cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermal Inactivation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in Milk

Thermal inactivation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, a suspected human pathogen, was determined in ultrahigh-temperature whole milk. Three strains of M. paratuberculosis were examined for survival at temperatures from 55 to 75 degrees C using a submerged glass capillary tube method. Clumped and declumped suspensions of the cultures were used to determine the rate of heat inactivation and survival at pasteurization temperatures. Methods for declumping M. paratuberculosis included the use of glass beads, vortexing, and passing the cells through a 26-gauge needle. The latter procedure was found to be superior over other methods and did not affect the viability of cells. Capillary tubes filled with milk containing 4 x 10(6) to 3 x 10(7) CFU/ml were heated at temperatures ranging from 55 to 75 degrees C. At 55 degrees C, minimal thermal inactivation was observed for clumped and declumped cells. At 58 degrees C, thermal inactivation ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 log reduction was observed for both clumped and declumped suspensions. D values at 60 degrees C ranged from 8.6 to 11 min and 8.2 to 14.1 min for clumped and declumped cells, respectively. At 63 degrees C, the D values ranged from 2.7 to 2.9 and 1.6 to 2.5 min for clumped and declumped cells, respectively. Survival of M. paratuberculosis at initial levels ranging from 44 to 10(5) CFU/ml at pasteurization treatment (63 degrees C for 30 min and 72 degrees C for 15 s) was also determined. No survivors were observed after incubating plates for up to 4 months on Middlebrook 7H11 agar and up to 2 months on Herrold's egg yolk medium. The sensitivity of the plating method was 1 CFU/250 microliters. These results demonstrate that low levels of M. paratuberculosis, as might be found in raw milk, will not survive pasteurization treatments.
Human Cytomegalovirus Compromises Development of Cerebral Organoids.

Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection causes a broad spectrum of central and peripheral nervous system disorders, ranging from microcephaly to hearing loss. These ramifications mandate the study of virus-host interactions in neural cells. Neural progenitor cells are permissive for lytic infection. We infected two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines and found these more primitive cells to be susceptible to infection but not permissive. Differentiation of infected iPSCs induced de novo expression of viral antigens. iPSCs can be cultured in three dimensions to generate cerebral organoids, closely mimicking in vivo development. Mock- or HCMV-infected iPSCs were subjected to a cerebral organoid generation protocol. HCMV IE1 protein was detected in virus-infected organoids at 52 days postinfection. Absent a significant effect on organoid size, infection induced regions of necrosis and the presence of large vacuoles and cysts. Perhaps more in parallel with the subtler manifestations of HCMV-induced birth defects, infection dramatically altered neurological development of organoids, decreasing the number of developing and fully formed cortical structure sites, with associated changes in the architectural organization and depth of lamination within these structures, and manifesting aberrant expression of the neural marker β-tubulin III. Our observations parallel published descriptions of infected clinical samples, which often contain only sparse antigen-positive foci yet display areas of focal necrosis and cellular loss, delayed maturation, and abnormal cortical lamination. The parallels between pathologies present in clinical specimens and the highly tractable three-dimensional (3D) organoid system demonstrate the utility of this system in modeling host-virus interactions and HCMV-induced birth defects.IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a leading cause of central nervous system birth defects, ranging from microcephaly to hearing impairment. Recent literature has provided descriptions of delayed and abnormal maturation of developing cortical tissue in infected clinical specimens. We have found that infected induced pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into three-dimensional, viral protein-expressing cerebral organoids. Virus-infected organoids displayed dramatic alterations in development compared to those of mock-infected controls. Development in these organoids closely paralleled observations in HCMV-infected clinical samples. Infection induced regions of necrosis, the presence of larger vacuoles and cysts, changes in the architectural organization of cortical structures, aberrant expression of the neural marker β-tubulin III, and an overall reduction in numbers of cortical structure sites. We found clear parallels between the pathologies of clinical specimens and virus-infected organoids, demonstrating the utility of this highly tractable system for future investigations of HCMV-induced birth defects.
Regulation of lifespan by neural excitation and REST

