cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pathogenesis of Anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La Associated Congenital Heart Block

Publisher Summary Autoantibody associated congenital heart block (CHB) is a passively acquired autoimmune disease in a fetus, which is strongly associated with maternal antibodies to the intracellular ribonucleoproteins SSA/Ro and/or SSB/La (anti-Ro/La). It is a widely held view that these maternal autoantibodies, which are transferred across the placenta into the fetal circulation, actually cause CHB and are not merely disease markers. Physiologic apoptosis may initiate an inflammatory process via antibody binding and ingestion by macrophages, which not only fuels continued apoptosis but contributes to the transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to a scarring phenotype. The heart block of neonatal lupus is not only progressive (second to third degree) but characteristically irreversible, despite brief exposure to autoantibodies and limited period of inflammation. This is underscored by the finding of extensive fibrosis even in the earliest deaths. Disruption of healing may involve the continued presence of myoﬁbroblasts, a consequence of protracted stimulation from the macrophages. Irreversible ﬁbrotic replacement of normal tissue may be unique to heart block acquired in utero following autoantibody-initiated inﬂammation.
Neural correlates of a decision in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the macaque

To make a visual discrimination, the brain must extract relevant information from the retina, represent appropriate variables in the visual cortex and read out this representation to decide which of two or more alternatives is more likely. We recorded from neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (areas 8 and 46) of the rhesus monkey while it performed a motion discrimination task. The monkey indicated its judgment of direction by making appropriate eye movements. As the monkey viewed the motion stimulus, the neural response predicted the monkey’s subsequent gaze shift, hence its judgment of direction. The response comprised a mixture of high-level oculomotor signals and weaker visual sensory signals that reflected the strength and direction of motion. This combination of sensory integration and motor planning could reflect the conversion of visual motion information into a categorical decision about direction and thus give insight into the neural computations behind a simple cognitive act.
Global Cyberspace Is Safer than You Think: Real Trends in Cybercrime

What are the real trends in cybercrime? Recent media coverage has been rife with stories of large-scale data breaches, hacks and online financial crime. Information technology (IT) security firms such as Norton Symantec and Kaspersky Labs publish yearly reports that generally show the security of cyberspace to be poor and often getting worse. This paper argues that the level of security in cyberspace is actually far better than the picture described by media accounts and IT security reports. Currently, numbers on the occurrence of cybercrime are almost always depicted in either absolute (1,000 attacks per year) or as year-over-year percentage change terms (50 percent more attacks in 2014 than in 2013). To get an accurate picture of the security of cyberspace, cybercrime statistics need to be expressed as a proportion of the growing size of the Internet (similar to the routine practice of expressing crime as a proportion of a population, i.e., 15 murders per 1,000 people per year). To substantiate this argument, data was collected on the size of the Internet, with a focus on users, points of interaction and volume of online activity. Data was then collected on the vectors of cyber attack, the occurrence of cyber attacks and the cost of cybercrime. Normalizing these crime statistics around various measures of the growing size of cyberspace, a clear picture emerges: the absolute numbers always paint a worse scenario of the security of cyberspace than the normalized numbers. In particular, the absolute numbers tend to lead to one of three misrepresentations: first, the absolute numbers say things are getting worse, while the normalized numbers show that the situation is improving; second, both numbers show that things are improving, but the normalized numbers show that things are getting better at a faster rate; and third, both numbers say that things are getting worse, but the normalized numbers indicate that the situation is deteriorating more slowly than the absolute numbers. Overall, global cyberspace is actually far safer than commonly thought.
Development and Laboratory Testing of an Automated Monitor for the Measurement of Atmospheric Particle-Bound Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

Previous studies have found significant quantities of oxidative species associated with airborne particulate matter. Although oxidative stress is thought to be an important part of the mechanism by which particles produce adverse health effects, the lack of a suitable method to measure ROS on a routine basis has resulted in no work being undertaken to assess the effects of particle-bound ROS on health. In order to fill this need, an automated monitor for the continuous sampling of ambient aerosol and the measurement of concentrations of ROS on the sampled aerosol was developed. Potential methods to quantify ROS were compared in order to arrive at a suitable method to automate. The dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) fluorescence method was found to be the most non-specific, general indicator of particle-bound oxidants. Hence it was deemed the best suited method for the automated monitor. An integrated sampling-analysis system was designed and constructed based on collection of atmospheric particles in an aqueous s...
Personality psychology as a truly behavioural science

Personality psychology has been accused of neglecting behaviour—of devoting insufficient attention to what people actually do. The current paper addresses four important issues regarding the study ...
A Modal Model of Stuxnet Attacks on Cyber-physical Systems: A Matter of Trust

