bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning with Dynamic Spiking Neurons and Fixed Feedback Weights
Authors: Samadi Arash , Lillicrap Timothy P. , Tweed Douglas B.
Published: January 2017

Recent work in computer science has shown the power of deep learning driven by the backpropagation algorithm in networks of artificial neurons. But real neurons in the brain are different from most of these artificial ones in at least three crucial ways: they emit spikes rather than graded outputs, their inputs and outputs are related dynamically rather than by piecewise-smooth functions, and they have no known way to coordinate arrays of synapses in separate forward and feedback pathways so that they change simultaneously and identically, as they do in backpropagation. Given these differences, it is unlikely that current deep learning algorithms can operate in the brain, but we that show these problems can be solved by two simple devices: learning rules can approximate dynamic input-output relations with piecewise-smooth functions, and a variation on the feedback alignment algorithm can train deep networks without having to coordinate forward and feedback synapses. Our results also show that deep spiking networks learn much better if each neuron computes an intracellular teaching signal that reflects that cell’s nonlinearity. With this mechanism, networks of spiking neurons show useful learning in synapses at least nine layers upstream from the output cells and perform well compared to other spiking networks in the literature on the MNIST digit recognition task.
Effects of Small-World Rewiring Probability and Noisy Synaptic Conductivity on Slow Waves: Cortical Network
Authors: Tekin Ramazan , Tagluk Mehmet Emin
Published: January 2017

Physiological rhythms play a critical role in the functional development of living beings. Many biological functions are executed with an interaction of rhythms produced by internal characteristics of scores of cells. While synchronized oscillations may be associated with normal brain functions, anomalies in these oscillations may cause or relate the emergence of some neurological or neuropsychological pathologies. This study was designed to investigate the effects of topological structure and synaptic conductivity noise on the spatial synchronization and temporal rhythmicity of the waves generated by cells in the network. Because of holding the ability of clustering and randomizing with change of parameters, small-world (SW) network topology was chosen. The oscillatory activity of network was tried out by manipulating an insulated SW, cortical network model whose morphology is very close to real world. According to the obtained results, it was observed that at the optimal probabilistic rates of conductivity noise and rewiring of SW, powerful synchronized oscillatory small waves are generated in relation to the internal dynamics of cells, which are in line with the network’s input. These two parameters were observed to be quite effective on the excitation-inhibition balance of the network. Accordingly, it may be suggested that the topological dynamics of SW and noisy synaptic conductivity may be associated with the normal and abnormal development of neurobiological structure.
Multiway Array Decomposition of EEG Spectrum: Implications of Its Stability for the Exploration of Large-Scale Brain Networks
Authors: Mareček Radek , Lamoš Martin , Labounek René , Bartoň Marek , Slavíček Tomáš , Mikl Michal , Rektor Ivan , Brázdil Milan
Published: January 2017

Multiway array decomposition methods have been shown to be promising statistical tools for identifying neural activity in the EEG spectrum. They blindly decompose the EEG spectrum into spatial-temporal-spectral patterns by taking into account inherent relationships among signals acquired at different frequencies and sensors. Our study evaluates the stability of spatial-temporal-spectral patterns derived by one particular method, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). We focused on patterns’ stability over time and in population and divided the complete data set containing data from 50 healthy subjects into several subsets. Our results suggest that the patterns are highly stable in time, as well as among different subgroups of subjects. Further, we show with simultaneously acquired fMRI data that power fluctuations of some patterns have stable correspondence to hemodynamic fluctuations in large-scale brain networks. We did not find such correspondence for power fluctuations in standard frequency bands, the common way of dealing with EEG data. Altogether, our results suggest that PARAFAC is a suitable method for research in the field of large-scale brain networks and their manifestation in EEG signal.
Multisensory Bayesian Inference Depends on Synapse Maturation during Training: Theoretical Analysis and Neural Modeling Implementation
Authors: Ursino Mauro , Cuppini Cristiano , Magosso Elisa
Published: January 2017

Recent theoretical and experimental studies suggest that in multisensory conditions, the brain performs a near-optimal Bayesian estimate of external events, giving more weight to the more reliable stimuli. However, the neural mechanisms responsible for this behavior, and its progressive maturation in a multisensory environment, are still insufficiently understood. The aim of this letter is to analyze this problem with a neural network model of audiovisual integration, based on probabilistic population coding—the idea that a population of neurons can encode probability functions to perform Bayesian inference. The model consists of two chains of unisensory neurons (auditory and visual) topologically organized. They receive the corresponding input through a plastic receptive field and reciprocally exchange plastic cross-modal synapses, which encode the spatial co-occurrence of visual-auditory inputs. A third chain of multisensory neurons performs a simple sum of auditory and visual excitations.

