cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dating deep-lake sediments by using amino acid racemization in fossil ostracodes

The long-term rate of racemization for amino acids preserved in fossil ostracode shells was determined by using independently dated sediment cores from five deep lakes. The racemization rates for aspartic and glutamic acids in the common ostracode genus Candona were calibrated for the past 100 k.y., providing the basis for an age equation with a realistic age uncertainty of ∼±20%. The new age equation can be applied to other hypolimnic settings because the temperature below the thermocline of deep lakes from middle- and high-latitude regions can reasonably be assumed to remain close to 4 °C. The sample size required for analysis is an order of magnitude less than for 14C dating and presents new opportunities to date deposits that are organic-matter poor or those with large 14C reservoir effects.
On application of some recent techniques of the design of algebraic algorithms to the sequential and parallel evaluation of the roots of a polynomial and to some other numerical problems

Abstract The application of the recent techniques of the design of algebraic algorithms to the sequential and parallel evaluation of the roots of a polynomial and to other numerical problems is considered. Some estimates for the computational complexity of the resulting sequential and parallel algorithms are presented.
Cytokine polymorphisms are associated with poor sleep maintenance in adults living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Cytokine activity and polymorphisms have been associated with sleep outcomes in prior animal and human research. The purpose of this study was to determine whether circulating plasma cytokines and cytokine polymorphisms are associated with the poor sleep maintenance commonly experienced by adults living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING HIV clinics and community sites in the San Francisco Bay area. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of 289 adults (193 men, 73 women, and 23 transgender) living with HIV/AIDS. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS A wrist actigraph was worn for 72 h to estimate the percentage of wake after sleep onset (WASO%) and total sleep time (TST), plasma cytokines were analyzed, and genotyping was conducted for 15 candidate genes involved in cytokine signaling: interferon-gamma (IFNG), IFNG receptor 1 (IFNGR1), interleukins (IL1B, IL1R2, IL1R2, IL2, IL4, IL6, IL8, IL10, IL13, IL17A), nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells (NFKB1 and NFKB2), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA). Controlling for demographic variables such as race and sex, and clinical variables such as CD4+ count and medications, higher WASO% was associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL1R2 rs11674595 and TNFA rs1041981 and less WASO% was associated with IL2 rs2069776. IL1R2 rs11674595 and TNFA rs1041981 were also associated with short sleep duration. CONCLUSIONS This study strengthens the evidence for an association between inflammation and sleep maintenance problems. In this chronic illness population, cytokine polymorphisms associated with wake after sleep onset provide direction for intervention research aimed at comparing anti-inflammatory mechanisms with hypnotic agents for improving sleep maintenance and total sleep time.
Transforming growth factor β1 and fibronectin messenger RNA in rat brain: Responses to injury and cell-type localization

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 rapidly increases in adult rat brain in response to experimental lesions. This study characterized the schedule of changes, regional distribution, and cellular localization of striatal transforming growth factor-beta 1 messenger RNA and fibronectin messenger RNA following partial striatal deafferentation by frontal cortex ablation. Frontal cortex ablation induced striatal transforming growth factor-beta 1 messenger RNA elevations that coincided temporally and overlapped anatomically with the course of degeneration of cortico-striatal afferent fibers. Within three days post-lesioning, transforming growth factor-beta 1 messenger RNA was localized at the cortical wound. By 10 days, the anatomical site of transforming growth factor-beta 1 messenger RNA expression shifted to the dorsal half of the deafferented striatum and co-localized with OX-42+ immunostained microglia-macrophage at the site of degenerating afferent terminals. Similarly, fibronectin messenger RNA also shifted from the cortical wound to the deafferented striatum by 10 days post-lesioning. Fibronectin messenger RNA was localized to glial fibrillary acidic protein+ immunostained astrocytes surrounding degenerating corticostriatal afferents. Infusion of transforming growth factor-beta 1 peptide elevated striatal and cortical fibronectin messenger RNA. These findings suggest that microglia-macrophage associated with degenerating afferent fibres can upregulate transforming growth factor-beta 1 messenger RNA and may influence fibronectin messenger RNA synthesis in reactive astrocytes. This study suggests that transforming growth factor-beta 1 has a role in controlling extracellular matrix synthesis following brain injury, which is analogous to that in peripheral wound healing.
Strategies for aerosol therapy of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency by the aerosol route.