Multiple Security Domains Nondeducibility, MSDND, yields results even when the attack hides important information from electronic monitors and human operators. Because MSDND is based upon modal frames, it is able to analyze the event system as it progresses rather than relying on traces of the system. Not only does it provide results as the system evolves, MSDND can point out attacks designed to be missed in other security models. This work examines information flow disruption attacks such as Stuxnet and formally explains the role that implicit trust in the cyber security of a cyber physical system (CPS) plays in the success of the attack. The fact that the attack hides behind MSDND can be used to help secure the system by modifications to break MSDND and leave the attack nowhere to hide. Modal operators are defined to allow the manipulation of belief and trust states within the model. We show how the attack hides and uses the operator's trust to remain undetected. In fact, trust in the CPS is key to the success of the attack.
Chronic Hypertension Enhances the Postsynaptic Effect of Baclofen in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius

Microinjection of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid B-subtype receptor agonist baclofen into the nucleus tractus solitarius increases arterial blood pressure and sympathetic nerve discharge. The baclofen-induced pressor response is enhanced in chronic hypertension. We hypothesized that a postsynaptic mechanism contributes to the enhanced responses to baclofen in hypertension. We investigated the postsynaptic effect of baclofen on second-order baroreceptor neurons, identified by 1,1′-dilinoleyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetra-methylindocarbocyanine, 4-chlorobenzenesulphonate labeling of the aortic nerve, in nucleus tractus solitarius slices from sham-operated normotensive and unilateral nephrectomized, renal-wrap hypertensive rats. After 4 weeks, arterial blood pressure was 153±7 mm Hg in hypertensive rats (n=9) and 93±3 mm Hg in normotensive rats (n=8; P 50 of the baclofen effect was greater in normotensive cells (9.1±3.2 μmol/L; n=5) than hypertensive cells (3.0±0.5 μmol/L; n=7; P P
Does Baseline Heart Rate Variability Reflect Stable Positive Emotionality

Several recent studies have found significant correlations, medium in effect size, between baseline heart rate variability (HRV) and measures of positive functioning, such as extraversion, agreeableness, and trait positive affectivity. Other research, however, has suggested an optimal level of HRV and found nonlinear effects. In the present study, a diverse sample of 239 young adults completed a wide range of measures that reflect positive psychological functioning, including personality traits, an array of positive emotions (measured with the Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale), and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (measured with the DASS and CESD). HRV was measured with a 6-minute baseline period and quantified using many common HRV metrics (e.g., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, root mean square of successive differences, and others), and potentially confounding behavioral and lifestyle variables (e.g., BMI, caffeine and nicotine use, sleep quality) were assessed. Neither linear nor non-linear effects were found, and the effect sizes were small and near zero. The findings suggest that the cross-sectional relationship between HRV and positive experience deserves more attention and meta-analytic synthesis.
The effect of pyrazole on ethylene glycol toxicity and metabolism in the rat.

The Effect of Pyrazole on Ethylene Glycol Toxicity and Metabolism in the Rat. Chou, J. Y., and Richardson, K. E. (1978), Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 43 , 33–44. The toxic effects of ethylene glycol are well known, but the specific mediator of the toxicity has not been identified. The alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitors, pyrazole and 4-methylpyrazole (3 mmol/kg), administered 4 hr before or concurrently with lethal concentrations of ethylene glycol (10 ml/kg) fed by stomach tube, reduced the mortalities from 100 to 0%. The excretion of ethylene glycol in the urine was increased, and the excretion of glycolate, a metabolic intermediate, was decreased. The excretion in the urine of glycolaldehyde, glyoxylate, and oxalate was essentially unchanged. The mortalities observed correlated inversely with the percentage of ethylene glycol, recovered in the urine and directly with the time of pyrazole administration and the concentration of glycolate recovered in the urine. Essentially the same distribution patterns of ethylene glycol metabolic intermediates were found in both rat urine and blood plasma. The protective effects of pyrazole were reduced if the time of administration was delayed beyond 4 hr after ethylene glycol consumption, if the concentration was reduced below 0.5 mmol/kg, or if the ethylene glycol dose was increased to 20 ml/kg. In contrast with the results obtained with ethylene glycol, inhibiting the oxidation of glycolaldehyde, glycolate, and glyoxylate lowered their LD50 values, demonstrating their direct toxicity. The results suggest that glycolate is the specific toxic agent in acute ethylene glycol poisoning.
MODELS OF THE TRACHEOBRONCHIAL AIRWAYS OF THE DOG LUNG

AbstractTwo models of the geometry of the tracheobronchial (TB) region of the dog have been developed based upon lung cast data of two beagle dogs (Raabe et al., 1976). These models consist of lengths, diameters, and branching angles of the TB airways. Because the data were incomplete, a method was developed to estimate these parameters for the missing airways based upon relationships between parent airway diameter and daughter airway diameters. Compared to the model of the complete TB region for one dog, the cast data account for only 8% of the total number of TB airways, 42% of the surface area, and 84% of the volume. Single-path models, in which one path represents the entire TB region, were then constructed based upon the two completed models and assumptions about air flow rates in their airways. The airway dimensions in the sequential segments of the single-path models were calculated using the subset of complete model airways that had the average time of flight from the trachea to the terminal bronc...
Effects of Yeast and Bran on Phytate Degradation and Minerals in Rice Bread