The work includes a theoretical part and a computer simulation study. We show how a simple rule for synapse learning (consisting of Hebbian reinforcement and a decay term) can be used during training to shrink the receptive fields and encode the unisensory likelihood functions. Hence, after training, each unisensory area realizes a maximum likelihood estimate of stimulus position (auditory or visual). In cross-modal conditions, the same learning rule can encode information on prior probability into the cross-modal synapses. Computer simulations confirm the theoretical results and show that the proposed network can realize a maximum likelihood estimate of auditory (or visual) positions in unimodal conditions and a Bayesian estimate, with moderate deviations from optimality, in cross-modal conditions. Furthermore, the model explains the ventriloquism illusion and, looking at the activity in the multimodal neurons, explains the automatic reweighting of auditory and visual inputs on a trial-by-trial basis, according to the reliability of the individual cues.
Taxonomic notes on Neoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Sichuan Province of China with the description of two new species
Authors: LI WEIHAI , WANG YING , WANG RONGFENG
Published: January 2017

Species of the perlid genus Neoperla from Sichuan Province, China are reviewed. Two new species are described, Neoperla caii Li & Wang, sp. nov. and N. emeishana Li & Wang, sp. nov. The new species are compared with related congeners. Available types of several known Neoperla species from Sichuan Province were studied and complementary descriptions or brief taxonomic comments are presented for N. bilineata Wu & Claassen, N. chui Wu & Claassen, N. microtumida Wu & Claassen, N. quadrata Wu & Claassen and N. truncata Wu.
Hyphessobrycon petricolus, a new species of tetra (Characiformes: Characidae) from the rio Madeira basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Authors: OHARA WILLIAN M. , LIMA FLÁVIO C. T. , BARROS BRUNO S.
Published: January 2017

A new species of Hyphessobrycon is described from the rio Roosevelt, rio Madeira basin, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Hyphessobrycon petricolus sp. n. can be distinguished from its congeners by the unique combination of the following features: a well-defined, relatively narrow dark midlateral stripe on body extending from immediately behind posterior margin of opercle to the middle caudal-fin rays, relatively conspicuous humeral blotch, and 16–20 branched anal-fin rays. Comments on the remaining Hyphessobrycon species presenting a conspicuous dark midlateral stripe are presented.
The Irma Dream, Self-Analysis, and Self-Supervision
Authors: Blum Harold
Published: January 2017

The Irma dream has special historical significance. Erikson and others have placed it in historical, social, and cultural context. The manifest dream was elaborated in terms of analytic surface with analysis of form and content, patterns and movement in time and space, etc. There are, however, limits to textual reinterpretations. Further psychobiographic consideration of the Irma dream highlights issues of transference, countertransference and their sources in unconscious conflict and trauma. The Irma dream was initially a secret dream which represented the initiation of a self-analytic and supervisory process. Freud's revealing the dream and imagining the commemoration of the discovery of “the secret of the dream” marked the termination of formal self-analysis within analysis interminable.
New Configurations of Justice and Services for the Vulnerable: Panacea or Panegyric?
Authors: Carney Terry
Published: January 2017

Accessible justice (tribunals), integrated justice (drug courts), community justice (sentencing circles or “conferencing”), group justice (ulysses agreements), and contractual justice (private “settlements”) are new ways of tackling old problems; often ones involving vulnerable groups. Vulnerable groups pose particular challenges about whether the state should intervene, in what ways, and whether through the legal, medical, or welfare systems. New programs, with new objectives and new sectoral boundaries, necessarily raise new questions. Questions about ethical foundations. Questions about implications for “citizenship”, or for the rule of law, or for distributional equity. And questions about program “effectiveness”. This paper identifies common themes and patterns in the reforms, including “active” rather than passive adjudication, judicial commitment to realisation of identified goals, intersectoral collaboration, community in-put or control, and use of privatised “contractualist” metaphors. It considers the extent to which this reflects globalisation (harmonisation with civil law experience), or is emblematic of “postmodernism” (better attuning programs to diversity and fluidity), or other theoretical positions (such as contractualism and republican citizenship). It is argued that these experiments should be cautiously welcomed, subject to rigorous assessment of their merits, since their over-enthusiastic adoption risks breaches of fundamental ethical, civil citizenship, or medico-legal precepts, and may allow theory to outstrip its evidentiary base.
Arms Limiting and Force Adjusting Arrangements in the Northern Gap Area
Authors: Holst Johan Jörgen
Published: January 2017

The author starts out by delineating the existing system of unilateral arms control measures which is observed by Norway. He distinguishes between unilateral formal measures on the one hand and semi-formal measures on the other. To the former belong the policy on foreign bases and nuclear weapons while the latter include the restrictions applying to allied military exercises and the presence of allied aircraft in Norwegian air space and naval vessels in Norwegian territorial waters. The present era of political reconstruction in Europe may generate force reduction and force adjustment regulations as part of the security infrastructure of the post-cold war Europe. Thus the Norwegian constraints would have to be viewed in a novel context and their possible multilateralization considered. Against the background of a delineation of the relationship of forces in the Northern Cap area the author suggests various activity regulation measures aimed at depoliticizing military force in the area (restrictions on manoeuvres, new stationing of forces, notification of manoeuvres). The naval situation in the Norwegian Sea illustrates the interrelationship between the regional security situation and the superpower balance. The outcome of SALT will affect the situation, but the author also suggests various arrangements involving ceilings on naval activity in the Norwegian Sea.
Attracting Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Padhi Satya Prasad
Published: January 2017

