cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen as an activating fuel for a tidal power plant

Abstract Ocean tides, as an environmentally clean and inexhaustible natural source of energy, can be used as one alternative for replacing fossil fuels. But because the tides are dependent on the moon phases, which do not always coincide with the time of human activity, tidal projects usually require a special system for the accumulation of energy for off-peak periods. The production of hydrogen by electrolysis can be considered one such system. This paper outlines the method by which hydrogen produced during off-peak tidal power plant operation can be used as an activating fuel to furnish the same plant during the peak-load demands. With our approach (see [1]) the energy of the tide is converted into the energy of compressed air by means of specialized chambers which are put on the ocean bed. Ocean water from the dammed region passes through the chamber where it works as a natural piston compressing air in the upper part of the closure. For the peak periods the compressed air can be heated by combustion of the stored hydrogen, and expanded through high-speed gas turbine generators. For the off-peak periods, the energy of non-heated compressed air is used for the production of the hydrogen fuel. In this case the total electric output of the power plant would be decreased somewhat because the losses of the energy would be taken for the production of the hydrogen fuel.
The autopsy and vital statistics

Vital statistics in the United States are collected through a decentralized, cooperative system of various levels of government administrated by the National Center for Health Statistics. Although registration of all deaths is virtually complete and demographic items are accurate, the reliability of cause of death data is hampered by the current state of medical knowledge, the incompleteness of information available at the time of death, the way in which physicians complete death certificates, and the system of classification of underlying cause. The need for quality assurance in national cause of death statistics can be met in large part by connecting the autopsy to the mainstream of vital statistics. Through case by case individual linkage of death certificates and autopsies in designated demographic and/or geographic areas, a representative, continuously collected, population-based system of aggregated autopsy data would be created. Demographic and clinical selection bias should be checked and adjusted through traditional methods of epidemiologic standardization. Such a use of autopsy information could further pathology's goals of understanding disease and improving the public health.
Conservative coupling between modes of propagation&#8212;A tabular summary

There are four distinct ways in which two modes of propagation can be coupled conservatively, i.e., coupled so that the mode amplitudes satisfy either a power conservation law or a Manley-Rowe relation. The type of coupling that results in any particular case depends upon the relative parities of the modes, the relative directions of the group velocities and, in the case of parametric coupling, the relative signs of the frequencies of the two modes. Each of these four types of coupling results in a distinct and characteristic type of behavior. This paper presents a set of tables that summarize the principal characteristics of the four types for both direct and parametric coupling.
Comparative studies of the respiratory functions of mammalian blood. VI. Young lion and tiger.

Abstract Oxygen dissociation curves, Bohr effect factors and oxygen capacities of whole blood from 2 lions and 2 tigers were determined. None of the animals was fully grown. Serial determinations were made on blood of one lion repeatedly from 8 to 166 days of age. The mean oxygen tension necessary for 50 % saturation of the blood hemoglobin (including that of the lion cub only at 166 days) was 42.0 mm Hg, expressed at pH 7.40 and 39°C. Mean Bohr effect factors were −0.54 (lion) and −0.565 (tiger). Oxygen capacity averaged 15.8 vol % for the tigers and 19.0 vol % for the lions (including only the 166 day value for the cub). The lion cub showed a slight shift of the curve to the right during the period of observation, and also a progressive anemia during the first two months, with a subsequent increase in hemoglobin levels. If the values reported here represent adult values, these two great cats are unusual in having blood of a much lower oxygen affinity than expected on the basis of body weight. Also the combination of low oxygen affinity and moderately high oxygen capacity is unusual, suggesting a modification of the predicted cardiac output and/or tissue oxygen tension.
Site-specific modification of proteins by ExoT-mediated ADP-ribosylation

Proteins bearing short sequence tags (ExoTags) can be specifically modified in a reaction catalyzed by the ADP-ribosyltransferase of Pseudomonas ExoT. ExoT tolerates a wide range of substituents at the adenosine N6 position, allowing the convenient installation of chemical diversity at the site of the tag. The ExoTag can be placed at either the N- or the C-terminus of the protein of interest or internally. The minimum tag is Arg-Leu-Ser-Arg (RLSR). Tandem copies of the minimal ExoTag enhance the efficiency of modification and allow modification at multiple sites within the tag. ExoT can be used to conjugate NAD-RNA to ExoTag bearing proteins, providing a convenient method for introducing nucleic acid bar codes for highly sensitive detection of proteins by polymerase chain reaction.
A low-speed thyratron counter-scaler unit

Counter-scaler units are used in many areas of electrical engineering and the physical sciences where measurement and control of pulse-type signals are required. Component circuits and operation are described of a scaler unit that can achieve any desired scaling factor by the use of feedback in cascaded binary circuits.
Asymptotics for interacting particle systems on Z d