α1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a genetic disease in which low serum and lung levels of the antiprotease AAT cause a deficiency of the anti-elastase defensive screen of the lower respiratory tract such that neutrophil elastase is free to degrade the connective tissue of the lung, eventually resulting in emphysema. Intravenous AAT infusion therapy restores lung levels of AAT, but is inefficient, costly and a demanding form of therapy. As an alternative, we evaluated aerosol delivery of human plasma AAT (pAAT) and recombinant DNA-produced AAT (rAAT), as a means of providing anti-elastase protection to the lower respiratory tract. In vitro studies demonstrated that both pAAT and rAAT can be aerosolized into droplets suitable for alveolar deposition without loss of antiprotease activity. When administered by aerosol to individuals with AAT deficiency, pAAT and rAAT each significantly raised lung epithelial lining fluid levels of AAT and anti-neutrophil elastase capacity, with the likelihood that twice daily administration of 100 mg of either form would result in normalization of lung anti-elastase defenses at the alveolar surface. Studies in sheep further demonstrated that the aerosolized pAAT and rAAT were each able to pass through alveolar epithelium and gain access to the interstitial compartment of the lung, thus increasing anti-elastase defenses of the lung intersitium. Therapy was safe and well tolerated in all cases. Aerosol therapy with pAAT or rAAT is a safe, feasible, and likely a biochemically efficacious alternative to intravenous AAT augmentation therapy and merits further long-term studies for clinical therapy.
The Quantification of Fabric Extinguishability

A method has been developed for quantifying the extinguishability of burning fabrics which sepa rates extinguishability due to thermal loss from that due to blocking the transport of vaporized fuel and/or oxygen to the combustion zone. The maximum rate of heat emission during upward burning is measured using convective calorimetry for freely-hanging samples having asbestos paper stapled to one side in several arrangements. The mass of the heat sink is varied by using different numbers of asbestos layers; the vapor transport barrier is varied by drilling different numbers of holes in the asbestos. It is found that vapor blockage generally affects extinguishment to a much greater extent than heat loss. In addition, the effectiveness of the barrier is different for different fabrics, so that extinguishability ranking in terms of heat-emission rate depends on whether or not the fabrics are burned in contact with an inert substrate.
Tumors that have metastasized to the jaws.

Abstract A report of five metastatic malignancies demonstrates the importance of using biopsy in all instances to establish a definitive diagnosis.
Sodium-dependent amino acid transport in the chlorophyte Platymonas subcordiformis

Sodium-dependent transport of alanine and serine by Platymonas subcordiformis was demonstrated by evaluating the kinetics of entry of these substrates over a range of concentrations of ambient sodium. The reciprocal of the concentration at which entry rate was half maximal (Kt) was linearly related to ambient sodium concentration; maximum entry (Vmax) was not affected. Entry of labeled amino acids as measured by determining radioactivity in the medium was close to but slightly less than rates of net entry as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. This difference presumably reflects extrusion of labeled carbon by the cells in a form not detectable by the chromatographic techniques employed. The coupling coefficient (sodium ions per amino acid molecule) for entry of alanine and serine was evaluated and determined to be 2. Methylaminoisobutyric acid was not taken up by P. subcordiformis and had no inhibitory effect on uptake of alanine or serine. B-2-aminobicycloheptane-2-carboxylic acid competitively inhibited uptake of both substrates. The internal sodium concentration of P. subcordiformis was measured, and the maximum gradient energetically favorable for amino acid transport was calculated from data in the present work and drawn from the literature. Assuming that uptake of amino acids is strictly sodium-dependent, an amino acid concentration gradient of the order of 106 (cell:medium) can be achieved. This concentration differential permits net uptake of amino acids by P. subcordiformis from ambient amino acid levels in the nanomolar range.
A real-time distributed Prony-based algorithm for modal estimation of power system oscillations

In this paper, we present a set of distributed algorithms to estimate the oscillatory electro-mechanical eigenvalues of large power system networks using real-time measurements of phase angles and frequencies. We consider the underlying network to exhibit a strong coherency structure resulting in a two-time-scale behavior of the states. Our goal is to develop a distributed strategy by which only the slow eigenvalues, or the inter-area oscillation modes, can be estimated. Assuming a reliable bound for the slow frequencies, we first pass the actual measurements from the full-order network through a bandpass filter, and use the filter outputs as the effective inputs to our distributed estimation routine. We integrate the centralized Prony method for modal extraction with two commonly-used distributed optimization algorithms, namely, distributed subgradient method (DSM), and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), and show how the filtered outputs can be used in each case to asymptotically estimate the slow eigenvalues of interest. We illustrate our results using a IEEE 39-bus power system, and show the robustness of our methods in face of communication failures.
The ABCs of ATP-sensitive potassium channels: more pieces of the puzzle.