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows are industry-specific and, therefore, are regional-specific. Following this framework, the paper, first of all, notes that the regional FDI inflows relate positively to cross-regional differences in initial level of manufacturing output. This is especially when cross-regional differences in initial level of manufacturing output do not conform to a regional manufacturing convergence process and point to cross-regional differences in production structures. The paper also says that the regional FD! inflows are attracted less by regional incentive pattern (both provisions off inancial incentives and infrastructure facilities) which is independent of cross-regional differences in manufacturing levels. At the same time, though FDI inflows are attracted to regions with initial higher level of manufacturing output, they do not directly support a divergence process. This may be due to the fact that (1) FDI regional flows pertain mainly to the post-1991 phase. and (2) the FDI and total private investment in India have different regional biases.
Tools for Promoting Exports
Authors: Mehta Pradeep Kumar
Published: January 2017

The role of trade policy as a tool of economic development has attained considerable significance in India, specially in the post-reform period. This has happened because the economy has witnessed a tremendous upsurge in the wake of globalisation and driven by a fiercely competitive market system. In this background, the paper examines the amendments incorporated in the basic framework of the five-year trade policy (2002-07) commencing on 31 March 2003. It also takes into account the trade related changes introduced through the Central Budget 2003. The paper has been organized around five major themes of the new trade policy, viz. identifying thrust areas for exports, strengthening vehicles of exports, rationalising incentives, reducing transaction cost, and involving states in export promotion. It attempts to examine the changes under each of them at length. It accesses the impact of these changes on country's export performance during 2003-04 in particular and, towards meeting the objective of one per cent share in world export by March 2007 in general. It also briefly indicates the areas such as labour laws in which the policy failed to take concrete initiatives.
Experience of Financial Sector Reform in India
Authors: Nag Biswajit , Ray Prithwish
Published: January 2017

As financial sector plays an important role in shaping up a country's economy, during the last decade and a half many developing countries have taken measures to reform their financial sectors so that it contributes immensely to their economy

The present paper makes an attempt to analyse various aspects relating to reforms introduced in Indis s financial sector and compares them with the experience in some of the South East Asian economies such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. This paper also tries to focus upon the underlining economic conditions which are essential for a country to fully liberalise its financial sector either in a rapid or in a phased manner. It also takes into account how regulation and competition can jointly play a crucial role in enhancing the growth of an economy.
Proliferation of PTAs in Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Mikic Mia
Published: January 2017

Currently, 89 trade agreements are being implemented and at least another 100 are under consideration and negotiation. This is a small fraction of the possible 1,891 bilaterals that can be formed among the 62 ESCAP members and associate members. However, despite these distant theoretical limits, there is a growing feeling that the capacity of the region to accommodate more of similar agreements is diminishing. A quick visual test of the “noodle bowl” confirms that the bowl is already overflowing.
Detection of Changes in Spatial Position: IV. Multiple Display Fields, Display Aiding, and Interference
Authors: Pollack Irwin
Published: January 2017

The detection of changes in spatial positon was examined for random-dot visual patterns for sequences of 2 to 16 successive display fields. The results show that operators integrate displacement information across successive display fields; detection is nearly invariant with a fixed total displacement over successive display fields, whether the status of a particular dot is queried or whether the observer must indicate only whether any dot in the field has been displaced. The critical variable is identified as the interval between successive display fields. Display aiding, represented by a trail of displacements, is extremely effective; strikingly large performance changes—from near chance to near perfect—are observed as a function of the length of the trail, especially at long intervals between successive displacements. The rate of trail fading proved to be a relatively insensitive variable. Three forms of visual interference were distinguished: clutter, or stationary noise; jitter, or stationary noise modified by a random walk; and random noise. Random noise was substantially more interfering than clutter. Implications for the design of displays are briefly discussed.
Sequential Task Performance: Task Module Relationships, Reliabilities, and Times
Authors: Mills Robert G. , Hatfield Shirley A.
Published: January 2017

A methodology has been developed and an experiment conducted to examine some of the assumptions and combinatorial rules employed in applying human performance reliability (HPR) and task time data to the quantification of human performance. Subjects performed a variety of tasks designed to provide empirical estimates of HPR and task time and to permit examination of the effects of combining tasks. Results indicated (a) the normality assumption for distribution of task time is inappropriate, (b) the rules for combining task times are satisfactory if the underlying distribution of task times in known, (c) HPR is affected severely by combining tasks, and (d) any model for estimating HPR will require parameters to account for task combining and difficulty.
Effectiveness of Audible Warning Signals for Emergency Vehicles
Authors: Fidell Sanford
Published: January 2017