Two of the simplest interacting particle systems are the coalescing random walks and the voter model. We are interested here in the asymptotic density and growth of these systems ast→∞. More specifically, let (ζ t Zd ) be a system of coalescing random walks with initial stateZ d, and (ζ t O ) a voter model with a single individual originating atO. We analyse $$p_t = P(0 \in \zeta _t^{Zd} ) = \overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\frown}$}}{P} (\zeta _t^0 \ne )$$ , and show that $$p_t \sim \frac{1}{\pi }\frac{{\log t}}{t}$$ ast→∞ ford=2, andp t∼(γdt)−1 ast→∞ ford≧3 for someγ d. As a consequence, conditioned on non-extinction ofζ t O , Pt¦ζ t O ¦ approaches an exponential distribution. Results of a recent paper by Sawyer are applied.
New communication technologies: the impact on intra-organizational dynamics

Abstract This study empirically investigated the impact of new communication technology (NCT) on intra-organizational dynamics. Specifically, it examined whether the introduction of NCT had any impact on organizational variables such as perceived information adequacy or abundance, perceived general organizational climate, and the nature of NCT utilization in the workplace. Managers more than non-managers reported a positive change in perceived organizational climate and information adequacy, and also reported using NCT more for task-related purposes.
Thiocyanate, calcium and sulfate as causes of toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia in a hard rock mining effluent.

Abstract A series of Toxicity Identification Evaluations (TIEs) to identify the cause(s) of observed toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia have been conducted on a hard rock mining effluent. Characteristic of hard rock mining discharges, the effluent has elevated (∼3000 mg l −1 ) total dissolved solids (TDS) composed primarily of Ca 2+ and SO 4 2− . The effluent typically exhibits 6–12 toxic units (TUs) when tested with C. dubia . Phase I and II toxicity identification evaluations (TIEs) indicated Ca 2+ and SO 4 2− contributed only ∼4 TUs of toxicity, but this was likely an underestimate due to problems with simulating the supersaturated CaSO 4 concentrations in the effluent. Treatment of the effluent with BaCO 3 to precipitate Ca 2+ and SO 4 2− revealed that these ions contribute ∼6 TUs of the observed toxicity, but the remaining source(s) of toxicity (up to 6 TUs) remained unidentified. Subsequent investigations identified thiocyanate (SCN − ) in the effluent at 100–150 μM. Toxicity tests reveal that C. dubia are sensitive to SCN − with an estimated IC25 of 8.3 μΜ for reproduction in moderately hard water suggesting between 12 and 18 TUs of toxicity in the effluent. Additional experiments demonstrated that SCN − toxicity is reduced in the high TDS matrix of the mining effluent. Testing of a mock effluent simulating the major ion and SCN − concentrations resulted in 10.4 TUs, suggesting that Ca 2+ , SO 4 2− and SCN − are the three toxicants present in this effluent. This research suggests SCN − may be a more common cause of toxicity in mining effluents than is generally recognized.
Improved conformal solution theory for mixtures with large size ratios

Abstract Previous studies on model Lennard-Jones systems have shown that conformal solution theories tend to fail when mixtures contain molecules with large size differences. This failure can be attributed to deficiencies in the underlying mean density approximation (MDA) for the mixture's radial distribution functions which was originally proposed by Leland and coworkers. In this communication, we present an improved mean density approximation which is obtained from a straightforward application of statistical mechanical perturbation theory. Comparisons of the new theory with simulation PVT data for systems with large size ratios show it to be far superior to van der Waals one-fluid and MDA n-fluid theories, and an improvement upon hard sphere expansion and perturbation theories as well. Comparisons are also made with chemical potential simulation data, and for these data the new theory is competitive with perturbation theory.
Measurements and automated mechanism generation modeling of OH production in photolytically initiated oxidation of the neopentyl radical.

Production of OH in the reaction of the neopentyl radical with O2 has been measured by a laser photolysis/cw absorption method for various pressures and oxygen concentrations at 673, 700, and 725 K. The MIT Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG) was used to automatically generate a model for this system, and the predicted OH concentration profiles are compared to present and literature experimental results. Several reactions significantly affect the OH profile. The experimental data provide useful constraints on the rate coefficient for the formally direct chemical activation reaction of neopentyl radical with O2 to form OH (CH3)3CCH2 + O2 → OH + 3,3-dimethyloxetane (Rxn 1) At 673 K and 60 Torr, log k1 (cm3 molecule-1 s-1) = −13.7 ± 0.5. Absolute absorbance measurements on OH and I indicate that the branching ratio for R + O2 to OH is about 0.03 under these conditions. The data suggest that the ab initio neopentyl + O2 potential energy surface of Sun and Bozzelli is accurate to within 2 kcal mol-1.
Differential Regulation of Glycosylated Phosphatidylinositol Subtypes by Insulin