The mechanisms that extend lifespan in humans are poorly understood. Here we show that extended longevity in humans is associated with a distinct transcriptome signature in the cerebral cortex that is characterized by downregulation of genes related to neural excitation and synaptic function. In Caenorhabditis elegans, neural excitation increases with age and inhibition of excitation globally, or in glutamatergic or cholinergic neurons, increases longevity. Furthermore, longevity is dynamically regulated by the excitatory–inhibitory balance of neural circuits. The transcription factor REST is upregulated in humans with extended longevity and represses excitation-related genes. Notably, REST-deficient mice exhibit increased cortical activity and neuronal excitability during ageing. Similarly, loss-of-function mutations in the C. elegans REST orthologue genes spr-3 and spr-4 elevate neural excitation and reduce the lifespan of long-lived daf-2 mutants. In wild-type worms, overexpression of spr-4 suppresses excitation and extends lifespan. REST, SPR-3, SPR-4 and reduced excitation activate the longevity-associated transcription factors FOXO1 and DAF-16 in mammals and worms, respectively. These findings reveal a conserved mechanism of ageing that is mediated by neural circuit activity and regulated by REST. Studies of humans, mice and nematodes reveal a conserved role of neural activity and the transcription factor REST in extended longevity.
Latency-Efficient VNF Deployment and Path Routing for Reliable Service Chain

Network services usually chain multiple types of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) together in a specific order, known as service chain. One important issue of providing network services is reliability, which means that each type of VNF in a service chain acts properly on its function. The effective way to guarantee the reliability is to utilize sufficient redundancy through providing VNF backup instances beyond active primary ones. Software Defined Networking (SDN) enables the dedicate location pickup of primary and backup instances on switch-connected servers. The deployment of primary and backup VNF instances plays an important role of flow routing because of its influence on the transmission latency of the flow. In order to minimize the total latency of flows, we first formulate the reliable service chain deployment as a mathematical optimization problem. A detailed analysis of both software and hardware failure models is studied. Then we propose optimal solutions for the case of a single flow. Next, we prove the NP-hardness of our problem for the case with multiple flows and propose a heuristic strategy. Additionally, a performance-guaranteed solution is included if the server capacity is infinite. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate our proposed solutions compared to multiple algorithms.
Clinical, Occlusal, and Cephalometric Analyses of the OSA Patient

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive approach for clinical, occlusal, and cephalometric analyses directed toward the diagnosis of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with OSA commonly have a hypoplastic maxilla and mandible, a high occlusal plane angle, and upper airway obstruction. In addition, OSA patients may have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pathology that can coexist with a dentofacial deformity, can be the etiology of the dentofacial deformity, or develop as a result of the dentofacial deformity. Many patients with OSA can benefit from orthognathic surgery but may also require TMJ surgery to establish stable, predictable, and pain-free results. This chapter focuses primarily on the clinical, radiographic, and dental model analyses so important in the diagnosis and treatment planning for the correction of patients with OSA.
Optimization and Learning for Data Offloading and Resource Management in Mobile Edge Computing

Mobile edge computing (MEC) is an evolutionary architecture integrating mobile access and edge computing. MEC can not only enhance user experience by improving the latency, but also save energy by computing tasks offloaded partially or fully from user equipments (UEs) to the MEC server. In this paper, we consider an MEC network with multiple UEs and multiple base stations (BSs) which are all equipped with MEC servers. All UEs can offload their computing tasks to one of the BSs via uplink transmissions. Both conventional optimization methods and learning-based approaches are proposed to optimize the UE data offloading and MEC computational resource allocation under latency constraints with the aim to minimize the global energy consumption. MEC selection is taken into account in the learning based approach. We adopt actor-critic (AC) reinforcement learning in the learning based algorithm, which is used to decide first the MEC selection and subsequently the offloading data ratio. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed learning based algorithm can address all the considered scenarios and lead to performance improvements compared to baseline strategies.
Life cycle analysis (LCA) of residential ground source heat pump systems: A comparative analysis of energy efficiency in New Jersey

Abstract Developing clean energy policy supported by science-based research is essential for mitigating the hazards and risks associated with climate change. This study aims to explore ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems, an underutilized energy efficiency technology, as a means to promote emission reductions in the buildings sector. GSHP systems have the capacity to decrease the environmental impact of building space heating and cooling needs through fossil fuel displacement and higher energy efficiencies than baseline technologies. Although the benefits and engineering applications of this technology are established, it has not been adopted at scale, thus limiting potential emission reductions. Furthermore, energy economics can vary significantly across geographies which makes quantifying benefits of mitigation action challenging in regions with diverse electricity generator types and building heating fuels. This study uses life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate mid- and long-term sustainability metric impacts of GSHP systems operating in New Jersey, US, to assess the technology’s effectiveness while operating within the state’s electricity generating fuel mix. Results show that the state is a suitable location for residential GSHP systems, and that an electricity generation fuel mix with increased use of renewable energy sources would enhance the technology’s efficiency and decrease associated emissions even further. In addition, we compared GSHP technology to that of other common space heating/cooling methods and found that use of GSHP systems in conjunction with electric-based heating/cooling provides a substantial improvement in terms of environmental emissions. When compared to oil and gas-based heating, GSHP systems provided some improvement on mid-point impact factors and considerable improvement on end-point impact factors, most notably the economic improvement associated with decreasing dependence on fossil fuels. These findings suggest that GSHP systems should be considered for reducing emissions and end-use energy consumption and support new clean energy policies in the state.
Probabilistic focalization for shallow water localization