Abstract ATP-sensitive potassium channels, K ATP channels, are critical for the normal regulation of insulin secretion. The cloning of cDNAs encoding the subunits of these channels shows that they are a novel combination of an ATP-binding protein and a small inward rectifier. Loss of pancreatic β-cell K ATP channels has been shown to cause familial hyperinsulinism.
Estimating maximum nut size dates in Carya illinoensis (Pecan)

Abstract Yearly variation in maximum nut size dates of Carya illinoensis (Wang.) K. Koch., cultivars ‘Western’ and ‘Wichita’, was related to air temperature expressed in heat units over five growing seasons. Heat units accumulated from the last date of exposure to 0°C or lower (last spring frost) to maximum size calculated with a base temperature of 10.0°C provided the lowest year-to-year heat unit variability. Coefficients of variation for 5 yearly heat unit sums were 1.48 and 1.60% for ‘Western’ and ‘Wichita’, respectively. Average absolute deviation between observed and predicted dates was 2.0 days for both cultivars. An interactive computer program was developed to process the temperature data, expediting the use of different combinations of base temperatures and starting dates. Possible use and limitations of the heat unit model for improvement of pecan cultural management in the south-western irrigated U.S. is discussed.
Diurnal variation of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids, sodium, potassium, magnesium and creatinine in normal subjects and in cases of treated adrenal insufficiency and Cushing's syndrome.

ABSTRACT The morning rise and the nocturnal drop in plasma and urinary levels of 17-hydroxycortieosteroids (17-OH-CS) and in urinary sodium, potassium and endogenous creatinine clearance are described in 8 normal subjects receiving a controlled diet composed of equal feedings every three hours. Magnesium excretion was highest during the period of lowest sodium and potassium excretion (3 A.M. to 6 A.M.). Endogenous creatinine clearance had two peaks (6 P.M. to 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. to 9 A.M.) with two low periods (noon to 3 P.M. and 2 A.M. to 6 A.M.). A definite increase in both sodium and potassium excretion was noted during oral administration of graded dosages of cortisol hemisuccinate in patients with treated adrenal insufficiency. Rapid intravenous injection of 5 mg. of cortisol hemisuccinate every three hours into similar subjects obliterated the variations in creatinine clearance but failed to influence decisively the nocturnal drop in sodium, potassium and magnesium excretion. Magnesium excretion was n...
Polyclonal induction of immunoglobulin synthesis by feline leukocytes as identified in a reverse hemolytic plaque assay

Abstract Optimal conditions of culture and assay for identification of feline immunoglobulin-secreting mononuclear cells were determined for the staphylococcal protein A-reverse hemolytic plaque assay (SpA-RHPA). Hemolytic plaques were most distinct and numerous when peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with 6.9 μg/ml pokeweed mitogen for 7 days. Immunoglobulin-secreting cells were identified morphologically within a zone of hemolysis utilizing a 1 : 5 dilution of rabbit anti-cat IgG and a 1 : 30 dilution of guinea pig complement as developing reagents. The SpA-RHPA system should contribute to an understanding of normal feline T- and B-lymphocyte interactions and will likely aid in the identification and understanding of immune cell dysfunctions associated with chronic feline leukemia virus infection.
Poly(mercaptoimidazolyl)borate chemistry and the predominance of κ3-S,S,H over κ2-S,S or κ3-S,S,S coordination modes: unexpected formation of square pyramidal Ni(II) complexes

Abstract The paramagnetic nickel(II) complexes [(dppe)Ni(L)]X (L=BmR or TmR) have been readily prepared from the appropriate 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane adducts Ni(dppe)X2 (X=Cl, Br) and the thallium(I) reagents Tl(BmR) (R=Me, But) or Tl(TmR) (R=Me, But, p-Tol), and isolated as carmine to deep purple solids in 75–95% yield. X-ray diffraction studies of [(dppe)Ni(BmMe)]Cl and [(dppe)Ni(Tmp-Tol)]Cl revealed the presence of a weak pseudo-axial Ni⋯H–B interaction and an overall square pyramidal geometry in each complex. As such, the cationic complexes [(dppe)Ni(L)]+ are the first structurally characterized species having [NiP2S2H] cores and resemble a number of transient species that play a key role in the catalytic cycle of [NiFe] hydrogenases.
Characterization and screening of microsatellite loci in a wild lemur population (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi)

Sixteen dinucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from the genome of Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi. All loci were polymorphic when genotyped on a minimum of 16 animals. The number of alleles across these loci ranges from two to 11. Additionally, seven of these loci were genotyped across a minimum of 200 animals in order to estimate heterozygosity and their potential for parentage assignment in this population. Using these seven loci, the mean heterozygosity in this population is 0.705, and the combined probability of these seven loci to exclude a random individual from parentage, when one parent is known, is 0.996. These data suggest that these loci will be useful for estimating a variety of population genetic and genealogical parameters in P. v. verreauxi populations.
Structural Analysis of the Snake Range ‘Décollement,’ East-Central Nevada

