cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic symmetries and supersymmetries in nuclear physics

The role played by dynamic symmetries and supersymmetries in nuclear physics is described and interpreted with experimental examples. Implications for other fields of physics are reviewed briefly.
Leukotrienes and Other Lipid Mediators of Asthma

It is now recognized that, in addition to the preformed mast cell granule mediators, newly generated lipid compounds are likely to be exceedingly important in the mediation of allergic asthma and other atopic diseases. That the initiating event in allergic diseases evokes a far more complex set of biochemical events than those that only lead directly to the release of histamine and other preformed mediators, and that the functional efficacies of the leukotrienes, PGD2, and PAF are significant for allergic pathobiology mandate that the latter compounds will necessarily be subject to efforts for future therapeutic intervention in allergic patient populations.
Chaotic Behavior of Hydraulic Engine Mount

The constitutive relationships of the rubber materials that act as the main spring of a hydraulic mount are nonlinear. In addition to material induced nonlinearity, further nonlinearities may be introduced by mount geometry, turbulent fluid behavior, boundary conditions, temperature, decoupler action, and hysteretic behavior. While all influence the behavior of the system only certain aspects are realistically considered using the lumped parameter approach employed in this research. The nonlinearities that are readily modeled by the lumped parameter approach constitute the geometry and constitutive relationship induced nonlinearity, including hysteretic behavior, noting that these properties all make an appearance in the load-deflection relationship for the mount and may be readily determined via experiment or flnite element analysis. In this paper we will shoe that under certain conditions, the nonlinearities involved in the hydraulic engine mounts can show a chaotic response.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Nonlinear controllers for nonlinear passive systems with arbitrary input nonlinearities

A nonlinear dynamic compensator framework for nonlinear passive systems with arbitrary input nonlinearities is proposed. For this class of systems we prove global closed-loop stability by modifying the dynamic compensator to include a suitable input nonlinearity. The proof of this result is based on dissipativity theory and shows that the nonlinear controller modification counteracts the effects of the input nonlinearity by recovering the passivity of the plant and the compensator.
PF-1355, a Mechanism-Based Myeloperoxidase Inhibitor, Prevents Immune Complex Vasculitis and Anti–Glomerular Basement Membrane Glomerulonephritis

Small vessel vasculitis is a life-threatening condition and patients typically present with renal and pulmonary injury. Disease pathogenesis is associated with neutrophil accumulation, activation, and oxidative damage, the latter being driven in large part by myeloperoxidase (MPO), which generates hypochlorous acid among other oxidants. MPO has been associated with vasculitis, disseminated vascular inflammation typically involving pulmonary and renal microvasculature and often resulting in critical consequences. MPO contributes to vascular injury by 1) catabolizing nitric oxide, impairing vasomotor function; 2) causing oxidative damage to lipoproteins and endothelial cells, leading to atherosclerosis; and 3) stimulating formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, resulting in vessel occlusion and thrombosis. Here we report a selective 2-thiouracil mechanism-based MPO inhibitor (PF-1355 [2-(6-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-4-oxo-2-thioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)acetamide) and demonstrate that MPO is a critical mediator of vasculitis in mouse disease models. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic response model of PF-1355 exposure in relation with MPO activity was derived from mouse peritonitis. The contribution of MPO activity to vasculitis was then examined in an immune complex model of pulmonary disease. Oral administration of PF-1355 reduced plasma MPO activity, vascular edema, neutrophil recruitment, and elevated circulating cytokines. In a model of anti-glomerular basement membrane disease, formerly known as Goodpasture disease, albuminuria and chronic renal dysfunction were completely suppressed by PF-1355 treatment. This study shows that MPO activity is critical in driving immune complex vasculitis and provides confidence in testing the hypothesis that MPO inhibition will provide benefit in treating human vasculitic diseases.
Caspase-dependent activation of calpain during drug-induced apoptosis.