Twenty-four subjects engaged in a simulated driving task detected audible warning signals of the sort commonly used by emergency vehicles. The simulated driving task, carried out in an instrumented car under computer control, included steering toward alternately illuminated fender lights and maintaining a constant speedometer reading. The required detection response was depression of the brake pedal. To a first approximation, signals of equal detectability were equally effective in eliciting braking responses.
Individual Differences and the Perception of Traffic Signs
Authors: Loo Robert
Published: January 2017

The study focused on the relationship between field dependence and the ability to perceive traffic signs in embedded and disembedded contexts as measured by verbal reaction times. Intercorrelations among the reaction times, personality measures, and driving record items were also tested. Twenty-eight females were blocked into four quartiles according to their score on the Group Embedded Figures Test. Subjects completed the traffic-sign task, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, and a driving experience questionnaire. Field-dependent subjects had longer reaction times to embedded traffic signs and more traffic accidents than did field-independent subjects. Also, extraverts had longer reaction times to the embedded traffic signs, more accidents, and more traffic convictions than introverts. No relationships were found for neuroticism.
Effects of Fixed Versus Variable Reference Frequencies on Psychophysical Judgments of Vibration
Authors: Rao B.K.N. , Jones B.
Published: January 2017

Equal magnitude contours for vibration were obtained by two methods from ten seated subjects exposed to sinusoidal vibrations in three axes. In the traditional “fixed reference frequency” method, subjects were asked to adjust the amplitude of vibration in order to match for equal vibratory magnitude of a variable stimulus (of from 1 to 30 Hz) to a fixed reference vibration stimulus. The reference stimulus corresponded to the ISO 1–4 min “reduced comfort boundary” level; i.e., 6 Hz at 0.9 m/s2 (rms acceleration) for vertical (±gz) axis and 1 Hz at 0.62 m/s2 rms acceleration for the lateral (±gy) and longitudinal (±gx) axes. In the modified “progressive matching” method, subjects were exposed initially to the same reference stimulus and matched the adjoining stimulus vibratory frequency magnitude to it. Then, however, the newly matched vibration frequency was used as the next reference stimulus, the subjects matched the adjoining frequency magnitude to this “new” reference stimulus, etc. over the same range of frequencies (from 1 to 30 Hz). The advantages and shortcomings of the two methods are discussed.
Effects of Altitude and Heat on Complex Cognitive Tasks
Authors: Fine Bernard J. , Kobrick John L.
Published: January 2017

The effects of heat and altitude on complex cognitive tasks involved in artillery fire direction center operations were examined. Five six-man groups received one week of intensive training on tasks involving message reception and decoding, arithmetic conversions, and reception and recording of meteorological data. Each group then performed the tasks for 7 h during each of the following daily series of conditions: control (sea level, normal temperature), altitude (4300 m, normal temperature), control (sea level, normal temperature), heat (sea level, 35°C, 88% RH). All tasks were significantly and similarly affected by altitude and by heat, although individuals differed considerably in degree and type of stress response. Errors of omission greatly exceeded errors of commission. This approach, anchored firmly in basic psychological processes and theory, is considered to be of significant potential value as a technique for analyzing stress-sensitive factors in complex cognitive performance.
Australia's Potential for Petroleum
Authors: Evans P. R.
Published: January 2017

The viability and direction of future exploration for petroleum in Australia appear to have been set, particularly by the results of the petroleum industry's endeavours over the past four years. The limited local markets for the abundance of natural gas, with which Australian basins are characterised, will control the direction and rate of exploration for many years. Even so, the local markets for petroleum should provide a continued incentive to search for oil.

The Gippsland Basin is at a mature stage of exploration, and a replacement for it is still required in order that Australia maintain its present position of supplying the bulk of its needs for crude oil into the 1990s. Sectors of the Timor Sea are the most likely areas of relatively untested continental shelf to produce the requisite large fields. The previously disregarded Mesozoic plays of the Eromanga Basin hold promise for continued small discoveries that cumulatively may provide a substantial contribution to the nation's needs. The Canning Basin is the most promising of the still generally non-productive basins, but realisation of its potential will be expensive.
Road Transport in Indian Cities: Energy – Environment Implications
Authors: Bose Ranjan Kumar , Chary V. Srinivas
Published: January 2017