Minor structures associated with the Snake Range “decollement” at six sites in east-central Nevada are used to infer direction of movement of rocks above the “decollement” with respect to rocks below. Analysis indicates latest movement varied at each site and was down the present dip of the “decollement.” The directions inferred range from westward through southward to eastward. When combined with evidence of Tertiary age for latest movement on the “decollement,” the data support a denudation fault model rather than regional Mesozoic decollement models. This suggests that the tectonic pattern may have more to do with post-Eocene evolution of the Great Basin ignimbrite-block fault province than with the Mesozoic Sevier orogenic belt.
Poliovirus RNA Replication Requires Genome Circularization through a Protein–Protein Bridge

The mechanisms and factors involved in the replication of positive stranded RNA viruses are still unclear. Using poliovirus as a model, we show that a long-range interaction between ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes formed at the ends of the viral genome is necessary for RNA replication. Initiation of negative strand RNA synthesis requires a 3' poly(A) tail. Strikingly, it also requires a cloverleaf-like RNA structure located at the other end of the genome. An RNP complex formed around the 5' cloverleaf RNA structure interacts with the poly(A) binding protein bound to the 3' poly(A) tail, thus linking the ends of the viral RNA and effectively circularizing it. Formation of this circular RNP complex is required for initiation of negative strand RNA synthesis. RNA circularization may be a general replication mechanism for positive stranded RNA viruses.
Peer Evaluation and Academic Achievement in Performance Classes

The investigator previously reported (Muma, 1965) that academic achievement was related to extremes in peer evaluation (high acceptance, high rejection, and neglect). The present study supplements the previous one in that it deals with the same hypothesis and the same student population (3,917 students from 7 junior and senior high schools) but differs in that the previous study was based on achievement in academic classes, whereas the present study deals with achievement in performance classes. The present findings support the hypothesis that achievement in performance classes is related to extremes in peer choice but not in the same manner as was previously reported for achievement in academic classes.
Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the RNA subunit (M1 RNA) of ribonuclease P from Escherichia coli

The gene encoding the RNA subunit (M1 RNA) of RNAase P (EC 3.1.26.5) from Escherichia coli has been isolated, and its complete nucleotide sequence, including flanking regions, has been determined. The promoter region, similar to others near genes under stringent control, and the site of transcription termination have been identified. The transcript from the gene (M1 RNA) can be drawn in a secondary structure that has approximately 60% G-C base pairs. One hairpin loop of this hypothetical structure has five contiguous nucleotides complementary to invariant nucleotides in the TpsiCG loop of all E. coli tRNAs. The M1 gene, when subcloned in the plasmid pBR325, can be amplified. It directs production of functional M1 RNA. In an E. coli strain thermosensitive for RNAase P function, the size of the gene transcript is the same as in wild-type E. coli, but less mature M1 RNA is made in the mutant cells.
Preliminary report on permineralized Senftenbergia from the Chester Series of Illinois

Specimens of Senftenbergia from the Chester Series of Illinois include ones having both external features diagnostic of the genus, and internal anatomy. The anatomy of the frond does not support the generally held view that Senftenbergia is related at the family level to the modern schizaeaceous ferns. Both the form of the vascular system and the presence of peripheral loops are characters that the genus shares with the coenopterid ferns Ankyropteris and Clepsydropsis, but are unlike any of the Schizaeaceae.
Carbon nanotube composite membranes of brominated poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) for gas separation

Abstract The mechanical strength of polymeric membranes is one of the limitations in their applications. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are very effective in reinforcing polymeric materials, but it is unknown whether they degrade the membranes’ gas separation performance. Using brominated poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPOdp) as an example, we show that pristine single-wall CNTs (SWNTs) and multi-wall CNTs (MWNTs) formed polymeric nanocomposite membranes with BPPOdp. The composite membranes had an increased CO2 permeability but a similar CO2/N2 selectivity compared to the corresponding pure-polymer membrane. The CO2 permeability increased with increasing the CNT content and reached a maximum of 155 Barrer at 9 wt% of SWNTs, or 148 Barrer at 5 wt% of MWNTs. The CO2/N2 separation performance was insensitive to the MWNT diameter or length. Carboxylic acid-functionalized SWNTs (COOH-SWNTs) dispersed more uniformly in BPPOdp, and neither increased the gas permeability nor deteriorated the gas separation performance. Thus, it is feasible to add CNTs to polymeric membranes for improved mechanical strength without deteriorating the gas separation performance of the membranes. The pristine CNT-enhanced gas permeability was attributed to the formed nanogaps surrounding the CNTs.
Greater than the sum of its parts: a review of studies combining structural connectivity and resting-state functional connectivity.