We have previously demonstrated that calpain is responsible for the cleavage of Bax, a proapoptotic protein, during drug-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells (Wood, D. E., Thomas, A., Devi, L. A., Berman, Y., Beavis, R. C., Reed, J. C., and Newcomb, E. W. (1998) Oncogene 17, 1069–1078). Here we show the sequential activation of caspases and calpain during drug-induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Time course experiments using the topoisomerase I inhibitor 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin revealed that cleavage of caspase-3 substrates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the retinoblastoma protein as well as DNA fragmentation occurred several hours before calpain activation and Bax cleavage. Pretreatment with the calpain inhibitor calpeptin blocked calpain activation and Bax cleavage but did not inhibit PARP cleavage, DNA fragmentation, or 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin-induced morphological changes and cell death. Pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-fmk) inhibited PARP cleavage, DNA fragmentation, calpain activation, and Bax cleavage and increased cell survival by 40%. Interestingly, Z-VAD-fmk-treated cells died in a caspase- and calpain-independent manner that appeared morphologically distinct from apoptosis. Our results suggest that excessive or uncontrolled calpain activity may play a role downstream of and distinct from caspases in the degradation phase of apoptosis.
On the relationship between CWA, minimal model, and minimal herbrand model semantics

The purpose of this article is to compare three types of nonmonotonic semantics: (a) proof-theoretic semantics based on the closed world assumption, (b) model-theoretic semantics based on the notion of a minimal model, and (c) model-theoretic semantics based on the notion of a minimal Herbrand model. All of these semantics capture the nonmonotonicity of commonsense reasoning, that is, the ability to withdraw conclusions after some new information is added to the original theories, and proved to be powerful enough to handle most examples of such reasoning presented in the literature. However, since these formalizations are based on different intuitions and often produce different results, the problem of understanding the relationship between them is especially important. In the first part of the article we concentrate on the class of positive logic programs, also called definite theories. Although the three semantics usually differ for universal sentences, our main result shows that they always coincide for existential queries. This result is particularly significant in view of the fact that in many applications existential queries are of main interest. It also plays an important role in the problem of finding a suitable declarative semantics for logic programs. In the second part we investigate arbitrary universal theories and we show that subtle differences exist between the three approaches and therefore no straightforward generalization of the results from the first part can be obtained.
Modeling of condensation heat transfer of pure refrigerants in micro-fin tubes

Abstract A new semi-empirical condensation model for heat transfer coefficient of pure refrigerants flowing inside micro-fin tubes is presented. The new model is developed based on a theoretical analysis of turbulent film condensation inside smooth tubes. Several modifications have been implemented in the original smooth-tube model to account for the heat transfer enhancement effects due to the presence of micro-fins on the internal wall surface. The new condensation model is compared with a set of around 400 experimental data points. The comparison shows that the new model is capable of producing consistent prediction results with a mean absolute deviation less than 20% for most of the available data sets.
Evolution of cell lineage

Organisms such as nematodes and mollusks, the development of which involves fixed cell lineages, allow studies of the genetic programming of precision and of evolution of its flexibility. Stochastic specification of cell fate may evolve to a fixed cell lineage and specification by cell interactions to autonomous specification. Comparative developmental studies also shed light on the evolution of asymmetry.
Effect of pre-oxidation and environmental aging on the seal strength of a novel high-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) sealing glass with metallic interconnect

A novel high-temperature alkaline-earth silicate sealing glass was developed for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. The glass was used to join two ferritic stainless steel coupons for strength evaluation. The steel coupons were pre-oxidized at elevated temperatures to promote thick oxide layers to simulate long-term exposure conditions. In addition, seals to as-received metal coupons were also tested after aging in oxidizing or reducing environments to simulate the actual SOFC environment. Room temperature tensile testing showed strength degradation when using pre-oxidized coupons, and more extensive degradation after aging in air. Fracture surface and microstructural analysis confirmed that the cause of degradation was formation of SrCrO4 at the outer sealing edges exposed to air.
Accumulation of large protein fragments in prematurely senescent ARPE-19 cells.

Purpose Senescence of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is a crucial event in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study was designed to improve the understanding of proteomic changes that underlie RPE senescence. Specifically, the levels of several protein fragments in prematurely senescent ARPE-19 cells were quantitatively compared with those in control cells. Methods Premature senescence of human ARPE-19 cells was induced by repeated treatments with 6 mM tert-butylhydroperoxide (tert-BHP). Whole senescent cells were then treated with deuterated D(3)-acrylamide, and control cells were treated with normal D(0)-acrylamide. The D(3) and D(0) samples were mixed at a 1:1 ratio, and the proteins were separated by FPLC (fast protein liquid chromatography) and 2D-PAGE (two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). After in-gel trypsinolysis, the relative quantification of selected proteins and fragments in the senescent cells versus control ARPE-19 cells was achieved by calculating the ratio of signal intensities for the deuterated and normal forms of cysteine-containing labeled peptides in MALDI-MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry) spectra. Results Several large fragments of typical cytosolic proteins, such as GAPDH, triosephosphate isomerase, and M2-type pyruvate kinase increased approximately two- to threefold in the prematurely senescent ARPE-19 cells. Conclusions This study is the first demonstration that large fragments of cytosolic proteins can be accumulated in prematurely senescent ARPE-19 cells, the in vitro model of AMD. These data suggest that protein degradation processes are impaired in these cells and point to a new type of "waste" material in post-mitotic cells that may contribute to the senescent phenotype.
Molecular Evidence Suggests That Populations of the Asian Citrus Psyllid Parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) from Texas, Florida, and Mexico Represent a Single Species