Glycosylated phosphatidylinositol (gly-Pl) molecules have been implicated as precursors for insulin-sensitive second messengers (1-4) and lipid-anchored membrane proteins (5-9). The relationship between the diverse functions of these lipids and their predicted structural heterogeneity within gly-Pl subtypes was examined in human T lymphocytes. Four subtypes of gly-Pl molecules were identified in T lymphocytes after separation over high-performance thin-layer chromatography by sensitivity to Pl-specific phospholipase C and nitrous acid. Antibody probes of the glycan domain of gly-Pl were developed and used to assess the partial sensitivity of gly-Pl to insulin action. This analysis showed that the effects of insulin are linked to differential utilization of only two of the four gly-Pl subtypes in T lymphocytes. Polar fragments of this reaction were identified in extracellular supernatants from insulin-treated cells. The biological significance of insulin-dependent gly-Pl hydrolysis was demonstrated by insulin and inositol phosphoglycan regulation of glucose metabolism in intact lymphocytes. These results support the hypothesis that multifunctional roles of gly-Pl are served by discrete gly-Pl populations and that metabolites of gly-Pl subsets participate as signaling elements in insulin action.
Effects of calcium and chelating agents on the ability of various agonists to increase cyclic gmp in pancreatic acinar cells

In dispersed acinar cells from guinea pig pancreas we found that chelating extracellular calcium with EDTA did not alter cellular cyclic GMP but caused a 50% reduction in the increase in cyclic GMP caused by the synthetic C-terminal octapeptide of porcine cholecystokinin (cholecystokinin octapeptide). This effect was maximal within 2 min and preincubating the cells with EDTA for as long as 30 min caused no further reduction in the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide. In acinar cells preincubated without calcium, adding calcium caused a time dependent increase in the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide and this increase was maximal after 10 min of incubation. An effect of extracellular calcium on the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide could be detected with 0.5 mM calcium and was maximal with 2.0 mM calcium. Magnesium alone or with calcium did not alter the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide. Extracellular calcium did not alter the time course or the configuration of the dose vs. response curve for the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide on cellular cyclic GMP. Low concentrations of EGTA (0.1 mM) decreased the effect of cholecystokinin octapeptide on cellular cyclic GMP to the same extent as did EDTA or preincubating acinar cells without calcium. Increasing EGTA above 0.1 mM caused progressive augmentation of the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide on cellular cyclic GMP and this augmentation did not require extracellular calcium or magnesium. Results similar to those obtained with cholecystokinin octapeptide were also obtained with bombesin, carbamylcholine, litorin and eledoisin. In contrast, the action of sodium nitroprusside on cyclic GMP in pancreatic acinar cells was not altered by adding EDTA or EGTA. These results indicate that the ability of extracellular calcium to influence the action of cholecystokinin octapeptide and other agents on cyclic GMP results from changes in cellular calcium and not from effects of extracellular calcium per se. The action of low concentrations of EGTA on the increase in cyclic GMP caused by various agents reflects the ability of EGTA to chelate extracellular calcium. The actions of high concentrations of EGTA were independent of extracellular calcium or magnesium and appear to reflect a direct action of EGTA on pancreatic acinar cells.
Making the business case for enhanced depression care: the National Institute of Mental Health-harvard Work Outcomes Research and Cost-effectiveness Study

AbstractObjective:Explore the business case for enhanced depression care and establish a return on investment rationale for increased organizational involvement by employer-purchasers.Method:Literature review, focused on the National Institute of Mental Health-sponsored Work Outcomes Research and Co
Effect of Electrostriction on the Self-organization of Porous Nanostructures in Anodized Aluminum Oxide

The self-organization of porous nanostructures in anodic metal oxide is considered. A mathematical model which incorporates the chemical reactions at the metal-oxide and oxide-electrolyte interfaces and elastic stress caused by the electrostrictive effects is developed. It is shown through linear stability analysis, that a short-wave instability exists in certain parameter regimes which can lead to the formation of hexagonally ordered pores observed in anodized aluminum oxide.
Microwave scattering by turbulent air

A system for measuring the power scattered by a region of thermally turbulent air is described, and its performance is analyzed. Also described is the equipment used to generate the turbulent region and the temperature fluctuations therein. The experimental procedure can be summarized by stating that it consisted in measuring the fluctuations of the null in the interference pattern of an antenna array composed of two antennas excited out of phase, when thermally turbulent air, of known properties, was interposed between the receiving and transmitting systems. The measured and calculated receiver response due to scattering by the turbulent air is compared, and it is noted that they agree at least within an order of magnitude. The experiment described shows that a measurement of the angular dependence of the signal scattered by turbulent air is within the possibilities of available techniques, although a more elaborate measuring system and higher microwave power levels would be required.
Atherosclerotic heart disease: prevalence and risk factors in hospitalized men with haemophilia A

Atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in Western society. Few studies have determined prevalence and predictors of ASHD in haemophilia (HA), a population whose survival is improving with safer blood products and effective treatments for AIDS and hepatitis C. The purpose of this study was to determine prevalence and factors associated with ASHD in haemophilia A patients in Pennsylvania. The prevalence of ASHD (myocardial infarction, angina and coronary disease), cardiac catheterization, coronary angiography, co-morbidities and in-hospital mortality were assessed on statewide ASHD discharge data, 2001-2006, from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). The prevalence of haemophilia ASHD admissions fluctuated between 6.5% and 10.5% for 2001-2006, P = 0.62. Compared with HA without ASHD, HA with ASHD were older and more likely to be hypertensive, hyperlipidemic and diabetic, all P < 0.0001, with greater severity of illness, P = 0.013. In contrast, HA and non-HA with ASHD had similar rates of hypertension, diabetes and ICD-9 specified ischaemic heart disease, including acute myocardial infarction (MI), P = 0.39, old MI, P = 0.47 and angina, P = 0.63. Rates of catheterization and angiography, P = 0.06 and P = 0.07, were marginally lower, but primary circulatory system admitting diagnoses, P = 0.29, were similar between HA and non-HA ASHD groups, as was length of stay, P = 0.14, severity of illness, P = 0.64, and in-hospital deaths, P = 0.75. Haemophilia patients with ASHD have similar cardiovascular risk factors, admitting diagnoses, severity of illness and in-hospital mortality as the general population. These findings suggest that cardiovascular prevention measures should be promoted in haemophilia.
What is a ‘Gospel’? Recent Studies in the Gospel Genre

This article is a brief review of two main paths of biblical scholarship with respect to the ‘gospel’ genre. The NT Gospels appear to be similar to other ancient literature in some ways, yet distinctive enough in content, form, theology and purpose to set them apart from other literature. The analogical approach shows how the Gospels were written in a form similar to other written documents of that time and culture. In contrast, the derivational approach attempts to show that the Gospels are unique and exclusive in all of literature. While the search for the ‘historical Jesus’ is not over, literary criticism has now set the Gospels within the concept of ‘story’, with all its literary implications. Scholars have suggested that the ‘Gospel of Mark’ is the first of its kind, becoming the foundational paradigm of the Gospel genre. Further, the discovery of ancient ‘apocryphal gospels’ has encouraged scholars to compare the NT Gospels to the non-canonical documents.The challenge of clearly identifying the ‘Gos...
Impact of random telegraph signals on V min in 45nm SRAM

An alternating-bias random telegraph signal (RTS) characterization technique is presented, which shortens measurement time by 10x and also produces more accurate statistical distributions of RTS amplitudes. Measurements of RTS amplitudes in 45nm SRAM transistor I ds and cell write margin are reported and used to demonstrate a complex dependence of write margin on RTS in multiple transistors. Fail bit rate of SRAM with RTS is estimated using a statistical model populated by I write measurements. Statistical analysis indicates a V min degradation of less than 50 mV due to RTS.
Beyond the unidimensional collective leadership model

Purpose – A theoretical analysis evidences the existence of multiple patterns of collective leadership and serves as foundation for the proposal of a two-dimensional model of collective leadership, which evaluates leadership sharedness (the extent to which leadership roles are shared by group members), and leadership distribution (the extent to which different leadership roles are permanently assigned to group members). The relationship between these dimensions and committee effectiveness is further tested. Design/methodology/approach – A social networks methodology is used with a sample of 28 committees. Two complementary network properties (centralization and density) are used to operationalize leadership sharedness and a new measure is developed to operationalize leadership distribution. Stepwise regressions test the relation between collective leadership dimensions and performance. Findings – The model proposed advances the understanding of collective leadership’s internal dynamics and facilitates emp...
Adaptive control of flexible joint manipulators

Abstract This paper presents the first adaptive control result for flexible joint robot manipulators. Under the assumption of weak joint elasticity a singular perturbation argument is used to show that recent adaptive control results for rigid robots may be used to control flexible joint robots provided a simple correction term is added to the control law to damp out the elastic oscillations at the joints. In this way fundamental properties of rigid robot dynamics, such as passivity, may be exploited to design robust adaptive control laws for flexible joint robots.
Learning from text and images: Generative and discriminative models for partially labeled data

Image annotation is a challenging task of assigning keywords to an image given the content of an image. It has a variety of applications in multi-media data-mining and computer vision. Traditional machine learning approaches to image annotation require large amounts of labeled data. This requirement is often unrealistic, as obtaining labeled data is, in general, expensive and time consuming. However, large amounts of weakly labeled data and tagged images is readily available, in particular in the web and social network communities. In this thesis we address the problem of image annotation using weak supervision. In particular, we formulate the problem of image annotation as multiple instance multiple label learning problem and propose generative and discriminative models to tackle this learning problem. Multiple instance multiple label learning is a generalization of supervised learning in which the training examples are bags of instances and each bag is labeled with a set of labels. We explore two learning frameworks: generative and discriminative, and propose models within each framework to address the problem of assigning text keywords to images. The first approach, the generative model attempts to describe the process according to which the data was generated, and then learn its parameters from the data. This model is a non-parametric generalization of the known mixture model used in the past. We extend this model to a Hierarchical Dirichlet Process which allows for countably infinite mixture components. Our experimental evaluation shows that the performance of this model does not depend on the number of mixture components, unlike the standard mixture model which suffers from over-fitting for a large number of mixture components. The second approach is a discriminative model, which unlike generative model answers the following question: given the input bag of instances what is the most likely assignment of
Five Expectations Students Should Have of an Online Instructor