Rice bread is a potential alternative to wheat bread for gluten-sensitive individuals. Incorporation of rice bran into bread made from white rice flour adds flavor but also phytic acid, which can reduce the bioavailability of minerals. Breads with varied amounts of defatted bran and yeast were prepared to determine their effects on the phytate and mineral contents of the bread. A completely randomized factorial design was used with bran levels of 3.7%, 7.3%, and 10.5% of the dry ingredients and yeast levels of 1.6%, 3.2%, and 4.7%. Increasing the amount of bran decreased the phytate degradation from 42% at the lowest level of bran to 10% at the highest, and the amount of yeast had no significant effect. The bran contributed substantial amounts of magnesium, iron, and zinc. Breads with the lowest level of bran had phytate-to-zinc molar ratios between 5 and 10, which suggest medium zinc bioavailability. Rice bread is a tasty and nutritious food that is a good dietary source of minerals for people who cannot tolerate wheat bread.
Chalcogels: Porous Metal−Chalcogenide Networks from Main-Group Metal Ions. Effect of Surface Polarizability on Selectivity in Gas Separation

We report the synthesis of metal−chalcogenide gels and aerogels from anionic chalcogenide clusters and linking metal ions. Metal ions such as Sb3+ and Sn2+, respectively chelated with tartrate and acetate ligands, react in solution with the chalcogenide clusters to form extended polymeric networks that exhibit gelation phenomena. Chalcogenide cluster anions with different charge densities, such as [Sn2S6]4− and [SnS4]4−, were employed. In situ rheological measurements during gelation showed that a higher charge density on the chalcogenide cluster favors formation of a rigid gel network. Aerogels obtained from the gels after supercritical drying have BET surface areas from 114 to 368 m2/g. Electron microscopy images coupled with nitrogen adsorption measurements showed the pores are micro (below 2 nm), meso (2−50 nm), and macro (above 50 nm) regions. These chalcogels possess band gaps in the range of 1.00−2.00 eV and selectively adsorb polarizable gases. A 2-fold increase in selectivity toward CO2/C2H6 over...
Effect of Diet of Turkey Males on Fertility

Abstract AMONG the economic problems in turkey production are low fertility and hatchability. Friars et al. (1963) noted that for all turkey eggs set in the U.S. and Canada, the hatchability was in the range of 55 percent. Hale (1951) reported that infertility was due to low effectiveness of males in inseminating the females. The female's sex drive was reduced by incomplete copulation comparable to hens with which complete matings took place. Effectiveness ranged from 15 to 97% of the attempted copulations. The average interval between matings following complete copulation was 9 days (3–17) compared to incomplete copulation of 7 days (2–12). Smyth and Leighton (1953) reported total matings completed by 7 males showed a variation of 44.3 to 87.5% of matings completed with an average of 68.2%. Males with high efficiency possessed a good sense of balance, showed considerable patience and completed the matings with a minimum of . . .
The insect brain (Na+ + K+)-ATPase. Binding of ouabain in the hawk moth, Manduca sexta.

Abstract (1) A quantitative study has been made of the binding of ouabain to the ( Na + + K + )- ATPase in homogenates prepared from brain tissue of the hawk moth, Manduca sexta. The results have been compared to those obtained in bovine brain microsomes. (2) The insect brain ( Na + + K + )- ATPase will bind ouabain either in the presence of Mg2+ and Pi, (‘Mg2+, Pi’ conditions) or in the presence of Na+, Mg2+, and an adenine nucleotide (‘nucleotide’ conditions) as is the case for the bovine brain ( Na + + K + )- ATPase . The binding conditions did not alter the total number of receptor sites measured at high ouabain concentrations in either tissue. (3) Potassium ion decreases the affinity (increases the K D ) of ouabain to the M. sexta brain ( Na + + K + )- ATPase under both binding conditions. However, ouabain binding is more sensitive to K+ inhibition under the nucleotide conditions. In bovine brain ouabain binding is equally sensitive to K+ inhibition under the both conditions. (4) The enzyme-ouabain complex has a rate of dissociation that is 10-fold faster in the M. sexta preparation than in the bovine brain preparation. Because of this, the M. sexta ( Na + + K + )- ATPase has a higher K D for ouabain binding and is less sensitive to inhibition by ouabain than the bovine brain enzyme. (5) This data supports the hypothesis that two different conformational states of the M. sexta ( Na + + K + )- ATPase can bind ouabain.
Association of discharge home with home health care and 30-day readmission after pancreatectomy.