Localizing and tracking an underwater acoustic source is a key task for maritime situational awareness. This paper presents a sequential Bayesian estimation method for passive acoustic source localization in shallow water. The proposed probabilistic focalization approach associates detected directions of arrival (DOAs) to modeled DOAs and jointly estimates the time-varying source location. Embedded ray tracing makes it possible to incorporate environmental parameters that characterize the acoustic waveguide. Due to its statistical model, the proposed method can provide robustness in scenarios with severe environmental uncertainty. We demonstrate performance advantages compared to matched field processing using data collected during the SWellEx-96 experiment.
Investigation on Conducted EMI for Single and Parallel Connected Inverters

Owing to increased penetration of sustainable energy sources, multiple converters are run in parallel to improve the power handling capacity in distributed generation systems. Paralleling of converters needs to be investigated carefully; and advantages in terms of semiconductor efficiency, power quality and conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) should be evaluated. It can be ensured that paralleling results in increased efficiency, and better EMI performance by effectively controlling the type of coupling between passive components and interleaving angle amongst carriers. This article, at first, compares common mode (CM) and differential mode (DM) EMI generated by simple two-level voltage source and current source inverter (2L-VSI, 2L-CSI), using sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM). A simple equivalent circuit model for the conducted noise has also been derived for both the topologies. Based on the preliminary results, CSI was down selected for further investigations, and effect of paralleling of CSIs on conducted noise has been studied. In the analysis, coupled inductors with different coupling configurations and coupling coefficients were considered and optimal combination is presented.
Key Group in Networks and its Optimal Size: Accounting for Individual Ex Ante Heterogeneity

We consider a network game studied in Ballester, Calvo-Armengol, and Zenou (2006, Econometrica, 74/5, pp. 1403-17), where an intercentrality measure identifies the key player - a player who, once removed, leads to the optimal change in overall activity. This paper in searching for the key group takes into account players' ex ante exogenous heterogeneity, and shows that the outcome can dramatically change once these observable differences are accounted for. Further, introducing costs of targeting players, we endogenize the size of the key group. Weighted and nonweighted group intercentrality measures that depend only on the initial network configuration help to identify the key player/group.
Binary Markov Mesh Models and Symmetric Markov Random Fields: Some Results on their Equivalence

In this article, we focus on statistical models for binary data on a regular two-dimensional lattice. We study two classes of models, the Markov mesh models (MMMs) based on causal-like, asymmetric spatial dependence, and symmetric Markov random fields (SMFs) based on noncausal-like, symmetric spatial dependence. Building on results of Enting (1977), we give sufficient conditions for the asymmetrically defined binary MMMs (of third order) to be equivalent to a symmetrically defined binary SMF. Although not every binary SMF can be written as a binary MMM, our results show that many can. For such SMFs, their joint distribution can be written in closed form and their realizations can be simulated with just one pass through the lattice. An important consequence of the latter observation is that there are nontrivial spatial processes for which exact probabilities can be used to benchmark the performance of Markov-chain-Monte-Carlo and other algorithms.
Approaches for Design against Progressive Collapse

A progressive collapse is a chain reaction type of failure which follows damage to a relatively small portion of a structure. Progressive collapse constitutes an unacceptable hazard in many buildings, and thus procedures for its control should be incorporated in building standards. Design strategies for reducing the risk of initial failure and for controlling the amount of damage that occurs are presented and their relative advantages are covered. Design criteria are given for the reduced loads to be carried by a damaged structure.
Historical summer base flow and stormflow trends for New England rivers

[1] River base flow is important to aquatic ecosystems, particularly because of its influence on summer water temperatures. Summer (June through September) daily mean streamflows were separated into base flow and stormflow components by use of an automated method at 25 stations in the New England region of the United States that drain predominantly natural basins. Summer monthly mean base flows increased from 1950–2006 at most stations in western New England with many large increases (>20%) and some very large increases (>50%) in and near New Hampshire and Vermont. The same was true for increases in summer 7 day low base flows in and near New Hampshire and Vermont during this same period; in contrast, there were small and large decreases in 7 day low base flows in northern and coastal areas of Maine. Summer stormflows increased from 1950–2006 by more than 50% at many stations in New England, particularly in and near New Hampshire and Vermont. The increases in base flows and stormflows at many stations in and near New Hampshire and Vermont were likely driven by the large increases in summer precipitation recorded at weather stations in this area. Summer rainfall increased at most weather stations in New England from 1950–2006 with many increases of more than 20% in western New England. Summer air temperature increased on average by 1.1°C from 1950–2006 in New England and may have played a role in the decreased base flows in northern and coastal Maine through increased evapotranspiration. Many variables increased less from 1930–2006 than from 1950–2006.
Analysis of the Amino Acid Binding to the Proline Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Synthetase of Escherichia coli