In recent years, online degree programs have become a widely accepted modality for many learners who are seeking a college degree. Online learning is a great choice for a student who is a self-motivated, and who are independent learners. This article will share five of the best tips to help your online students succeed.
Abnormalities of the First and Second Stages of Labor

Abnormalities of the first and second stages of labor refer for the most part to abnormal progression of labor. This article discusses the risk factors, diagnoses, management options, and outcomes of the various categories of labor abnormalities, and provides an evidence-based approach where one exists. The article concentrates on the term, healthy woman carrying a singleton, vertex, normally grown fetus with no anomalies.
Interepochal Changes in Summer Precipitation in the Southeastern United States: Evidence of Possible Urban Effects near Atlanta, Georgia

Through modification of the planetary boundary layer, urbanization has the potential to have a significant impact on precipitation totals locally. Using daily summer-season precipitation data at 30 stations from 1953 to 2002, this study explores the possibility of urban effects as causes of spatial anomalies in precipitation in a zone within 180 km of Atlanta, Georgia. The time period is divided into consecutive epochs (e.g., 1953–77 and 1978–2002), and interepochal differences in precipitation totals, heavy-precipitation days, cumulative heavy precipitation, and atmospheric conditions are explored. The southern stations experienced significant decreases in precipitation, whereas significant precipitation increases occurred at central/west-central stations. The most striking increases occurred at Norcross, Georgia, which is 30 km northeast of downtown Atlanta; Norcross had the third smallest number of heavy-precipitation days during 1953–77, but, during 1978–2002, it had the most heavy-precipitation days. Not only did the amount of urban land cover upwind of Norcross increase substantially from the earlier to the later epochs, but regionwide dewpoint temperatures also increased significantly. Therefore, it is suspected that the increased precipitation at Norcross was caused by urban effects, and these effects may have been enhanced by increased atmospheric humidity.
Characterization of pharmacologically active compounds that inhibit poliovirus and enterovirus 71 infectivity.

Poliovirus (PV) and enterovirus 71 (EV71) cause severe neurological symptoms in their infections of the central nervous system. To identify compounds with anti-PV and anti-EV71 activities that would not allow the emergence of resistant mutants, we performed drug screening by utilizing a pharmacologically active compound library targeting cellular factors with PV and EV71 pseudoviruses that encapsidated luciferase-encoding replicons. We have found that metrifudil (N-[2-methylphenyl]methyl)-adenosine) (an A2 adenosine receptor agonist), N 6-benzyladenosine (an A1 adenosine receptor agonist) and NF449 (4,4′,4″,4″′-[carbonylbis[imino-5,1,3-benzenetriyl bis(carbonyl-imino)]] tetrakis (benzene-1,3-disulfonic acid) octasodium salt) (a Gs-α inhibitor) have anti-EV71 activity, and that GW5074 (3-(3, 5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzylidine-5-iodo-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one)) (a Raf-1 inhibitor) has both anti-PV and anti-EV71 activities. EV71 mutants resistant to metrifudil, N 6-benzyladenosine and NF449 were isolated after passages in the presence of these compounds, but mutants resistant to GW5074 were not isolated for both PV and EV71. The inhibitory effect of GW5074 was not observed in Sendai virus infection and the treatment did not induce the expression of OAS1 and STAT1 mRNA. Small interfering RNA treatment against putative cellular targets of GW5074, including Raf-1, B-Raf, Pim-1, -2, and -3, HIPK2, GAK, MST2 and ATF-3, did not consistently suppress PV replication. Moreover, downregulation of Raf-1 and B-Raf did not affect the sensitivity of RD cells to the inhibitory effect of GW5074. These results suggest that GW5074 has strong and selective inhibitory effect against the replication of PV and EV71 by inhibiting conserved targets in the infection independently of the interferon response.
MITOCHONDRIA AT THE HEART OF CARDIAC PRECONDITIONING

![Figure][1] The study of mammalian ischemia tolerance has focused for many years on preconditioning, in which a brief, sub-lethal period without blood flow or oxygen protects tissues against a later, longer ischemic period that would otherwise prove fatal. Preconditioning studies focus
D-Script: A Computational Theory of Descriptions

This paper describes D-Script, a language for representing knowledge in artificial intelligence (AI) programs. D-Script contains a powerful formalism for descriptions, which permits the representation of statements that are problematical for other systems. Particular attention is paid to problems of opaque contexts, time contexts, and knowledge about knowledge. The design of a deductive system for this language is also considered.
Sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and strategies for weight management