Background We sought to determine if discharge home with home health care (HHC) is an independent predictor of increased readmission after pancreatectomy. Study Design We examined 30-day readmissions in patients undergoing pancreatectomy using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database for California from 2009 to 2011. Readmissions were categorized as severe or nonsevere using the Modified Accordion Severity Grading System. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association of discharge home with HHC and 30-day readmission using discharge home without HHC as the reference group. Propensity score matching was used as an additional analysis to compare the rate of 30-day readmission between patients discharged home with HHC with patients discharged home without HHC. Results Of 3,573 patients who underwent pancreatectomy, 752 (21.0%) were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. In a multivariable logistic regression model, discharge home with HHC was an independent predictor of increased 30-day readmission (odds ratio = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.11–1.69; p = 0.004). Using propensity score matching, patients who received HHC had a significantly increased rate of 30-day readmission compared with patients discharged home without HHC (24.3% vs 19.8%; p Conclusions Discharge home with HHC after pancreatectomy is an independent predictor of increased 30-day readmission; specifically, these services are associated with increased nonsevere readmissions, but not severe readmissions.
Measurement of Return Current in a Laser-Produced Plasma

A laser-fusion target's support fiber is heated at large distances from the laser plasma principally by Ohmic heating due to an electrical return current. Optical and electrical measurements demonstrate that return-current heating dominates over other heating mechanics such as hot-electron propagation along the fiber, thermal conduction, and line-of-sight plasma radiation.
Indirect interference of cosmic-muons with low background coincidence experiments

Abstract An experimental study has been made of the feasibility of detecting inverse beta decay reactions by a direct triple coincidence technique. It was found that (89±13)% of the interfering background occurs less than 0.2 μs after the entrance of a cosmic-muon into the shielded region containing the target and detectors. The background may be caused by γ -ray cascades resulting from muon-nuclear reactions in the shielding material.
On Comparing the Reliabilities of Two Exponential Populations

Consider two populations, each of whose probability properties are described by the 2-parameter exponential probability density function. The two parameters are unknown in each case. Assuming that a random sample is available from each of the two populations, this paper shows how to calculate an approximation for the probability that one of the populations has a greater reliability than the other. The Bayesian theory of statistical inference is used and we assume a weak prior for the parameters involved.
Resilient dependable cyber-physical systems: a middleware perspective

In this paper, we address the role of middleware in enabling robust and resilient cyber-physical systems (CPSs) of the future. In particular, we will focus on how adaptation services can be used to improve dependability in instrumented cyber-physical systems based on the principles of “computational reflection.” CPS environments incorporate a variety of sensing and actuation devices in a distributed architecture; such a deployment is used to create a digital representation of the evolving physical world and its processes for use by a broad range of applications. CPS applications, in particular, mission critical tasks, must execute dependably despite disruptions caused by failures and limitations in sensing, communications, and computation. This paper discusses a range of applications, their reliability needs, and potential dependability holes that can cause performance degradation and application failures. In particular, we distinguish between the notion of infrastructure and information dependability and illustrate the need to formally model and reason about a range of CPS applications and their dependability needs. Formal methods based tools can help us design meaningful cross-layer adaptation techniques at different system layers of the CPS environment and thereby achieve end-to-end dependability at both the infrastructure and information levels.
RECURRENCE AND SURVIVAL FOLLOWING LAPAROSCOPIC RADICAL NEPHROURETERECTOMY WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF BLADDER CUFF CONTROL

ABSTRACTPurpose: We document recurrence and survival following laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LNUX) for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) using primarily 2 methods of managing the bladder cuff.Materials and Methods: The records of 60 patients undergoing LNUX at our institution for upper tract TCC were reviewed retrospectively. En bloc excision of the bladder cuff was primarily performed transvesically by our described cystoscopic secured detachment and ligation method (CDL) or extravesically using a laparoscopic stapling device (LS).Results: Median followup was 23 months (range 1 to 45). Recurrence developed in 27%, 7% and 12% of cases in the bladder at a median of 5 months, retroperitoneum at 8 months and distant sites at 8 months, respectively. Compared to the novel CDL technique LS resulted in a higher positive margin rate (p = 0.046). Overall survival correlated with bladder recurrence (p = 0.003), upper tract TCC stage (p = 0.01) and method of bladder cuff control when comparing...
Design by features: an approach to high level shape manipulations

Abstract We first outline the role of features in computer aided mechanical design. Emphasis is placed on the aspect that features can highly increase the design efficiency. Alternative representation methods for form features in a solid modeling environment are discussed and the concept of a concrete implementation in a design system is given. The virtues of this implementation are demonstrated by examples.
Contributions of Kinematics and Viscoelastic Lap Deformation on the Surface Figure during Full Aperture Polishing of Fused Silica

The effects of kinematics and lap viscoelastic properties have been quantitatively correlated to a revised Preston Model by monitoring the surface figure and material removal rate during fused silica polishing (ceria on pad or pitch).
Within-session changes in responding during concurrent fixed interval variable interval schedules

Rats (Experiment 1) and pigeons (Experiment 2) responded on several concurrent fixed interval variable interval schedules. The programmed rate of reinforcement varied from 15 to 240 reinforcers per hour across conditions for each component. The rate of, but not the time spent, responding on each component usually changed within sessions. The patterns of changes in response rates within the session were similar enough for the two components that the bias and sensitivity to reinforcement parameters of, and the percentage of the variance accounted for by, the generalized matching law did not change within the session. These results imply that within-session changes in responding do not cause problems for assessing the validity of the generalized matching law when subjects respond on concurrent fixed interval variable interval schedules. They may help to explain why the matching law provides a good description of the data.
Maternal morbidity associated with isoxsuprine and terbutaline tocolysis.

