New York City’s future, it integrates developmental and credit coursework, field experiences, and classroom learning in a structured and supportive environment. Other components include full-time study in the first year, limited majors, and a multidisciplinary faculty-staff instructional team. Early results include a 92 percent first-to-second-semester retention rate for Spring 2013.
Retinol is sequestered in the bone marrow of vitamin A-deficient rats

Retinoic acid bound to the nuclear retinoic acid receptor-alpha is required for the differentiation of promyelocytes to mature neutrophils. However, severely vitamin A-deficient rats have normal numbers of neutrophils in the blood and inflamed tissues. This paradox was explored using four dietary groups of rats: 1) vitamin A-deficient rats; 2) vitamin A-deficient rats subsequently receiving vitamin A; 3) weight-matched pair-fed rats; and 4) nonrestricted, vitamin A-complete diet-fed rats. Plasma and liver retinol concentrations of the vitamin A-deficient rats were < 1 % of those of the other three groups. In contrast, the bone marrow retinol concentrations of the vitamin A-deficient rats were fourfold higher than those in the other three groups. The distribution of myeloid-derived cells in the bone marrow was similar in all four groups of rats with the exception of a significantly greater (P < 0.05) occurrence of hypersegmented neutrophils (six or more lobes) in the vitamin A-deficient rats (2. 1 %) relative to the control groups (0-0.1%). The blood of the vitamin A-deficient rats also contained significantly higher numbers (P < 0.01) of hypersegmented neutrophils (67%) relative to those in the control groups (2-7%). The hypersegmentation of the neutrophils in this group of rats was not due to a concurrent deficiency of vitamin B-12 or folate. The importance of bone marrow-derived cells to the survival of the animal is suggested by retinol sequestration in the bone marrow of vitamin A-deficient rats, allowing the differentiation of myeloid cells to neutrophils.
TREATMENT OF TICS

Ideally, patients with mild tics who have made a good adaptation in their lives can avoid the use of medications. Educating patients, family members, peers, and school personnel regarding the nature of Tourette syndrome (TS), restructuring the school environment, and providing supportive counseling are measures that may be sufficient to avoid pharmacotherapy. Medication therapy should be considered if tics are functionally disabling and not remediable to nonpharmacologic interventions. A variety of therapeutic agents are now available to treat tics, and each medication should be chosen on the basis of expected efficacy and potential side effects. Dosages should be titrated slowly to achieve the lowest satisfactory dosage that is sufficient to attain a tolerable level of symptoms.
Site-directed mutagenesis of the CP 47 protein of photosystem II: 167W in the lumenally exposed loop C is required for photosystem II assembly and stability.

The intrinsic chlorophyll-protein CP 47 is a component of photosystem II which functions in both light-harvesting and oxygen evolution. Using site-directed mutagenesis we have produced the mutant W167S which lies in loop C of CP 47. This strain exhibited a 75% loss in oxygen evolution activity and grew extremely slowly in the absence of glucose. Examination of normalized oxygen evolution traces indicated that the mutant was susceptible to photoinactivation. Analysis of the variable fluorescence yield indicated that the mutant accumulated very few functional PS II reaction centers. This was confirmed by immunoblotting experiments. Interestingly, when W167S was grown in the presence of 20 μM DCMU, the mutant continued to exhibit these defects. These results indicate that tryptophan 167 in loop C of CP 47 is important for the assembly and stability of the PS II reaction center.
Traveling-cluster approximation for uncorrelated amorphous systems

We have developed a formalism for including cluster effects in the one-electron Green's function for a positionally disordered (liquid or amorphous) system without any correlation among the scattering sites. This method is an extension of the technique known as the traveling-cluster approximation (TCA) originally obtained and applied to a substitutional alloy by Mills and Ratanavararaksa. We have also proved the appropriate fixed-point theorem, which guarantees, for a bounded local potential, that the self-consistent equations always converge upon iteration to a unique, Herglotz solution. To our knowledge, this is the only analytic theory for considering cluster effects. Furthermore, we have performed some computer calculations in the pair TCA, for the model case of $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function potentials on a one-dimensional random chain. These results have been compared with "exact calculations" (which, in principle, take into account all cluster effects) and with the coherent-potential approximation (CPA), which is the single-site TCA. The density of states for the pair TCA clearly shows some improvement over the CPA and yet, apparently, the pair approximation distorts some of the features of the exact results.
Modelling the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture: a minimum-data approach*

We argue that to support agriculture‐environmental policy decision making, stakeholders need ‘quantitative back-of-the-envelope’ analysis that is timely and sufficiently accurate to make informed decisions. We apply this concept to the analysis of the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture. We present a spatially explicit production model and show how it can be used to derive the supply of ecosystem services in a region. This model shows that the supply of ecosystem services can be derived from the spatial distribution of opportunity cost of providing those services. We then show how this conceptual model can be used to develop a minimum-data (MD) approach to the analysis of the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture that can be implemented with the kinds of secondary data that are available in most parts of the world. We apply the MD approach to simulate the supply of carbon that could be sequestered in agricultural soils in the dryland grain-producing region of Montana. We find that the supply curve derived from the MD approach can approximate the supply curve obtained from a more elaborate model based on site-specific data, and can do so with sufficient accuracy for policy analysis.
The Role of Specific Yield in Ground-Water Recharge Estimations: A Numerical Study

This paper numerically demonstrates and quantifies the importance of capillary-fringe and variable specific yield phenomena in ground-water recharge estimations. A one-dimensional numerical experiment consisting of a soil either with a capillary fringe or without it was set up using a finite-element code. A prescribed infiltrating flux was superimposed on top of the soil column, and the resulting unsaturated-saturated water flow was observed. By assuming a single value for specific yield, recharge is usually overestimated. For two cases considered in this study, the errors involved in ground-water recharge estimations by using such an assumption ranged from 88 to 330 times the simulated recharge, when variable specific yield is considered. This study also clearly demonstrates the effect of a constant specific yield value on the behavior of the water table rise, the total amount of which as well as the rate of such rise are underestimated under that assumption. In addition, under that assumption, the timing of the water table rise is out of phase with the timing of recharge events.