Sarcopenia is a multifactorial age-related condition associated with a sedentary lifestyle and protein intakes during weight loss that are inadequate to maintain muscle mass. Sarcopenic obesity in the elderly is associated with a loss of independence and metabolic complications and represents a major public health challenge in individuals over the age of 65 years. It is likely that age-related losses of muscle mass and coincident increases in fat mass could be reduced through regular resistance exercise combined with adequate protein intake to maintain muscle mass. It has been established that increased protein intake will maintain muscle mass during calorie-restricted diets to a greater extent than usual protein intake. Other strategies, including the use of high-protein meal replacements or supplementation with specific ergogenic or branched-chain amino acids, may be beneficial.
The inner experience of time.

The striking diversity of psychological and neurophysiological models of ‘time perception’ characterizes the debate on how and where in the brain time is processed. In this review, the most prominent models of time perception will be critically discussed. Some of the variation across the proposed models will be explained, namely (i) different processes and regions of the brain are involved depending on the length of the processed time interval, and (ii) different cognitive processes may be involved that are not necessarily part of a core timekeeping system but, nevertheless, influence the experience of time. These cognitive processes are distributed over the brain and are difficult to discern from timing mechanisms. Recent developments in the research on emotional influences on time perception, which succeed decades of studies on the cognition of temporal processing, will be highlighted. Empirical findings on the relationship between affect and time, together with recent conceptualizations of self- and body processes, are integrated by viewing time perception as entailing emotional and interoceptive (within the body) states. To date, specific neurophysiological mechanisms that would account for the representation of human time have not been identified. It will be argued that neural processes in the insular cortex that are related to body signals and feeling states might constitute such a neurophysiological mechanism for the encoding of duration.
Treatment advances in posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease.

Purpose of review Epstein–Barr virus-associated posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a life-threatening complication of organ transplantation. As we continue to observe improved outcomes of patients living after solid or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, we can expect to see a parallel increase in the incidence of PTLD. Several innovative therapeutic approaches are currently under development to add to our arsenal of treatment strategies in this devastating disease. Recent findings The past decade has witnessed significant progress in the understanding and treatment of PTLD. The tolerability and effectiveness of standard treatment regimens, such as a reduction in immunosuppression, rituximab, and chemotherapy, have been confirmed and improved upon. Newer options for treatment demonstrating significant promise include antiviral therapy with arginine butyrate, as well as Epstein–Barr virus-specific cytotoxic T-cell therapy. Summary Both the heterogeneous PTLD population and the lack of standardized and evidence-based treatment approaches make treatment a difficult decision for the clinician. This article reviews and updates the evidence behind accepted strategies such as reduction in immunosuppression, rituximab, and chemotherapy, as well as explores novel and effective therapeutic modalities including antiviral therapy with arginine butyrate and adoptive allogeneic T-cell therapy.
Polymorphisms in TBX21 and STAT4 increase the risk of systemic sclerosis: evidence of possible gene-gene interaction and alterations in Th1/Th2 cytokines.

Objective Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Dysregulation of the immune system, including the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance, is central to the pathogenesis of SSc. This study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TBX21 and STAT4, both of which are critical transcription factors that regulate the Th1/Th2 balance, are associated with SSc susceptibility. Methods We tested SNPs in TBX21 and STAT4 for association with SSc in 2 independent cohorts, the SSc Registry cohort (880 SSc cases and 507 controls) and the University of Texas SSc cohort (522 cases and 531 controls). Additional white control genotypes were obtained from public repositories. We also investigated for gene–gene interactions. Plasma cytokines and whole blood gene expression profiles were examined to determine functional effects of these SNPs. Results Multiple SNPs in TBX21 and STAT4 were found to be associated with SSc. In a combined analysis of 902 SSc patients and 4,745 controls, TT genotyping of the TBX21 rs11650354 variant revealed a recessive pattern for disease susceptibility (Pcorr = 1.4 × 10−15, odds ratio 3.37, 95% confidence interval 2.4–4.6). In an analysis of 1,039 SSc patients and 3,322 controls, the A allele of the STAT4 variant rs11889341 was associated with increased SSc susceptibility in a dominant pattern (Pcorr = 2.4 × 10−5, odds ratio 1.29, 95% confidence interval 1.2–1.5). Furthermore, we identified gene–gene interaction among the TBX21 and STAT4 variants, such that the STAT4 genotype increased the risk of SSc only in the TBX21 CC genotype group. SSc patients carrying the TBX21 CC genotype had higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α levels, and those with the TT genotype had elevated IL-2, IL-5, IL-4, and IL-13 (Th2) levels, compared with controls. Whole blood expression profiles revealed dysregulation of type I interferon pathways in the CC group and T cell pathways in the TT group of the TBX21 SNP. Conclusion The present results, from studies of 2 independent cohorts, indicate that SNPs in TBX21 and STAT4 contribute uniquely and interactively to SSc susceptibility, leading to altered cytokine balance and immune dysregulation.
Greedy, genetic, and greedy genetic algorithms for the quadratic knapsack problem