Abstract A retrospective study of 343 women treated with isoxsuprine and/or terbutaline for preterm labor (PTL) was performed to determine the incidence and nature of maternal morbidity which is associated with this treatment. The incidence of mild cardiovascular (CV), neurological and gastrointestinal side effects was similar with both medications. The incidence, however, of severe CV complications such as pulmonary edema and myocardial ischemia was higher among women treated with i.v. terbutaline (5.3%) than among those treated with isoxsuprine (0.8%, P
Sub-stable and weak-stable manifolds associated with finitely non-resonant spectral subspaces

In this work we study \(C^{k,\delta}, 2 \leq k \leq \infty, 0\leq \delta \leq 1,\) maps of a Banach space near a fixed point. We show the existence and uniqueness of a class of \(C^{k,\delta}\) local invariant sub-manifolds of the stable manifold which correspond to a spectral subspace satisfying a finite non-resonance condition of order \(L\leq k\) and an overriding condition of order \(L\leq k\) (condition (3) of Theorem 1). We study the dependence of these invariant manifolds on a parameter that lies in a Banach space. We also show that a \(C^{k,\delta}\) local weak-stable manifold that satisfies these two conditions is unique in the class of \(C^{k,\delta}\) maps. The uniqueness is due to the fact that our method does not require a cut-off function. An infinite dimensional Banach space does not always admit smooth cut-off functions.
AnyBoard: an FPGA-based, reconfigurable system

AnyBoard, a low-cost, field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based, reconfigurable rapid-prototyping system is described. The system hardware organization and software tools that help users automatically map designs to the FPGAs and manage the design process are discussed. The implementation of a pattern generator design is presented to illustrate the system's effectiveness. >
Mutations that Disrupt Formation of Functional CFTR

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by a loss-of-function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel. Many mutations that cause CF, including the most common disease allele ΔF508, interfere with CFTR function because the mutant protein does not efficiently fold into the native channel structure. Significantly, when these mutant proteins are induced to fold, in experimental systems, some CFTR function is recovered, suggesting an avenue for therapeutic development. Exploiting this opportunity requires detailed knowledge of the basic processes of CFTR folding and the steps altered by the disease-causing mutations. Models of CFTR place the critical F508 residue on the surface of one of the two nucleotide binding domains (NBD1) at a predicted interface with the intracellular loop (ICL4) in the second of two transmembrane domains (TMD2). A variety of biophysical, biochemical, and cell biological studies demonstrate that CFTR folds in a hierarchical manner, with folding of the domains occurring first, during translation and, later, the partially folded domains associating to form the final, functional CFTR structure. Consistent with the location of F508 in the structural models, its deletion interferes with both the folding of NBD1 and with subsequent steps of domain-domain association. The detailed energetics and kinetics of these processes provide insight into the fundamental mechanisms by which integral membrane proteins achieve their native structures and reveal obstacles to and suggest strategies for improving the folding efficiency of the mutant CFTR protein. Supported by NIH-NIDDK, NIH-NIDCR, Reata Pharmaceuticals, CFF.
A study of microindentation hardness tests by mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity

We recently proposed a theory of mechanism-based strain gradient (MSG) plasticity to account for the size dependence of plastic deformation at micron- and submicron-length scales. The MSG plasticity theory connects micron-scale plasticity to dislocation theories via a multiscale, hierarchical framework linking Taylor's dislocation hardening model to strain gradient plasticity. Here we show that the theory of MSG plasticity, when used to study micro-indentation, indeed reproduces the linear dependence observed in experiments, thus providing an important self-consistent check of the theory. The effects of pileup, sink-in, and the radius of indenter tip have been taken into account in the indentation model. In accomplishing this objective, we have generalized the MSG plasticity theory to include the elastic deformation in the hierarchical framework. (c) 2000 Materials Research Society.
Dynamic behavior of a spin system with small transverse coupling under the influence of an oscillating magnetic field