Abstract The prolyl-tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli has been purified. The enzyme is reversibly inhibited by p-mercuribenzoate when two to four groups are bound per molecule of enzyme. Many analogues of proline were tested as substrates and inhibitors. The requirements for activation and transfer appear to be the same: a secondary l-amino acid with a side chain not much bulkier than the ring of proline. Substitutions of hydroxyl or methyl groups on carbon 3 or carbon 4 cause steric inhibition that minimize or prevent binding, but allo-hydroxyproline and trans-3-methyl proline are substrates at high concentrations. Double bonds in the ring destroy substrate activity but pyrrole is bound as a competitive inhibitor. The carboxyl group is not essential for binding and probably does not form an ionic bond since the amide is bound almost as well. d-Proline is not bound to the enzyme. Several open chain compounds are activated and transferred to tRNApro. The broad specificity of the enzyme suggests that mechanisms used to confer great specificity on other activating enzymes (induced fit) do not apply to the proline enzyme. It is also suggested that open chain analogues might be incorporated into proteins in place of proline.
Global Observation of Planetary-Scale Waves in UARS HRDI and WINDII MLT Winds

The purpose of this study is to use examine planetary-scale motions in the UARS mesosphere and lower thermospheric data. The actual study was confined to HRDI winds and temperatures, since these observations were more continuous, and spanned the 60-120 km range. Three classes of waves were studied: fast equatorial Kelvin waves, nonmigrating tides, and the midlatitude 2-day wave. The purpose of the Kelvin wave and the 2-day wave studies was to test whether the waves significantly affect the mean flow. Such studies require high-quality spectral definitions in order to derive the wave heat and momentum flux divergence which can act in comination to drive the mean flow. Accordingly, HRDI winds from several special observing campaigns were used for analyses of fast (periods under 5 days) waves. The campaigns are characterized by continuous viewing by HRDI in 2 viewing directions, for periods of 10-12 days. Data sampled in this manner lend themselves quite well to "asynoptic spectral analysis", from which motions with periods as low as one day can be retrieved with relatively minimal aliasing.
Mechanisms for Supernova Explosions

Considerable progress has been made in the study of the late stages of stellar evolution, gravitational collapse, and neutrino physics. However, the mechanisms by which stars undergo supernova explosions is still not understood. This report discusses some of the recent developments in the study of one supernova mechanisms, the neutrino transport mechanism, and indicates what future developments are needed before this model can be adequately understood.
Aerosolization of a Human Norovirus Surrogate, Bacteriophage MS2, during Simulated Vomiting

Human noroviruses (NoV) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Epidemiological studies of outbreaks have suggested that vomiting facilitates transmission of human NoV, but there have been no laboratory-based studies characterizing the degree of NoV release during a vomiting event. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate that virus aerosolization occurs in a simulated vomiting event, and to estimate the amount of virus that is released in those aerosols. A simulated vomiting device was constructed at one-quarter scale of the human body following similitude principles. Simulated vomitus matrices at low (6.24 mPa*s) and high (177.5 mPa*s) viscosities were inoculated with low (108 PFU/mL) and high (1010 PFU/mL) concentrations of bacteriophage MS2 and placed in the artificial “stomach” of the device, which was then subjected to scaled physiologically relevant pressures associated with vomiting. Bio aerosols were captured using an SKC Biosampler. In low viscosity artificial vomitus, there were notable differences between recovered aerosolized MS2 as a function of pressure (i.e., greater aerosolization with increased pressure), although this was not always statistically significant. This relationship disappeared when using high viscosity simulated vomitus. The amount of MS2 aerosolized as a percent of total virus “vomited” ranged from 7.2 x 10-5 to 2.67 x 10-2 (which corresponded to a range of 36 to 13,350 PFU total). To our knowledge, this is the first study to document and measure aerosolization of a NoV surrogate in a similitude-based physical model. This has implications for better understanding the transmission dynamics of human NoV and for risk modeling purposes, both of which can help in designing effective infection control measures.
Fine particulate matter and the risk of autism spectrum disorder

The causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well known. Recent investigations have suggested that air pollution, including PM2.5, may play a role in the onset of this condition. The objective of the present work was to investigate the association between prenatal and early childhood exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and risk for childhood ASD. A population-based case-control study was conducted in children born between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2009 in six counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. ASD cases were recruited from specialty autism clinics, local pediatric practices, and school-based special needs services. ASD cases were children who scored 15 or above on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and had written documentation of an ASD diagnosis. Controls were children without ASD recruited from a random sample of births from the Pennsylvania state birth registry and frequency matched to cases on birth year, gender, and race. A total of 217 cases and 226 controls were interviewed. A land use regression (LUR) model was used to create person- and time-specific PM2.5 estimates for individual (pre-pregnancy, trimesters one through three, pregnancy, years one and two of life) and cumulative (starting from pre-pregnancy) key developmental time periods. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between estimated exposure to PM2.5 during key developmental time periods and risk of ASD, adjusting for mother's age, education, race, and smoking. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were elevated for specific pregnancy and postnatal intervals (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and year one), and postnatal year two was significant, (AOR=1.45, 95% CI=1.01-2.08). We also examined the effect of cumulative pregnancy periods; noting that starting with pre-pregnancy through pregnancy, the adjusted odds ratios are in the 1.46-1.51 range and significant for pre-pregnancy through year 2 (OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.01-2.26). Our data indicate that both prenatal and postnatal exposures to PM2.5 are associated with increased risk of ASD. Future research should include multiple pollutant models and the elucidation of the biological mechanism for PM2.5 and ASD.
Combination antifungal therapy: a critical review of the evidence

Invasive fungal infections have extremely high rates of morbidity and mortality, particularly in immunocompromised hosts. Combination antifungal therapy is conceptually attractive as a life-saving measure. However, in-vitro and in-vivo evidence is often conflicting and clinical trials in this area are limited. Most clinical studies show similar outcomes for combination antifungal therapy when compared to monotherapy, although secondary endpoints and sub-analyses often show advantages for the combinations in endpoints such as culture sterilisation. The logistics of large clinical trials of combination therapy are highly complex. Combination of antifungals with immune modulators is an exciting new research area. Until more data are available, clinicians should approach combination antifungal therapy with caution.
Fuzzy logic implementation of intent amplification in virtual reality

The authors continue exploration of a concept called intelligent virtual reality (IVR). One of its features is detection and amplification of user intent. A model developed from consideration of the semantics of fuzzy logic has been advanced as a formalism for a first order implementation of intent amplification aspects of IVR as a universal computer interface. Goal preservation is the proposed metric by which to test the process. The model formalism is introduced. Intent amplification, the idea of possible worlds introduced by E.H. Ruspini, and the concept of goal preservation are discussed. >
Amino acid distribution rules predict protein fold.

In the present article, we provide a brief overview of the main approaches to analysing the sequence–structure relationship of proteins and outline a novel method of structure prediction. The proposed method involves finding a set of rules that describes a correlation between the distribution of residues in a sequence and the essential structural characteristics of a protein structure. The residue distribution rules specify the ‘favourable’ residues that are required in certain positions of a polypeptide chain in order for it to assume a particular protein fold, and the ‘unfavourable’ residues incompatible with the given fold. Identification of amino acid distribution rules derives from examination of inter-residue contacts. We describe residue distribution rules for a large group of β-sandwich-like proteins characterized by a specific arrangement of strands in their two β-sheets. It was shown that this method has very high accuracy (approximately 85%). The advantage of the residue rule approach is that it makes possible prediction of protein folding even in polypeptide chains that have very low global sequence similarities, as low as 18%. Another potential benefit is that a better understanding of which residues play essential roles in a given protein fold may facilitate rational protein engineering design.
Glomerular morphometry in reflux nephropathy: functional and radiological correlations

Using computerized digitometry, we investigated the relationships between renal size, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), proteinuria, incidence of segmental and global glomerulosclerosis, glomerular size, hilar arteriolar wall thickness and hyaline deposition in renal biopsies obtained from 24 children and adolescents with reflux nephropathy, of whom only 4 were hypertensive. Agematched controls comprised minimal-change nephrotic syndrome (6) and recurrent haematuria with normal biopsy (13). The mean sectional area of patients' glomeruli was double that of controls. Glomerular size correlated with the amount of proteinuria (measured as protein/creatinine ratios in early morning urine) and inversely with renal size and GFR. Segmental sclerosis, invariably of hilar origin, was observed in 8 patients and the percentage of glomeruli affected correlated strongly with glomerular size and proteinuria. Global sclerosis was found equally in patients and controls, and showed no similar correlations. Compared with controls, patients' hilar arterioles showed increased wall thickness, more intramural hyaline deposits and decreased luminal diameter when related to glomerular size. The proteinuria and glomerular changes are consistent with hyperfiltration, while the previously undescribed hilar vascular changes, which both precede and accompany sclerosis, resemble abnormalities reported experimentally following renal ablation.
ZnO spheres and nanorods formation: their dependence on agitation in solution synthesis