Augmenting an evolutionary algorithm with knowledge of its target problem can yield a more effective algorithm, as this presentation illustrates. The Quadratic Knapsack Problem extends the familiar Knapsack Problem by assigning values not only to individual objects but also to pairs of objects. In these problems, an object's value density is the sum of the values associated with it divided by its weight. Two greedy heuristics for the quadratic problem examine objects for inclusion in the knapsack in descending order of their value densities. Two genetic algorithms encode candidate selections of objects as binary strings and generate only strings whose selections of objects have total weight no more than the knapsack's capacity. One GA is naive; its operators apply no information about the values associated with objects. The second extends the naive GA with greedy techniques from the non-evolutionary heuristics. Its operators examine objects for inclusion in the knapsack in orders determined by tournaments based on objects' value densities. All four algorithms are tested on twenty problem instances whose optimum knapsack values are known. The greedy heuristics do well, as does the naive GA, but the greedy GA exhibits the best performance. In repeated trials on the test instances, it identifies optimum solutions more than nine times out of every ten.
eNOS Gene Transfer Inhibits Smooth Muscle Cell Migration and MMP-2 and MMP-9 Activity

Vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration is a critical step in the development of neointima after angioplasty. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade the basement membrane and the extracellular matrix, facilitating SMC migration. Transfer of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene to the injury site inhibits neointima formation. Neither the signaling pathways leading to NO-mediated inhibition of SMC migration and proliferation nor the alterations in these pathways have been characterized. We hypothesize that NO inhibits SMC migration in part by regulating MMP activity. To test this hypothesis, we transfected cultured rat aortic SMCs with replication-deficient adenovirus containing bovine eNOS gene and analyzed the conditioned medium for MMP activity. We observed that eNOS gene transfer significantly (P<0.05) inhibited SMC migration and significantly (P<0.05) decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities in the conditioned medium. Similarly, addition of the NO donor DETA NONOate and 8-bromo-cGMP to the culture medium significantly decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities in the conditioned medium collected 24 hours after treatment. Furthermore, Western blot analysis of the conditioned medium collected from eNOS gene-transfected SMCs showed a significant increase in tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) levels. Our data suggest that NO decreases MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities and increases TIMP-2 secretion, and this shifts the balance of MMP activity, which may favor the inhibition of cell migration because of inhibition of extracellular matrix degradation.
Interference with anoikis-induced cell death of dopamine neurons: Implications for augmenting embryonic graft survival in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

One promising therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease is transplantation of embryonic ventral mesencephalic tissue. Unfortunately, up to 95% of grafted cells die, many via apoptosis. In this study we attempted to prevent anoikis-induced cell death, which is triggered during the preparation of cells for grafting, and examine the impact on graft viability and function. We utilized the extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C (tenascin) and an antibody (Ab) to the cell adhesion molecule L1 to specifically mimic survival signals induced by cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions. In vitro, both tenascin- and L1 Ab-treated cultures doubled the number of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (THir) neurons compared to control. Additionally, cell survival assays determined that tenascin and L1 Ab-treated cell suspensions yielded more metabolically active and fewer dead cells than control suspensions. In contrast to the culture results, tenascin- and L1 Ab-treated mesencephalic grafts did not yield an increase in the number of THir neurons using our standard grafting paradigm (3 microl of 100,000 cells/microl). However, under low-density conditions (3 microl of 3,000 cells/microl), tenascin augmented grafted THir neuron survival. These findings are consistent with the view that cell density can dramatically influence the degree of stress placed on THir neurons and consequently affect the success of survival strategies in vivo. In conclusion, pretreatment with tenascin may prove beneficial to prevent anoikis in dilute cell suspension grafts, while long-term in vivo delivery methods need to be explored to determine if L1 can prevent anoikis in grafts of mesencephalic dopamine neurons after transplantation.
DIVING BEHAVIOR OF THE PACIFIC HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA RICHARDII) IN MONTEREY BAY, CALIFORNIA