Abstract An extensive study is made on the dynamic behavior of an Ising system. The considerations are all within the framework of the Bethe or constant coupling theory. First, a set of master equations for the spin average and for the nearest-neighbor-correlation average is constructed. These equations are solved near the critical point for the relaxation from a non-equilibrium state and for an oscillating external field in the z -direction. The last part of the paper is concerned with the more realistic assumption that the field is in the x − y direction. In order to describe the influence of this perturbation the system is supposed to be slightly non-Ising, i.e. an anisotropic Heisenberg coupling with small but nonzero x − y component, as many actual systems are. A dynamic deviation from the critical temperature is found.
Rotational and intrinsic structure of 182W from the (α, 2nγ) reaction and decay of 182mRe☆

Abstract The 180Hf(α, 2nγ) reaction was used to populate states in 182W. In-beam γ-ray spectroscopy experiments result in assignment of 59 levels to the 182W level scheme. Eleven rotational bands are identified, and most of these are characterized. A previously reported 1.4 μs isomer is characterized as the Kπ = 10+ triplet coupling of 9 2 + [624] and 11 2 + [615] neutrons, the first seniority two i 13 2 configuration to be identified in the rare-earth deformed region. The strongly coupled band built on this isomer apparently becomes yrast above spin 16. Data from EC β+ decay of 64 h 182mRe were used to supplement the in-beam data.
On the Effects of Driving Amplitude, Frequency and Magnetic Fields on the Feed Rate of a Vibratory Micro-Pin Feeder

The use of micro-pin feeder-bowls has been established as a way to singulate and orient micro-scale metallic pins of varying lengths. Increasing the rate and reliability with which pins can feed through the bowl is important when considering the use of such a feeder-bowl in an industrial setting.Previous experimental work, which was limited to a single driving frequency and small range of driving amplitudes of the feeder-bowl, showed low feed rates and long capture times for pins whose aspect ratio exceeded five-to-one. New experimental work has shown that by altering the driving amplitude and frequency of the feeder-bowl, pins with aspect ratios exceeding seven-to-one could be fed.Because the frequency response of feeder-bowls may be limited, other techniques for improving the feed rate for long pins were also sought. One such technique was the magnetizing of the pins to increase their response to a magnetic field which surrounded the feeder-bowl. In some circumstances, more than a 70% reduction in average capture time was observed.The improved capture performance for long pins will permit more freedom in the design of devices that can be assembled with the aid of vibratory micro-pin feeder-bowls. The research results will also be used to improve the accuracy of feeder bowl simulations.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Adaptive nulling for the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer

Deep, stable starlight nulls are needed for the direct detection of Earth-like planets and require careful control of the intensity and phases of the beams that are being combined. We are testing a novel compensator based on a deformable mirror to correct the intensity and phase at each wavelength and polarization across the nulling bandwidth. We have successfully demonstrated intensity and phase control using a deformable mirror across a 100nm wide band in the near-IR, and are in the process of conducting experiments in the mid-IR wavelengths. This paper covers the current results and in the mid-IR.
Influences of Diet and Family on Age of Maturation in Brown House Snakes, Lamprophis fuliginosus

Abstract One of the most important life-history traits for organisms is age at first reproduction. The benefits of early reproduction often trade off with survival of the female and/or with her growth. Prey availability has been shown to be important in determining strategies for adult trade-offs of reproductive traits in snakes, but its impact on maturity has rarely been studied. We examined the role of energy intake on the brown house snake, Lamprophis fuliginosus, on trade-offs in growth, maturity, and reproductive traits. Six female full-sibling offspring from 10 wild-caught dams were raised on either a high diet (50% of their body mass per week) or a low diet (20% per week) until they mated and laid eggs. Both diet and family influenced growth rates. Forty-eight out of 60 snakes mated, and 37 of these laid eggs within the 20 months. Mean days to first mating was nearly 100 days earlier for animals on the high diet. Within each treatment females did not differ from each other in mating age. The female...
Response to the Letter by Fournier and Muller

Response: We thank Drs Fournier and Muller for their comments on our recent article describing the circadian variation in infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).1 Their recent observations demonstrating that infarct size (peak creatine kinase) was significantly higher between midnight and 6:00 am in a cohort of 353 consecutive STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention2 support our results. We agree with the authors that variations in care during off hours resulting in different door-to-balloon times and symptom onset-to-reperfusion times could outweigh any effect of circadian variation on infarct size. However, regional transfer systems for primary percutaneous coronary intervention in STEMI such as ours have the ability to abolish these potential off-hours issues.3 All STEMI patients who present …
Latent murine cytomegalovirus infection in macrophages