The paper examines the general overview of problems associated with traffic growth and composition of traffic flow characteristics, the levels of mobility and constraints on mobility like traffic congestion and speed reduction on important arteries, variation in trip rate and trip length, modal distribution of passenger trips, in seventeen metropolitan cities in India. As the cities of different sizes have varied problems due to many factors, such as basic road system, transport modes operating, the nature and composition of the traffic, the seventeen cities are grouped into three categories on the basis of population size of the city – large (over 5 million), medium (2–4 million) and small (1–2 million) to examine the linkage between the size of the city and traffic and travel related parameters. Linear econometric relationships are established between travel demand parameters (volume of trips, trip length, vehicle population, passenger car units) and urban size and economic structure of the city. The paper considers only passenger modes of transport and does not include freight modes. Passenger travel demand is estimated for each city during 1990–91 (base year) and projected for 2000–01 under business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, by analyzing data on vehicle population, average distance travelled, and occupancy level. Next, data on travel demand and operating energy intensity are compiled for each city for estimating demand of petrol (motor spirit) and diesel oil for the two years – 1990–91 and 2000–01. Finally, the resultant emissions of TSP, SO2 CO, NOx, HC, Pb are estimated for the corresponding years using data on emission factors and fuel demand for the corresponding years. The paper suggests the desirable cost-effective solution (of how to move people with less vehicles using less energy and spewing out less pollution) could be achieved by increasing the share of public transport in large, medium and small size cities.
Reinstating Isaac: The Centrality of Abraham's Son in the “Jacob—Esau” Narrative of Genesis 27
Authors: Smith Craig A.
Published: January 2017

It is frequently noted that, of the triad of Hebrew Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—there appears to be a shortage of biblical material dedicated to Isaac. This article shows that the 27th chapter of Genesis, though often thought to be concerned primarily with Jacob, actually intends to focus on Isaac, thus alleviating this apparent discrepancy. Noting the chiastic structure of the pericope, the narrative is identified as running from 26:34 to 28:9. With the proper narrative boundaries in view, it becomes evident that it is Isaac and his activities (or lack thereof) as acting patriarch, that drive the events described in this enigmatic text.
Corporate Ownership Structure and Innovation: Evidence from Taiwan's Electronics Industry
Authors: Chin Chen-Lung , Chen Yu-Ju , Kleinman Gary , Lee Picheng
Published: January 2017

The agency problem of listed companies in East Asia is closely related to their typically concentrated ownership structures. Tight control creates an entrenchment problem that allows the controlling owners' self-interested behaviors to go unchallenged internally by the boards of directors or externally by takeover markets. The primary objective of this paper is to explore the association between the ownership and control structure and innovation. The ownership and control structure is measured first as the divergence between the ultimate owner's voting rights and the ultimate owner's cash flow rights, and second by the presence of ultimately controlling shareholder's family member as CEO or Chairman of the board, or both. Innovation is measured by patent quantity and patent quality. This paper uses patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to measure innovation activities. We find that innovation is significantly and negatively related to the level of agency problems. We further find that innovation is lower for firms whose controlling owner is also either the chief executive officer or the chair of the board of directors. Our findings appear to be robust with respect to examining patent count and patent quality variables.
LIFO Layer Liquidations: Some Empirical Evidence
Authors: Cottell Philip G.
Published: January 2017

The LIFO inventory valuation method has received a great deal of attention as a means of postponing taxes. At the same time the tax consequences of a LIFO inventory liquidation have been virtually ignored. This research indicates that LIFO layer liquidations do occur and can, therefore, cause cash flow problems for corporations in the form of higher federal income tax payments. A hypothesis that LIFO layer liquidations is specific to certain cyclical industries was tested and affirmed. A survey indicated that two factors, cost of capital and income tax expense, were the more critical in the LIFO layer liquidation decision.
Evidence of the Relation between Accounting for Equity Investments and Equity Valuation
Authors: Graham Roger C. , Lefanowicz Craig E.
Published: January 2017

Income recognition events for equity investments reflect an investor's ability to influence the activities of an investee and therefore the timing of income realization to the investor. Investor firms with passive equity investments recognize investment income when investee dividends are declared, whereas investors with nonpassive equity investments recognize investment income as investee income is earned. To determine whether market participants associate investor income realization with the income recognition events, investor and investee security return correlations are examined around investee dividend and earnings announcements.

The correlations suggest an association between passive and nonpassive investor valuation and investee dividend and earnings announcements that corresponds to the accounting income recognition procedures for equity investments. Analysis of the relative timing of investor and investee announcements indicates that the results are not due to a naive fixation on accounting revenue recognition events. Rather, the results suggest differences in the substance of the investor-investee relation between passive and nonpassive investments. The results are robust to alternative specifications and controls for relative investment size and industry affiliation.
Protein‐Sparing Therapy During Pneumococcal infection in Rhesus Monkeys
Authors: Wannemacher Robert W. , Kaminski Mitchell V. , Neufeld Harold A. , Dinterman Richard E. , Bostian Karen A. , Hadick Clayton L.
Published: January 2017