Physical environment and physiological characteristics of marine mammals potentially affect the duration and depth of diving. Harkonen (19876) proposed a hypothesis that the harbor seal would gain maximum energy by foraging at intermediate depths. To investigate this hypothesis, we studied diving behavior of the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) during 1995 through 1997 in Monterey Bay, California. Dive depths (n = 13,063 dives) were recorded via timedepth recorders. Approximately 80% of recorded dives were classified as square dives (type I), which typically were associated with foraging in pinnipeds. Approximately 11% of dives were V dives (type 11; 1,402 dives), and the remainder (1,225 dives) were skewed dives (type I11 and IV). The deepest recorded dive was 48 1 m, while the greatest duration was 35.25 min. Body mass explained the variability of durations of long dives for females (95th percentile; D9,,9=-5.47 +0.18 X (massg), r2 = 0.91, 95% CI for slope = [0.08, 0.281, n = 5) and for males (DgS,$ = -5.86 + 0.18 X (mass$),r2=0.83,95% CIforslope=[0.12,0.24],n=ll). Thelargeproportionof variability in deep dives, however, was explained by body mass only for males (95th percentile; Z9,,8 =-363.9 + 6.05 X (mass$), r2= 0.83, 95% CI for slope = [3.93, 8.171, n= 11) and not for females (Z9,,p =-148.1+3.11 X (massg), r2=0.58, 95% CI forslope=[-l.7,7.9],~~=5,95% CIforslope= [-1.7,7.9]). Mediandepthsof presumed foraging dives of harbor seals in the Monterey Bay area were between 5 and 100 m, which were within the range ofthe previously reported depths for other areas (< 100 m). Our findings generally supported H2konen’s hypothesis that harbor seals forage in the intermediate depth in their environment.
Prognosis for the infertile couple.

Analysis of conception rates for infertile couples based on the life table method of analysis of data is presented. 60% of the couples conceived within 3 years if the wife was under 25 had been infertile for less than 2 years and had a normal culdoscopic examination. Women over 35 infertile for 6 or more years with a history of pelvic infection or laparotomy and abnormal culdoscopic examination had only a 25-38% conception rate within 3 years.
Guiding and supporting adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: The development of a curriculum for family and community members

Although HIV-related deaths declined globally by 30% between 2005 and 2012, those among adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) rose by 50%. This discrepancy is primarily due to failure to address the specific needs of ALHIV and resulting poor clinical outcomes related to late diagnosis and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy. The Families Matter! Program (FMP) is an evidence-based intervention for parents and caregivers of 9-12 year-olds that promotes positive parenting practices and effective parent-child communication about sexuality and sexual risk reduction. It is delivered to groups of participants at the community level through a series of six weekly three-hour sessions. Recognizing family and community members' need for guidance on issues specific to ALHIV, we developed a seventh FMP session to address their needs. Key themes treated in the curriculum for this session include: stigma and mental health, disclosure, ART adherence and self-care, and responsible sexual relationships. In developing the curriculum, we drew on narratives about growing up with HIV contributed by young Africans to a 2013 scriptwriting competition. We describe the data-driven process of developing this curriculum with a view to informing the development of much-needed interventions to serve this vulnerable population.
Acute Flaccid Myelitis of Unknown Etiology in California, 2012-2015

Importance There has been limited surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis in North America since the regional eradication of poliovirus. In 2012, the California Department of Public Health received several reports of acute flaccid paralysis cases of unknown etiology. Objective To quantify disease incidence and identify potential etiologies of acute flaccid paralysis cases with evidence of spinal motor neuron injury. Design, Setting, and Participants Case series of acute flaccid paralysis in patients with radiological or neurophysiological findings suggestive of spinal motor neuron involvement reported to the California Department of Public Health with symptom onset between June 2012 and July 2015. Patients meeting diagnostic criteria for other acute flaccid paralysis etiologies were excluded. Cerebrospinal fluid, serum samples, nasopharyngeal swab specimens, and stool specimens were submitted to the state laboratory for infectious agent testing. Main Outcomes and Measures Case incidence and infectious agent association. Results Fifty-nine cases were identified. Median age was 9 years (interquartile range [IQR], 4-14 years; 50 of the cases were younger than 21 years). Symptoms that preceded or were concurrent included respiratory or gastrointestinal illness (n = 54), fever (n = 47), and limb myalgia (n = 41). Fifty-six patients had T2 hyperintensity of spinal gray matter on magnetic resonance imaging and 43 patients had cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. During the course of the initial hospitalization, 42 patients received intravenous steroids; 43, intravenous immunoglobulin; and 13, plasma exchange; or a combination of these treatments. Among 45 patients with follow-up data, 38 had persistent weakness at a median follow-up of 9 months (IQR, 3-12 months). Two patients, both immunocompromised adults, died within 60 days of symptom onset. Enteroviruses were the most frequently detected pathogen in either nasopharynx swab specimens, stool specimens, serum samples (15 of 45 patients tested). No pathogens were isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. The incidence of reported cases was significantly higher during a national enterovirus D68 outbreak occurring from August 2014 through January 2015 (0.16 cases per 100 000 person-years) compared with other monitoring periods (0.028 cases per 100 000 person-years;P Conclusions and Relevance In this series of patients identified in California from June 2012 through July 2015, clinical manifestations indicated a rare but distinct syndrome of acute flaccid paralysis with evidence of spinal motor neuron involvement. The etiology remains undetermined, most patients were children and young adults, and motor weakness was prolonged.