In this study we show that macrophages (Mphi) are latently infected with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). After clearance of acute MCMV infection, the predominant form of chronic infection in Balb mice is latency rather than persistence. Peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) from latently infected Balb mice (3-9 months postinfection) contained MCMV genome and reactivatable virus. Adherent cells from both resident and thioglycollate-elicited PECs carried more MCMV DNA (measured by PCR) than nonadherent cells, and were selectively enriched for Mphi. FACS sorted F4/80(+) Mphi contained MCMV DNA, while other FACS sorted cell populations from PECs were never positive for MCMV DNA. MCMV reactivated from FACS sorted F4/80(+) Mphi in 32% of cocultures with murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Since Mphi carry MCMV genome and reactivatable virus, but not lytic virus, they are latently infected with MCMV. We determined the frequency of Mphi carrying MCMV genome in PECs (about 1/50,000) using a limiting dilution PCR assay. Using this frequency and estimates of the total amount of MCMV genome in populations, we estimate that latently infected Mphi carry 1-10 copies of MCMV genome. To evaluate the origin of latently infected Mphi, we compared the frequency of cells carrying MCMV genome in the resident and elicited PECs. The frequency of Mphi carrying MCMV DNA was the same in resident and thioglycollate-elicited PECs, despite the fact that there was a ninefold increase in the number of Mphi recovered after thioglycollate elicitation. This argued for recruitment of bone marrow-derived Mphi (BMMphi) carrying MCMV genome into the peritoneum during inflammatory responses. Consistent with this hypothesis, MCMV genome, but not persistent virus, was detected in bone marrow cells from latently infected mice.
Studies on reactions of human allergic serum with serum protein antigens: II. Method of quantitative demonstration by a coprecipitation technique

Abstract 1. The sera of 3 allergic human subjects with immediate cutaneous reactivity to horse serum albumin (HSA) bound I 131 HSA, as demonstrated by coprecipitating with rabbit anti-human gamma globulin. Binding was undiminished after heating the human sera at 56° C. The same sera also bound I 131 -labeled horse serum gamma globulin and mouse serum albumin (MSA). 2. The sera of several dog serum albumin (DSA) sensitive humans did not react with I 131 DSA as measured by this technique. On cutaneous testing, these subjects were less reactive to DSA than the HSA-sensitive individuals were to HSA. 3. The binding of I 131 HSA by a human allergic serum was partly inhibited by mouse and dog albumins and the binding of I 131 MSA by the same serum was greatly inhibited by horse, dog, bovine, and rabbit albumins. 4. The rate of binding of I 131 HSA and human allergic serum was very rapid, while the dissociation of the complexes formed was very slow.
The Deconstruction of Magic: Rereading, Rethinking Erickson*

This article examines the case history writings of Milton Erickson as literary texts. A deconstructive analysis reveals that the modernist assumption of therapist as magical healer disguises the role clients play in their own change. Hypothetically constructed case transcripts contrasted with excerpts from Erickson (see Rossi, 1980) illustrate how the inclusion of client voice enriches understanding of therapeutic change.
A Humean particularist virtue ethic

Virtue ethical theories typically follow a neo-Aristotelian or quasi-Aristotelian model, making use of various combinations of key features of the Aristotelian model including eudaimonism (the notion that virtue is a necessary component of individual flourishing), perfectionism (the idea that the truly virtuous agent achieves a sort of moral perfection), an account of practical wisdom, and the thesis of the unity of the virtues (roughly, that the virtues form a unified set and are mutually realized). In this paper I motivate what I call a Humean virtue ethic, which is a deeply particularist account of virtue that rejects all of these central tenets, at least in their traditional forms. Focusing on three factors by which Hume determines virtue, I show that this view of virtue resonates with the aims of the moral particularist, who holds that there are no general moral principles and that right action is determined only with reference to context and on a case-by-case basis. I use Hume’s texts to introduce and motivate three claims, which I find plausible, and which I will show can be read together as entailing an interesting and underappreciated picture of virtue that is also able to solve an important dilemma for particularist virtue ethics.
Homotopy colimits in the category of small categories

In (13), Quillen defines a higher algebraic K-theory by taking homotopy groups of the classifying spaces of certain categories. Certain questions in K-theory then become questions such as when do functors induce a homotopy equivalence of classifying spaces, or when is a square of categories homotopy cartesian? Quillen has given some techniques for answering such questions. F. Waldhausen has extended these ideas in (19), and broadened the range of applications to include geometric topology (20).
The fast-food fund.

Dr. Perri Klass discusses the moments when doctors give — or think of giving — money to patients. Klass asks, if sending someone out of the office with a $20 bill will well and truly meet some small immediate need, what do you do?
Philosophy of Mind Meets Logical Theory: Perry on Neo-Dualism