A model was developed in the rhesus monkey to determine if the marked wasting of body proteins associated with sepsis could be prevented by an intravenous supply of various nutritional substrates. All monkeys were given a basic infusion of 0.5 gm of amino acid nitrogen/kg body weight via an indwelling catheter in the jugular vein. Three groups were given diets with no added calories, 85 calories/kg from dextrose or 85 calories from lipid. In each group, six monkeys were inoculated with 3 times 108 Streptococcus pneumoniae and four with heat‐killed organisms. In the monkeys infused with the amino acids alone, pneumococcal sepsis resulted in a fourfold increase in loss of body proteins compared with calorie‐restricted controls. Addition of 85 calories/kg/day of either dextrose or lipid markedly reduced body wasting associated with infectious disease. The calories from lipid were utilized by the septic host as a source of energy, with a slightly reduced efficiency when compared with the isocaloric infusion of dextrose. The nitrogen sparing of the fat emulsion could not be accounted for by its glycerol content. Therefore, the septic monkey seemed to utilize fatty acids as an energy substrate. It appears that the carbohydrate calories tend to favor the synthesis of peripheral proteins (associated mainly with skeletal muscle), while lipid calories favor synthesis of visceral proteins such as plasma albumin and acute‐phase proteins.
Routine Anthropometry and Arm Radiography in Assessment of Nutritional Status: Its Potential
Authors: Behnke Albert R. , Katch Frank I. , Katch Victor L.
Published: January 2017

Elementary anthropometric and radiographic techniques, carefully executed and routinely employed in definitive surveys of healthy persons, are of potential value in assessment of patients, and provide the following: 1. Formulas to compute mean “ideal body weights” of young adults from stature (W = k h1.7). 2. A “unit size‐weight” index (uS‐W) with a mean value of 100 or nearly identical to 100 for all mean “ideal weights” relative to stature. 3. The distribution of values of the uS‐W index for 80 and 90% of the population of young adults around the mean. 4. Conversion of body girths and stature to ponderal equivalents such that component A reflects fatness (if present) and component B, leanness and muscularity. 5. Conversion of skeletal diameters and stature to a relative “frame” size weight, designated component C, and employed as a “reference weight” (Ref W) for the calculation of lean body weight (LBW) in the male, and “minimal weight” as well as LBW in the female. 6. Conversion of skinfold thickness to estimates of body fat by means of a surface area formulation where: Weight of fat = SA x skinfold widths x k(fat). 7. The introduction of comprehensive arm radiography to reveal presumptive estimates of body fat from SA and of the amount of bone and muscle in the arm to LBW. 8. The visualization of body shape in the somatogram, and the value of photography under strictly controlled conditions.
A Computer Program for Parenteral Nutrition Solution Preparation
Authors: May Frank , Robbins Gloria
Published: January 2017

The preparation of single‐bottle parenteral nutrition solutions for neonates has long posed a problem for pharmacists. Frequent formulation changes and the need for rapid supply of solutions after prescription has led to a variety of preparation techniques being developed. An interactive computer program is described which enables a nonspecialist pharmacist staff to safely and quickly produce the formula, label and fully document it from a prescription for parenteral nutrition. Ordered quantities are expressed in amounts required per kilogram per 24 hours, and are input to a computer using a “prompt” system. Features of the program include automatic compensations for all non‐amino acid ingredients of a variety of commercial amino acid solutions; specified or unspecified chloride anion input; and logic checks which are tied to physiologic “danger” levels, signaling to the operator when “greater than a critical level” has been requested by the prescriber, as well as the conventional check of the logic. The program has allowed infinite variability to prescribing of all ingredients of parenteral nutrition, extremely rapid and accurate production of formulae and allows the computer storage of data about nutritional input to patients. The program is extremely simple in operation, and gives significant cuts in lag time between prescription and the commencement of the new formula.
Elemental Diet as an Adjuvant for Patients With Locally Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancer Receiving Radiation Therapy: A Prospectively Randomized Study
Authors: Douglass Harold O. , Milliron Suzanne , Nava Hector , Eriksson Bengt , Thomas Patrick , Novick Anne , Holyoke E. Douglas
Published: January 2017

Thirty patients with locally advanced, nonresectable, nonmetastatic cancer in the peri‐pancreatic region, stomach and colorectum‐anus, to be treated with radiation therapy with or without adjuvant chemotherapy, were randomized to receive standard diet and either usual between‐meal feedings or 300 calories tid of a high nitrogen elemental diet. Although weight loss associated with radiation therapy was not significantly reduced in those receiving the nutritional supplement, delayed hypersensitivity skin test responses tended to improve in patients receiving the elemental dietary supplement and to deteriorate in controls. Planned radiation therapy was completed in all nutritionally supported patients. One control patient expired shortly after treatment was halted abruptly, and three other control patients required rescue by total parenteral nutrition.
Glutamine Prevents Parenteral Nutrition‐Induced Increases in Intestinal Permeability
Authors: Li Jian , Langkamp‐Henken Bobbi , Suzuki Kim , Stahlgren Leroy H.
Published: January 2017