ZnO nanostructures including nanorods, dense, and partially hollow spheres were synthesized via a solution synthesis method with temperature ranging from 65 to 95 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the diameter of the spheres is in the range of 200–500 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that some of the spheres are hollow or partially hollow. Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and TEM-Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis showed that the spheres consist of polycrystalline nanoparticles. It was found for the first time that the agitation during the synthesis plays a critical role on morphology of the ZnO nanostructures formed in solution. The oriented attachment of nanocrystals without agitation during the synthesis could guide the nanocrystals to form an ordered nanorod structure. However, the disordered aggregation of the nanocrystals under shear force resulted in a spherical morphology. It was also found that the composition of spheres is different from that of nanorods: the spheres consist of both ZnO and Zn(OH)2, but nanorods consist of single-crystal ZnO only. Zn(OH)2 presented in the spheres could decompose to ZnO by calcination, resulting in the formation of hollow spheres.
Excess demand and equilibration in multi-security financial markets: the empirical evidence

Price dynamics are studied in a dataset of more than 11,000 transactions from large-scale financial markets experiments with multiple risky securities. The aim is to determine whether a few simple principles govern equilibration. We first ask whether price changes are driven by excess demand. The data strongly support this conjecture. Second, we investigate the presence of cross-security effects (the excess demands of other securities influence price changes of a security beyond its own excess demand). We find systematic cross-security effects, despite the fact that transactions in one market cannot be made conditional on events in other markets. Nevertheless, stability is not found to be compromised in our data. A curious relationship emerges between the signs of the cross-effects and the signs of the covariances of the payoffs of the corresponding securities. It suggests a link between price discovery in real markets and the Newton procedure in numerical computation of general equilibrium. Next, we investigate whether the book (the set of posted limit orders) plays a role in the process by which excess demand becomes reflected in transaction price changes. We find strong correlation between excess demands and a weighted average of the quotes in the book. The correlation is far from perfect, and we document that our weighted average of the quotes in the book explains part of the variance of transaction price changes that is unaccounted for by excess demands.
International regimes and alliance behavior: explaining NATO conventional force levels

With the end of the cold war, the military posture of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has entered a period of profound change. Prior to the recent dramatic political events in Europe, however, NATO conventional force levels in the Central Region had been remarkably stable for some three decades. This article seeks to explain this record of stability in terms of three widely used theories of international relations. It argues that balance-of-power theory and public goods theory cannot alone provide a satisfactory account. Rather, these traditional approaches for understanding alliance behavior must be supplemented by regime theory, which emphasizes the constraining effects of enduring institutional factors even in the face of structural change. Specifically, it shows how an international regime has influenced the provision of conventional forces in the Central Region by alliance members. More generally, this analysis seeks to contribute to the literature on international regimes in three ways. First, it demonstrates that regimes do matter by providing an example of their importance for explaining state behavior and international outcomes. Second, it extends regime theory to relations among military allies. Third, it elaborates a comprehensive model for understanding why states actually comply with regime injunctions. The model stresses both the ways in which regimes effectively modify the international environment within which states operate, altering the costs and benefits associated with different courses of action, and the ways in which participating states may internalize regime norms and rules, thereby making compliance increasingly automatic.
Correlation of two weakly attractive particles on a sphere

We simulate the behavior of two weakly attractive atoms, either spin-polarized hydrogen atoms or {sup 3}He atoms, on a {sup 4}He cluster by examining the angular correlation of the atoms as they move on the surface of a sphere. We have calculated converged energy levels, wave functions, and reduced densities {rho}{sup ({ital J})}({theta}{sub 12}) for the low-lying states of these two systems. We also give the oscillator strengths for several transitions between low-lying states for the case of spin-polarized hydrogen. The energy levels can be arranged in patterns reminiscent of the rovibrational levels of a linear triatomic molecule, but the reduced densities differ significantly from those predicted by the molecular model. The lowest state for two {sup 3}He atoms on a sphere of radius 13.0 bohr is bound, with {ital E}={minus}0.031 90 cm{sup {minus}1}.
Shadows of doubt

Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness. By Roger Penrose. Oxford University Press: 1994. Pp. 457. £16.99, $25.
Immunoproteomic analysis of the murine antibody response to successful and failed immunization with live anti-Francisella vaccines

Francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis is one of the most virulent of bacterial pathogens for humans. Protective immunity against the pathogen can be induced in humans and some, but not all, mouse strains by vaccination with live, but not killed, vaccines. In mice, this protection is mediated predominantly by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. This is thought to be the case too for humans. Nevertheless, it is possible that successful vaccination elicits antigen-specific antibodies that can serve as correlates of protection. To test this hypothesis we examined the repertoire of antibodies induced following successful immunization of BALB/c and CH3/HeN mice versus unsuccessful vaccination of C57BL/6 and DBA\2 mice with F. tularensis Live Vaccine Strain or following unsuccessful vaccination of BALB/c mice with highly related subspecies, F. novicida. The results showed that successful vaccination elicited antibodies to at least six proteins that were not recognized by antisera from vaccinated but unprotected mice.
Predictors of Preschoolers’ Appraisals of Conflict in Families Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Factors that may contribute to preschool-aged children’s appraisals of their parent’s violent conflicts in families experiencing recent intimate partner violence (IPV) were evaluated for 116 mother–child dyads. Mothers and children were interviewed using empirically-validated measures to assess level of violence, maternal and child mental health, and children’s appraisals of conflict. Results suggest that preschool-aged children are able to meaningfully respond to statements about their parents’ conflicts. Both mothers’ and children’s reports of violence were significantly associated with children’s appraisals of Threat, but not with appraisals of Self-blame. Girls reported significantly higher levels of Self-blame than did boys. Children’s cognitive appraisals of Threat and Self-blame did not vary by age or ethnicity. These findings suggest that interventions designed for young children might specifically target their cognitive appraisals to help them regulate their feelings of being threatened and to pr...
A Bayesian solution to the problem of state estimation in an unknown noise environment

Abstract The problem of estimation of the state of a linear dynamic system driven by white Gaussian noise with unknown covariance Q and observed by a linear function of the state contaminated by white Gaussian noise with unknown covariance R is considered. Bayesian recursion relations for the probability densities of the unknown random variables conditioned on all available data are developed. Initially a relation giving the a posteriori densities of Q and R conditioned on all available data is developed. However since the possible range of Q and R is generally unbounded and also because Q and R may have quite large dimension, a mechanization of the aforesaid algorithm by representing Q and R with a grid of possible values is considered unfeasible for any realistic problems. Therefore, the random variables Q and R are transformed to random variables representing the optimal gain and the covariance of the innovations process by use of the steady state Kalman filter relations. The resulting probability dens...
Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) following fludarabine therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): case report and review of the literature.

Adenosine deaminase inhibitors have proven superior to alkylating agent-based therapies in inducing clinical and hematologic remissions in treated and previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, and they have become increasingly accepted as a standard for therapy. We report the case of a 66-year-old patient with a 7-year history of CLL who had been previously treated with alkylating agents. Upon presentation with abdominal lymphadenopathy, a 5-day course of the nucleoside analogue, fludarabine, was administered. Two days after completion, the patient developed acute tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) that induced renal failure with hyperkalemia and hyperuricemia. This resulted in critical, life-threatening complications requiring hospitalization, aggressive hemodialysis and fluid replacement therapy. While only 5 other cases of TLS associated with fludarabine therapy have been reported since 1989, we recommend that adenosine deaminase inhibitor therapy be initiated with the addition of allopurinol, and that hydration with copious amounts of oral fluids during therapy be encouraged in order to help protect against the renal effects of potential TLS induced by these agents.
On finding spanning eulerian subgraphs

In this article, we examine the problem of producing a spanning Eulerian subgraph in an undirected graph. After the ℋ-completeness of the general problem is established, we present polynomial-time algorithms for both the maximization and minimization versions where instances are defined on a restricted class of graphs referred to as series-parallel. Some novelties in the minimization case are discussed, as are heuristic ideas.
Effect of adenotonsillectomy on c-reactive protein levels in children with obstructive sleep apnea: A meta-analysis

Abstract Objective Children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have increased systemic inflammation, as assessed by c-reactive protein (CRP), and are at risk for substantial end-organ damage. Previous studies assessing the effect of adenotonsillectomy (TA I 2=90.7%, 95% CI 77.5–98.2%; and H 2=10.7, 95% CI 4.5–55.7). We did not find evidence of publication bias or significant effects of tested moderators (study year, study size, age, gender, obesity, apnea–hypopnea index, oxygen nadir, pre-surgical CRP, follow-up duration). Conclusions The results of the current study indicate that T&A significantly reduces CRP levels in children with OSAS. Despite the presence of significant between-study heterogeneity, we did not identify any significant moderating factors.
Determining latent heat flux at sea: A comparison between wind-wave interaction and profile methods

Estimates of the latent heat flux at the air-sea interface made by the profile method are compared to estimates by a wind-wave interaction (WWI) method that takes into account both wind and wave characteristics. A data set that consisted of profile measurements (six levels) of wind, temperature, and humidity over the Arabian Sea was used to compare the methods, and the agreement is good. It is shown that this WWI method can be used to compute the shear velocity, and then the results can be applied in the computation of latent heat flux. The parameters used in the WWI method are wind speed and direction, air temperature and humidity, sea-surface temperature, and significant wave height and period. All these data may be obtained from standard ship observations.
Exotic processes and chiral-symmetry breaking