It is commonly assumed that functional brain connectivity reflects structural brain connectivity. The exact relationship between structure and function, however, might not be straightforward. In this review we aim to examine how our understanding of the relationship between structure and function in the ‘resting’ brain has advanced over the last several years. We discuss eight articles that directly compare resting-state functional connectivity with structural connectivity and three clinical case studies of patients with limited white matter connections between the cerebral hemispheres. All studies examined show largely convergent results: the strength of resting-state functional connectivity is positively correlated with structural connectivity strength. However, functional connectivity is also observed between regions where there is little or no structural connectivity, which most likely indicates functional correlations mediated by indirect structural connections (i.e. via a third region). As the methodologies for measuring structural and functional connectivity continue to improve and their complementary strengths are applied in parallel, we can expect important advances in our diagnostic and prognostic capacities in diseases like Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.
A STUDY OF GASTRIC SECRETION IN DOGS USING PILOCARPINE

1 Pilocarpine (40 μg/min i.v.) stimulated acid and pepsin secretion from Heidenhain pouches but did not stimulate secretion from the innervated stomach. 2 Pilocarpine significantly increased acid secretion from the innervated main stomach after the vagal nerves were bilaterally blocked with lidocaine. 3 The effect of pilocarpine on secretion from the Heidenhain pouch was depressed by ganglionic blockade (hexamethonium), by dopamine and by isoprenaline. 4 The stimulatory action of histamine on gastric secretion from either pouch or gastric fistulae was uninfluenced by dopamine. 5 The action of pilocarpine was augmented by the muscarinic ganglionic stimulant AHR 602. Considering this effect, as well as the secretory depression of isoprenaline, pilocarpine resembles pentagastrin rather than methacholine in its action.
Determination of rate constants for the reaction between diglycolamine and carbonyl sulphide

The kinetics of the reaction between carbonyl sulphide (COS) and aqueous 2-(2-aminoethoxy) ethanol (diglycolamine or DGA) were investigated over a temperature range of 307 to 322 K and pressure range of 345–414 kPa. A gas-liquid contactor was designed to simulate a single tray in an absorption column. The contactor was operated isothermally with both the gas and liquid feeds continuous, the liquid being perfectly mixed. In the contactor, the gas was sparged through the aqueous DGA solution using a fritted plate and the froth spilled over a weir where the gas disengaged from the amine solution. Good material balance closure verified that the reactor could be used to obtain absorption rate data. The carbonyl sulphide and other components in the amine solution were analysed with a gas chromatographic (GC) technique developed as a part of this work. The GC analysis could be performed in less than 10 min and comparison of the results from the GC technique with material balance closure showed excellent agreement. The experimental data were correlated by assuming the reaction to be kinetically controlled. The observed reaction rates were significantly larger than those for the COS/H2O system. Therefore, it was concluded that DGA had a catalytic effect on the COS hydrolysis reaction. The analysis indicated that the reaction followed a second-order rate equation: first-order in COS and first-order in DGA. Justification for assuming kinetic control of the absorption was demonstrated by doubling and tripling the stirring speed which produced no significant change in the absorption rate (mol s−1). Another series of tests were carried out which showed that the absorption rate (mol s−1) was proportional to the reactor volume. In addition, the activation energy was out of the range of ordinary mass transfer control.
Explosion in an Autoclave caused by Cellulose Nitrate Tubes

THE practice adopted in biological laboratories when disposing of contaminated material is to sterilize by steam in an autoclave, taking care to exclude anything known or suspected to lead to combustion. A latent danger exists if certain types of laboratory ware are treated in this way, without the research worker being aware that risk exists. An example of this occurred in this Establishment when a number of celluloid centrifuge tubes, potentially contaminated and intended for destruction, were sent for autoclaving. During the process spontaneous ignition of the tubes occurred, followed by explosive burning. The autoclave was wrecked and extensive superficial damage was done to the surrounding areas.
Familial Dissecting Aortic Aneurysm in the Absence of Marfan's Syndrome with Review of the Literature: Case Report

This is a report of familial aortic dissection in a mother and son with no evidence of Marfan's syndrome in either patient. The mother, a fifty-three—year-old nurse, was evaluated initially for a four-year history of untreated hypertension and heart murmurs. Multiple cardiac complaints, including shortness of breath and chest pain on exertion, with a strong smoking history associated with an Austin-Flint murmur were noted. Subsequent laboratory studies, including electrocardiogram and cardiac catheterization, confirmed the diagnosis of dissection in the ascending aorta with free communication with an aneurysmal sac. Operative intervention included a Dacron prosthesis and porcine xenograft for aortic valve replacement. The postoperative course is unremarkable and the patient remains well after eleven years. Her twenty- eight-yearold son had a heart murmur identified on an office visit for a recurrent upper respiratory infection. Increased symptoms of shortness of breath, pulsus bisferiens, and an Austin-Fl...
Changes in joint moments due to independent changes in cadence and stride length during gait