John Perry's new book makes an important philosophical contribution at two quite distinct levels. The first and most obvious is its systematic critical discussion of three of the most notorious recent arguments in favor of some form of Property Dualism: Chalmers' Zombie Argument, Jackson's Knowledge Argument, and Kripke's Modal Argument. Perry no stranger himself to matters modal, indexical, and demonstrative brings an especial authority to this task. Unlike many of us, he eats, drinks, and breathes the same modal vocabulary deployed by all three of these authors, and, unlike some of us, he accepts most of what passes for conventional wisdom in current modal theory. Moreover, while "antecedently inclined" toward some form of physicalism in the philosophy of mind (something in the intersection of functionalism and the identity theory would suit him just fine), he has no particular ideological axe to grind here. Perry never turns (as, for example, this reviewer surely would) to extol the positive virtues of this, that, or the other materialist theory of mind above its various dualist adversaries. He just wishes to determine whether any of the three celebrated arguments cited above provides the antecedent materialist with a motive for reconsidering that general position. Other readers will be eager, as was I, to see how a judge with Perry's solid but prototypically "analytic" credentials comes down on this issue. His judgment, it emerges, is negative in all three cases. But hereby hangs a tale, for Perry is concerned, at a second and deeper level, to advance some novel views about the nature and varieties of semantic content. In particular, he urges the existence and relevance of something he calls "reflexive contents," as opposed to the more familiar "subject matter contents" of traditional, externalist, objectivist, attributivist, Tarski-style reckonings of the semantic content of any representation. On his view, one and the same representation whether an overt sentence or a covert thought can have several different reflexive contents, depending on a variety of contextual factors having to do with the objective situation and current cognitive state (possibly uninformed) of the agent who asserts it. This allows us, argues Perry, to
Patients' Perspective on Full Disclosure and Informed Consent Regarding Postoperative Visual Loss Associated With Spinal Surgery in the Prone Position

OBJECTIVE To determine patients' opinions regarding the person, method, and timing for disclosure of postoperative visual loss (POVL) associated with high-risk surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS On the basis of findings of a pilot study involving 219 patients at Mayo Clinic in Florida, we hypothesized that at least 80% of patients would prefer disclosure of POVL by the surgeon, during a face-to-face discussion, before the day of scheduled surgery. To test the hypothesis, we sent a questionnaire to 437 patients who underwent prolonged prone spinal surgical procedures at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, or Mayo Clinic in Arizona from December 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009. RESULTS Among the 184 respondents, 158 patients gave responses supporting the hypothesis vs 26 with at least 1 response not supporting it, for an observed incidence of 86%. The 2-sided 95% confidence interval is 80% to 91%. CONCLUSION At least 80% of patients prefer full disclosure of the risk of POVL, by the surgeon, during a face-to-face discussion before the day of scheduled surgery. This finding supports development of a national patient-driven guideline for disclosing the risk of POVL before prone spinal surgery.
Polymer-induced flocculation of pharmaceutical suspensions

The effect of concentration of an anionic heteropolysaccharide on the sedimentation volume of sulfaguanidine, zinc oxide, talc, bismuth subcarbonate, and bismuth subnitrate aqueous suspensions was determined. All materials with the exception of sulfaguanidine showed a steady increase in sedimentation volume with increasing polymer concentration. Sulfaguanidine exhibited a maximum in the sedimentation volume-polymer concentration curve. All suspensions appeared uniform except for the bismuth subnitrate, which exhibited coarse, unsightly floccules. This effect was attributed to an interaction between the anionic polymer and the cationic bismuth subnitrate particles. Polymer bridging was postulated as the mechanism of flocculation in the other systems.
A cylindrical tank-foundation-halfspace interaction using an energy approach

Abstract The interaction problem associated with a cylindrical storage tank-(plate) foundation system resting in frictionless contact on an isotropic halfspace is examined by using an energy formulation. The thin-plate and the thin-shell theories are considered in describing the flexural behavior of the foundation and the tank wall, respectively. The tank is assumed to be rigidly connected to the foundation. A power series in terms of the radial coordinate is used to represent the deflected shape of the plate. A variational technique is utilized to obtain the deflections and flexural moments at any point on the plate. The effects of interaction between various components of the tank-(plate) foundation-halfspace system are investigated in detail. A parametric nondimensional study shows that factors such as the relative stiffness and location of the tank wall may result in a more economical design of the (plate) foundation.
Solar neutrinos from CNO electron capture

The neutrino flux from the sun is predicted to have a CNO-cycle contribution as well as the known pp-chain component. Previously, only the fluxes from beta+ decays of 13N, 15O, and 17F have been calculated in detail. Another neutrino component that has not been widely considered is electron capture on these nuclei. We calculate the number of interactions in several solar neutrino detectors due to neutrinos from electron capture on 13N, 15O, and 17F, within the context of the Standard Solar Model. We also discuss possible non-standard models where the CNO flux is increased.
Piezoresistive microsensors using p-type CVD diamond films

Abstract Chemical-vapor deposited semiconducting diamond is an excellent sensor material for harsh environments and high temperatures. The piezoresistive gauge factors measured at 300 K are in the ranges 200–550 and 6–25 for homoepitaxial and polycrystalline p-type diamond films, respectively. The gauge factor for polycrystalline films decreases with decreasing resistivity, but increases with increasing temperature. A multi-sensor microchip, with a number of diamond test structures and a minimum feature size of 5 μm, has been fabricated using a six-mask process. The chip, employing diamond both as an electronic and a mechanical material, is expected to help commercialize integrated diamond sensors in the near term.