We use current algebra and unitarity to develop expressions for the $s$-wave phase shifts for $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}$ (isospin 2) and $K\ensuremath{\pi}$ (isospin $\frac{3}{2}$). The constants appearing in the parametrization can be determined from refined phase-shift phenomenology. They provide direct information about the exotic components of the $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ commutator, to which these exotic states are coupled, and thus about chiral-symmetry breaking. We illustrate in terms of a model of supplementary symmetry breaking which is of (8,8) form.
Collective dissonance and the transition to post-consumerism

Abstract Because of lags realigning common conceptions with evolving extant conditions, macroeconomic transitions typically engender pronounced collective dissonance. The 2007 financial crisis triggered such a process in several Anglo-European countries and large fissures have been opening up in recent years between societal expectations and lived experiences. Historical precedents for this situation can be found, for example, in the waning of British imperialism during the twentieth century and the political restructuring of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the 1990s. Indications of a transition from consumerism to post-consumerism are now becoming apparent in the United States and parts of Europe. Impelling this transformation are shifting demographics, technological changes, and new social values. These developments are being expressed in terms of stagnating wages, persistently high unemployment, widening income inequality, sluggish consumer demand, volatile financial markets, contracting middle-class security, and general public malaise. The case of Japan over the past two decades may offer useful insights to inform this nascent transition to a post-consumerist future and to help navigate some of its challenges.
The Krause operations

✓ Some of Fedor Krause's contributions to operative technique are reviewed and portrayed as fundamental steps in the progress of neurological surgery. The approaches he devised, the “Krause operations,” are exposure of the trigeminal ganglion and root, of the cerebellopontine angle, and of the pituitary (transfrontal) and the pineal (supracerebellar) regions. This review recalls the significance of the aggregate body of Krause's work, which has not been fully appreciated except by his compatriots.
Proteomics/genomics and signaling in lymphocytes

Recent technological advances in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics have offered new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie lymphocyte signaling and function, and the development of new tools in these areas has opened up new avenues for biological investigation. By adding a quantitative dimension to lymphocyte proteome profiling, molecular machines and spatiotemporal regulatory processes can now be analyzed using such discovery-driven approaches. Biologists employing genomic and proteomic tools are gathering data at increasing speed and their struggle to extract maximal biological information is helped by new software tools that enable the detailed comparison of multiple datasets.
Fluorocitrate and fluoroacetate effects on astrocyte metabolism in vitro

The Krebs cycle inhibitor fluorocitrate (FC) and its precursor fluoroacetate (FA) are taken up in brain preferentially by glia. These compounds are used experimentally to inhibit glial metabolism in situ. The actions of these agents have been attributed to both the disruption of carbon flux through the Krebs cycle and to impairment of ATP production. We used primary astrocyte cultures to evaluate these two possible modes of action. Astrocyte ATP levels exhibited little or no reduction during incubation with 0.5 mM FC or 25 mM FA. Correspondingly, FC and FA caused less than 30% reductions in glutamate uptake (P > 0.05), an important energy-dependent astrocyte function. Carbon flux through the Krebs cycle was assessed by measuring astrocyte glutamine production in the absence of exogenous glutamate or aspartate. Under these conditions, glutamine production was reduced 65 +/- 5% by 0.5 mM FC and 61 +/- 3% by 25 mM FA (P < 0.01). In contrast, FC and FA had no effect on glutamine production when 50 microM glutamate was provided in the media. These findings suggest that the metabolic effects of FC and FA on astrocytes in vivo result from impairment of carbon flux through the Krebs cycle, and not from impairment of oxidative ATP production.
Microwave Determination of the Probability of Collision of Slow Electrons in Gases

A microwave method is given for determining the collision probability for momentum transfer for electrons in thermal equilibrium with a gas. An integral equation is developed which gives the ratio of the resistive and reactive components of the microwave conductivity in terms of the collision frequency for electrons with the gas atoms. Two approximate solutions are given for the collision frequency as a function of electron energy. An experimental procedure is described in which the conductivity ratio is determined from the shift in the resonant frequency and the change in conductance of a resonant cavity. Measurements are made during the decay of a pulsed discharge after the electrons have cooled to the gas temperature. Preliminary results are given for several gases.
EFFECT OF PROTON-PROTON SCATTERING ON AN INITIAL LONGITUDINAL SPIN POLARIZATION

The Wolfenstein $A$ parameter for proton-proton scattering is measured for three angles at an incident laboratory energy of 316 Mev.