Abstract The magnitude of measures derived from gait analysis depend on walking speed which must be accounted for when comparing and interpreting locomotor patterns. In the present paper it was found that speed effects on lower limb joint moments depended on whether different walking speeds were achieved predominantly by a change in cadence, or by a change in stride length. Peak sagittal plane, lower limb joint moments correlated more to cadence than to stride length. In particular, the hip flexor and extensor moments, and the knee flexor moment were more highly correlated to cadence changes. The results underscore the importance of differentiating cadence and stride length effects when interpreting locomotor patterns for subjects walking at comparable speeds. It is recommended that multiple regression models incorporating cadence and stride length effects in the equations be developed for normalizing gait measures across walking speeds.
Coven: brewing better collaboration through software configuration management

Our work focuses on building tools to support collaborative software development. We are building a new programming environment with integrated software configuration management which provides a variety of features to help programming teams coordinate their work.In this paper, we detail a hierachy-based software configuration management system called Coven, which acts as a collaborative medium for allowing teams of programmers to cooperate. By providing a family of inter-related mechanisms, our system provides powerful support for cooperation and coordination in a manner which matches the structure of development teams.
The enhancement of reaggregation of sea urchin blastula cells by exogenous proteins

Abstract The ability of exogenous proteins to enhance the reaggregation of aggregation-deficient butanol extracted cells has been studied using blastula cells of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. Butanol extracts, calcium- and magnesium-free sea-water dissociation supernatant, human plasma fibronectin and bovine serum albumin enhance reaagregation in a concentration dependent manner. Electrophoretic analysis and autoradiography of 125I surface labeled dissociated cells indicate that while butanol extracts a large number of proteins, few iodinated proteins are present in the butanol extract. The non-specificity of proteins to promote reaggregation and the probable cellular location of the butanol extracted proteins are discussed.
Performance of ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) pentagon shape microstrip slot antenna for wireless communications

A planar ultra-wideband microstrip slot antenna with pentagon slot and pentagon stub has been presented. Small size of the proposed antenna can find applications in mobile handheld units. The area that this antenna occupies on the 50 mm times 80 mm ground plane space is 25%. The proposed antenna has a bandwidth ranging from 2.65 GHz to 11.3 GHz, which is about 124%. It has omnidirectional radiation patterns but with high cross polarization levels. An array of such an antenna on this ground plane is also being investigated such that it can be used in multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems as transmit or receive antenna. Additional results on this antenna will be presented during the symposium.
Biomimetic small walking machine

The goal is to design and construct a biologically inspired, small, robust, and fast walking machine. This paper explains how two important observations from cockroaches can be employed as design guidelines to design and build small walking machines. The first observation is the fact that cockroaches use very little feedback and control results from the properties of their parts and their morphological arrangement. This observation leads to our hypothesis that a robust and simple electromechanical walking machine should have implicit feedback control only within its hardware. The second observation is that the optimal walking frequency of a cockroach is close to the natural frequency of the cockroach. This observation leads us to hypothesize that the walking frequency of an electromechanical cockroach also needs to be the natural frequency of the machine. These two design guidelines do not dictate any architecture for an electromechanical cockroach. An architecture that involves the mimicking of the trajectory of a cockroach's footpath was arrived at later in the design process. Two small 4-legged walking machines (HEL-Roach I and II) are built to verify the hypotheses. The first machine (3"/spl times/5.25") weighs 0.7 lb and can travel with a speed of 3" per second. The second machine (2"/spl times/1") weighs 0.17 lb and its speed is 5" per second.
The Predictive Accuracy Of The New York State Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Report-Card System

We examined the impact of New York State’s public reporting system for coronary artery bypass surgery fifteen years after its launch. We found that users who picked a top-performing hospital or surgeon from the latest available report had approximately half the chance of dying as did those who picked a hospital or surgeon from the bottom quartile. Nevertheless, performance was not associated with a subsequent change in market share. Surgeons with the highest mortality rates were much more likely than other surgeons to retire or leave practice after the release of each report card.
A Wealth of Notions

I will admit that I rolled my eyes. Behold the Freakonomist! "Politically incorrect in the best, most essential way," the blurb said. The work of an allegedly "rogue economist," who goes out of his way in the first few pages to say he is "afraid of calculus" and does not know how to do the ory. Amazing! Incidentally, this particular rogue trained at Harvard and MIT, was at the Harvard Society of Fellows, won the John Bates Clark medal and teaches at the University of Chicago. Moreover, since the book's publication in 2005, Freakonomics has become an enormous best seller, enjoying widespread media coverage, a widely-linked website, and a regular column in the New York Times. All of which makes Steven Levitt an interesting kind of maverick. If only my own fear of calculus had pro pelled me towards the same peripheries. But there is little point in carping. Steven Levitt does very high-quality work that is reliably provocative, almost always in a productive sort of way. The packaging of the book?the silly title, the effort to distance the contents from the everyday work of the dismal science, the song-and-dance to make Levitt himself seem a little, well, freakish?is mostly the result of getting a journalist and a marketing department on board. It may also be a consequence of turn ing out the goods a little too fast. The book itself is a bit thin. Yet the underlying material matters both because it is substantively interesting and because it exemplifies a kind of applied economics that is becoming increasingly prevalent. Levitt is less freak and more foreshadow, an exam ple of what the future may hold not just for the practice of economics, but for social science more generally. Sociologists should pay attention to the substance of what he is doing, and then ask whether we think we have something better to offer in response.
Emerging definition of next-generation of aeronautical communications