In addition to its role in absorbing nutrients, the intestinal mucosa provides an important barrier against toxins and bacteria in the bowel lumen. This study evaluated changes in rat jejunal permeability and histology after total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or TPN supplemented with glutamine. Lactulose and mannitol were used to measure jejunal permeability, and fixed stained histologic specimens were used to measure mucosal dimensions. After the insertion of central venous catheters, 18 male rats were randomly divided into three groups: CHOW, saline infusion with a standard laboratory rat diet ad libitum; TPN; and GLN, 2% L‐glutamine‐supplemented TPN. The TPN and GLN groups received isocaloric, isovolumic, and isonitrogenous feedings. After 7 days of infusion, a laparotomy was performed, and lactulose and mannitol were instilled into the lumen of a 25‐cm ligated segment of jejunum. Urine was collected for 5 hours and assayed for lactulose, mannitol, and creatinine. The jejunum was harvested, and wet weight, villus height, mucosal thickness, and villus width were measured. Intestinal permeability to lactulose and the lactulose to mannitol ratio significantly increased after TPN compared with CHOW, and these effects were prevented with the addition of glutamine to the TPN solution. Jejunal villus height and mucosal thickness significantly decreased following TPN but were not significantly different from CHOW when glutamine was added to the TPN solution. These data suggest that TPN was associated with increased jejunal permeability and that glutamine, when added to the TPN solution, prevented this effect. In addition, glutamine reduced TPN‐associated atrophy of the jejunum. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 18:303–307, 1994)
Energy Charge and Mitotic Activity in Regenerating Rat Liver During Parenteral Nutrition
Authors: Chiu Ming Heung , Birkiiahn Ronald H.
Published: January 2017

The relationship among parenteral nutrition, hepatic energy charge, and mitotic activity was investigated in partially hepatectomized rats fed diets based on glucose, ketone bodies, and saline (starvation). Male Sprague‐Dawley rats underwent 70% hepatectomy and jugular vein catheterization for parenteral feeding. All rats were infused with saline for 6 hours, then randomly assigned to one of three parenteral infusions. Rats received either 0.9% saline only (group A rats), 25% glucose + 4% amino acid (group B rats), or 18% monoacetoacetin + 7% glucose + 4% amino acid (group C rats). Three rats receiving saline infusion were killed at 2, 4, and 6 hours after surgery, and three rats from each diet group were killed at 2‐ to 4‐hour intervals from 10 through 32 hours. Hepatic energy charge and mitotic index were measured at each time point. Energy charge was similar for each treatment until 18 hours but was depressed from 6 through 16 hours and began to increase between 16 and 18 hours. Energy charge at 22 hours for group B rats was significantly higher than energy charge for group A and C rats. This difference was maintained through 32 hours. Mitosis started between 24 and 26 hours for all treatments, and group A and C rats exhibited a much higher mitotic index than did group B rats. Adenosine triphosphate was the main driving force for changes in energy charge. The data showed that energy charge and mitotic index were inversely related. It is speculated that high energy charge may negatively influence activity of enzymes inasmuch as activity of these enzymes is altered by phosphorylation‐dephosphorylation. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 18:326–330, 1994)
Accuracy of Enteral Pumps: In Vitro Performance
Authors: Dietscher J. Eileen , Foulks Charles J. , Waits Margie
Published: January 2017

There are few data on the accuracy of pumps used to deliver enteral formulas. Enteral pump manufacturers claim that accuracy is within 10% of the selected flow rate. We evaluated 15 pumps: Flexiflo Companion (n = 5), Travenol 2100 (n = 5), and Kangaroo 324 (n = 5). Three types of formula at room temperature were infused at 10, 100, and 300 mL/h. The formulas used were Jevity, Ensure Plus, and Suplena with added Promod. The Flexiflo Companion and Kangaroo 324 pumps delivered 90% to 110% of the expected volume using the ready‐to‐feed formulas. The Travenol 2100 pumps averaged less than 90% of the selected flow rates for the three formulas infused. All three pumps delivered less than 90% of the expected volume using a formula with an added powder, but the Travenol 2100 delivered the highest volume of this same formula. There was no significant difference in the delivery of Jevity with the Flexiflo Companion (104% ± 5% SD) and the Kangaroo 324 pumps (99% ± 4% SD), but the flow rate was significantly lower with the Travenol 2100 pumps (80% ± 6% SD). There was no significant difference in the flow rate of Ensure Plus with the Kangaroo 324 (95% ± 7% SD) and the Travenol 2100 pumps (89% ± 4% SD).The flow rate of Ensure Plus with the Flexiflo Companion pumps was significantly higher (107% ± 4% SD). There was no significant difference in the flow rate of Suplena with Promod using the Kangaroo 324 (80% ± 16% SD) and the Travenol 2100 pumps (87% ± 6% SD), but the flow rate of this same formula mixture was significantly lower with the Flexiflo Companion pumps (53% ± 13% SD). We conclude that enteral feeding solutions are delivered with variable accuracy depending on the enteral pump and formula selection. This study shows that there is no one enteral pump that will serve all enteral formula delivery needs. The addition of a powdered protein module to a ready‐to‐feed formula significantly reduces the expected flow rate. Frequent monitoring of the amount of enteral formula infused is recommended so that adjustments can be made to ensure that nutritional goals are met. We believe that institutions using enteral pumps should evaluate the accuracy of the pumps used for their formula selections. Industry recommendations concerning the use of powdered formulas should be heeded, and we caution against adding powdered nutrient modules to viscous ready‐to‐feed formulas. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 18:359–361, 1994)
Effective Total Parenteral Nutrition Plus Morphine on Bacterial Translocation in Rats
Authors: Sax Harry C.
Published: January 2017