Aviation continues to experience rapid growth. In regions such as the United States and Europe air traffic congestion is constraining operations, leading to major new efforts to develop methodologies and infrastructures to enable continued aviation growth through transformational air traffic management systems. Such a transformation requires better communications linking airborne and ground-based elements. Technologies for next-generation communications, the required capacities, frequency spectrum of operation, network inter connectivity, and global interoperability are now receiving increased attention. A number of major planning and development efforts have taken place or are in process now to define the transformed airspace of the future. These activities include government and industry led efforts in the United States and Europe, and by international organizations. This paper will review the features, approaches, and activities of several representative planning and development efforts, and identify the emerging global consensus on requirements of next generation aeronautical communications systems for air traffic control.
On The Meaning of Chewing The Significance of Qāt (Catha Edulis )in the Yemen Arab Republic

So writers the British administrator Harold Ingrams about the chewing of leaves from the qāt tree in Yemen. Qāt is the Arabic term for Catha edulis, a species of the Celastracae cultivated in the highlands of southwestern Arabia for at least the last six centuries. The leaves of this tree are chewed as a stimulant, producing a feeling of euphoria followed by depression.
Fully isotropic fast marching methods on Cartesian grids

The existing Fast Marching methods which are used to solve the Eikonal equation use a locally continuous model to estimate the accumulated cost, but a discontinuous (discretized) model for the traveling cost around each grid point. Because the accumulated cost and the traveling (local) cost are treated differently, the estimate of the accumulated cost at any point will vary based on the direction of the arriving front. Instead we propose to estimate the traveling cost at each grid point based on a locally continuous model, where we will interpolate the traveling cost along the direction of the propagating front. We further choose an interpolation scheme that is not biased by the direction of the front. Thus making the fast marching process truly isotropic. We show the significance of removing the directional bias in the computation of the cost in certain applications of fast marching method. We also compare the accuracy and computation times of our proposed methods with the existing state of the art fast marching techniques to demonstrate the superiority of our method.
The nurse–family partnership: An evidence‐based preventive intervention

Pregnancy and the early years of the child's life offer an opportune time to prevent a host of adverse maternal, child, and family outcomes that are important in their own right, but that also reflect biological, behavioral, and social substrates in the child and family that affect family formation and future life trajectories. This article summarizes a 27-year program of research that has attempted to improve early maternal and child health and future life options with prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses. The program is designed for low-income mothers who have had no previous live births. The home-visiting nurses have three major goals: to improve the outcomes of pregnancy by helping women improve their prenatal health, to improve the child's health and development by helping parents provide more sensitive and competent care of the child, and to improve parental life course by helping parents plan future pregnancies, complete their education, and find work. The program has been tested in three separate large-scale, randomized controlled trials with different populations living in different contexts. Results from these trials indicate that the program has been successful in achieving two of its most important goals: (a) the improvement of parental care of the child as reflected in fewer injuries and ingestions that may be associated with child abuse and neglect and better infant emotional and language development; and (b) the improvement of maternal life course, reflected in fewer subsequent pregnancies, greater work-force participation, and reduced dependence on public assistance and food stamps. The impact on pregnancy outcomes is equivocal. In the first trial, the program also produced long-term effects on the number of arrests, convictions, emergent substance use, and promiscuous sexual activity of 15-year-old children whose nurse-visited mothers were low-income and unmarried when they registered in the study during pregnancy. In general, the impact of the program was greater on those segments of the population at greater risk for the particular outcome domain under examination. Since 1996, the program has been offered for public investment outside of research contexts. Careful attention has been given to ensuring that organizational and community contexts are favorable for development of the program, to providing excellent training and guidance to the nurses in their use of the program's visit-by-visit guidelines, to monitoring the functioning of the program with a comprehensive clinical information system, and to improving the performance of the programs over time with continuous improvement strategies.
Minimizing confusion and disorientation: cognitive support work in informal dementia caregiving.

Abstract Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, I explain how informal dementia caregivers attempt to reduce the affected individual's moments of confusion and disorientation through cognitive support work. I identify three stages through which such support takes shape and then gradually declines in usage. In a first stage, family members collaborate with affected individuals to first identify and then to avoid “triggers” that elicit sudden bouts of confusion. In a second stage, caregivers lose the effective collaboration of the affected individual and begin unilateral attempts to minimize confused states through pre-emptive conversational techniques, third-party interactional support, and social-environment shifts. In a third stage, caregivers learn that the affected individual has reached a level of impairment that does not respond well to efforts at reduction and begin abandoning strategies. I identify the motivations driving cognitive support work and discuss the role of lay health knowledge in dementia caregiving. I conclude by considering the utility of cognitive support work as a concept within dementia caregiving.
Multi-flow attack resistant watermarks for network flows

In this work we present a Multi-flow Attack Resistant Interval Centroid Based Watermarking (MAR-ICBW) scheme for network flows. Our proposed scheme can withstand the newly introduced multi-flow watermarking attack that defeats the state-of-the-art interval-based network flow watermarking schemes. Multi-flow attack uses the dependent correlations among the flows marked with the same watermark to recover the secret parameters, and remove the watermark from a flow. The attack can be effective even if different flows are marked with different values of a watermark. MAR-ICBW survives the attack by virtue of randomizing the location of the embedded watermark across multiple flows and therefore, effectively removing the correlations between the flows. While we represent our counter measure to multi-flow attack in terms of an improved version of ICBW, the same methodology can be used to strengthen other interval-based flow watermarking schemes.
Best-effort versus reservations: a simple comparative analysis

Using a simple analytical model, this paper addresses the following question: Should the Internet retain its best-effort-only architecture, or should it adopt one that is reservation-capable? We characterize the differences between reservation-capable and best-effort-only networks in terms of application performance and total welfare. Our analysis does not yield a definitive answer to the question we pose, since it would necessarily depend on unknowable factors such as the future cost of network bandwidth and the nature of the future traffic load. However, our model does reveal some interesting phenomena. First, in some circumstances, the amount of incremental bandwidth needed to make a best-effort-only network perform as well as a reservation capable one diverges as capacity increases. Second, in some circumstances reservation-capable networks retain significant advantages over best-effort-only networks, no matter how cheap bandwidth becomes. Lastly, we find bounds on the maximum performance advantage a reservation-capable network can achieve over best-effort architectures.
Resolution of Risperidone-Induced Hyperprolactinemia with Substitution of Quetiapine

OBJECTIVE:To report a case of risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia that was successfully managed with quetiapine.CASE SUMMARY:A 30-year-old white woman with schizoaffective disorder, depressive type, and comorbid alcohol and cocaine abuse was treated successfully for her psychotic symptoms with risperidone until she developed adverse effects consistent with hyperprolactinemia. This was confirmed by laboratory blood tests, as her prolactin level was 186.9 ng/mL (normal for nonpregnant women 2.8–29.2). The woman had experienced similar effects in the past, which had led to noncompliance and subsequent psychotic relapse. Normalization of prolactin levels and associated adverse effects were achieved upon switching to quetiapine. No psychotic symptoms reoccurred.DISCUSSION:Dopamine type 2 (D2) receptor blockade in the mesolimbic tract is thought to mediate the therapeutic effects of antipsychotics. This action in the tuberoinfundibular system produces prolactin level elevation. Risperidone has a relatively h...
Temporal lobe epilepsy in patients with nonlesional MRI and normal memory: an SEEG study

OBJECT Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in the absence of MRI abnormalities and memory deficits is often presumed to have an extramesial or even extratemporal source. In this paper the authors report the results of a comprehensive stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) analysis in patients with TLE with normal MRI images and memory scores. METHODS Eighteen patients with medically refractory epilepsy who also had unremarkable MR images and normal verbal and visual memory scores on neuropsychological testing were included in the study. All patients had seizure semiology and video electroencephalography (EEG) findings suggestive of TLE. A standardized SEEG investigation was performed for each patient with electrodes implanted into the mesial and lateral temporal lobe, temporal tip, posterior temporal neocortex, orbitomesiobasal frontal lobe, posterior cingulate gyrus, and insula. This information was used to plan subsequent surgical management. RESULTS Interictal SEEG abnormalities were observed in the mesial tempo...
The Effect of Certain Non-narcotic Analgetics on Diuresis and Liver Sulfhydryl Concentration in the Albino Rat

It was found that bilateral and unilateral hind-leg rubber band tourniquets produced an initial antidiuretic action when applied for two hours to hydrated rats. A much greater effect was produced upon release of the tourniquets. A comparable response was exhibited by formalin injection bilaterally into the hind-leg ankle joints. This antidiuretic response to pain was alleviated by certain non-narcotic analgetics. The toxicity of certain non-narcotic analgetics employed in this investigation appeared to be greatly increased by hydration of the animals. It was found that hind-leg ischemic pain produced a significant diminution in the total nonprotein sulfhydryl (TNPSH) concentration of the liver. This was prevented by treatment with acetylsalicylic acid.