The gut atrophy associated with total parenteral nutrition (TPN) may lead to a breakdown in the normal mucosal barrier and cause bacterial translocation. It has been hypothesized that a component of this breakdown involves stasis with bacterial overgrowth of more pathogenic organisms.1 Postoperative, critically ill surgical patients may be maintained with both TPN and morphine for analgesia. The effect of morphine on the gastrointestinal tract includes inhibition of intestinal transit with the potential for increased bacterial overgrowth. The objective of this study was to determine whether gut stasis induced by parenteral morphine led to enhanced bacterial translocation during TPN. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were allowed a period of time to adapt to their environment and then underwent a double‐lumen cannulation. A line was placed in the internal jugular vein for the infusion of TPN, and a second subcutaneous line was tunneled in the back for the continuous infusion of morphine, similar to the infusion of repeated injections. These lines were maintained on a free swivel using standard procedures. Rats were randomized to a control group that had lines placed and infused with saline, and this group was allowed free access to food. A second group received TPN alone. A third group received TPN plus continuous morphine sulfate, and a fourth received TPN supplemented with glutamine plus morphine. All groups on TPN received nothing by mouth. After 4 days, a subgroup of animals was given L‐fluorescein isothiocyanate‐dextran (FTTC) through a duodenal catheter. Intestinal motility was measured by distribution of the fluorescent label in sequential intestinal segments throughout the GI tract over time. Other subgroups underwent harvesting of mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and lung to assess bacterial translocation. Small‐intestine transit time was significantly slower in the morphine groups. TPN alone had no effect on motility but did result in significant increases of anaerobic and facultative bacteria in the ileum. The addition of morphine to the TPN solution induced overgrowth throughout the small bowel and cecum. Bacterial translocation to lymph nodes occurred in 14% of the control animals and in 50% of the TPN animals. The mean number of colony‐forming units per node was quite low, averaging 13 and 33, respectively. Of the animals receiving TPN plus morphine, 100% had bacteria recovered from lymph nodes with the highest number of bacteria being in the group that was also deficient in glutamine (2079 ± 811 vs 1009 ± 404). The majority of recovered organisms was of gut origin, such as Escherichia coli and enterococcus. When more invasive forms of translocation were examined, as noted by recovery of bacteria from spleen, blood, and lung, there was a significant increase in bacteria in the TPN plus morphine group. The addition of glutamine to the TPN solution decreased translocation to the blood and lung to levels seen in the TPN‐alone group and in controls.
Economy, Family, and Remarriage: Theory of Remarriage and Application to Preindustrial England
Authors: Griffith Janet D.
Published: January 2017

THIS article applies the emerging economic theory of remarriage to data on remarriage after widowhood in preindustrial Western society and examines the implications of these data both for the theory of remarriage and for the understanding of remarriage processes in modern American society. The first section briefly reviews the theory of remarriage, based largely on U.S. data, and specifies some of the assumptions implicit in theory. This is followed by a discussion of the social and economic conditions for the area studied in this article, which examine the structural and economic similarities and differences relevant to the study of remarriage. Data analyses and findings are presented in the third section, followed by discussion of the findings, and a concluding section that discusses the relevance for studies of remarriage in the modern period and the needs for further research.
Book Review: Rural Bangladesh: Competition for Scarce Resources
Authors: Phillips David R
Published: January 2017

Rural Bangladesh: Competition for Scarce Resources, Eirik G Jansen, Norwegian University Press, 1987, xiii + 351 pp., £25.00. ISBN 82-00-07617-2
Adsorption Properties of Hydrated and Thermally Modified Silica Gel
Authors: Goworek J.
Published: January 2017

The adsorption process of benzene + cyclohexane mixtures on silica gel with modified surface has been studied. Silica gel was thermally modified at 473 K, 823 K and 1023 K. Another set of modified silicas was prepared by adsorption of different amounts of water on the surface. The characteristics of the silicas were established on the basis of adsorption isotherms of nitrogen at 78 K and thermogravimetric measurements. The stability of the adsorbed layer of water in the adsorption process from the liquid phase was examined by using the Karl-Fischer method. Excess adsorption isotherms of benzene from cyclohexane were discussed in terms of a theoretical formulation concerning the adsorption on heterogeneous solid surfaces. It has been found that energetical homogeneity of the silica gel surface increases from the silica gel activated at 473 K through silicas deactivated at 823 K and 1023 K to silica gels with physically adsorbed water.