ABSTRACT We genetically characterized Tamarixia radiata (Waterston) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) populations from Texas, Florida, and Mexico and the sister taxon Tamarixia triozae (Burks) by two molecular methods. T. radiata is an ectoparasitoid of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), nymphs. The populations were submitted to intersimple sequence repeat-polymerase chain reaction DNA fingerprinting with two primers. No fixed banding pattern differences were uncovered among the populations of T. radiata with either primer, whereas different patterns were observed in T. triozae, suggesting that there is no genetic differentiation among the populations. Support for these results was obtained by sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region one and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit one (COI) gene. In both genes, the intrapopulational variation range (percentage divergence, %D) fell within the interpopulational variation range. The %D at the COI gene betw...
Flux-mediated crystal growth of metal oxides: synthetic tunability of particle morphologies, sizes, and surface features for photocatalysis research

Molten-salt reactions can be used to prepare single-crystal metal-oxide particles with morphologies and sizes that can be varied from the nanoscale to the microscale, subsequently enabling a growing number of novel investigations into their photocatalytic activities. Crystal growth using flux-mediated methods facilitates finer synthetic manipulation over particle characteristics. The synthetic flexibility that flux synthesis affords for the growth of metal-oxides has led to the stabilization of phases with limited stability, the discovery of new compositions, and access to alternate crystal morphologies and sizes that exhibit significant changes in photocatalytic activities at their surfaces, such as for the reduction of water to hydrogen in aqueous solutions. This approach has significantly impacted the current understanding of the optical and photocatalytic properties of metal-oxides, such as the dependence of band gap energies on the structure and chemical composition (i.e., obtained from flux-mediated ion-exchange reactions). Thus, flux preparations of metal-oxide photocatalysts assist in the growth and optimization of their particles in order to understand and tune the photocatalytic reaction rates at their surfaces.
In vitro evaluation of hemolytic and cell culture toxicity potential of residual ethylene oxide in selected medical materials.

The hemolytic potential of pure ethylene oxide in solution was evaluated as a function of initial ethylene oxide concentration in three test systems, diluted whole blood in isotonic saline, erythrocytes washed and resuspended in isotonic saline, and erythrocytes washed and resuspended in isotonic phosphate buffer. Concentrations of 2 mg/ml (2000 ppm) were necessary before cell lysis was observed in either of the isotonic saline systems. This value increased to 10 mg/ml (10,000 ppm) in the isotonic buffer system. Efforts have been made to correlate the hemolysis and cell culture toxicity of residual ethylene oxide in five medical materials to the toxicity of pure ethylene oxide. Only materials exhibiting a low order of inherent toxicity showed any correlation. In poly(vinyl chloride) tubing containing 1.8 and 2.1 mg ethylene oxide per gram of materials, a small amount of toxicity was seen in the cell culture system but toxicity was absent in the hemolysis test.
Effect of oxy‐firing on corrosion rates at 600–650 °C

Because of higher CO2, and possibly H2O and SO2, levels in the boiler, there are concerns about increased corrosion rates after retrofitting current coal fired boilers from air-firing to oxy-firing to assist in CO2 capture. The oxidation behavior of a combination of commercial and model alloys were investigated both with and without the presence of synthetic coal ash at 600 and 650 °C. At 600 °C, a CO2–H2O environment showed the most rapid oxidation rate for Fe-based alloys with <20% Cr and varying the CO2 content or adding a 0.15% O2 buffer had little effect on the mass change. However, at 650 °C, the O2-buffered CO2–H2O environment showed a similar rate of oxidation as 100% H2O, again requiring more than 20% Cr for a thin protective Cr-rich oxide to form. With synthetic coal ash, increasing the CO2, H2O, and/or SO2 levels in the gas phase tended to show a lower oxide thickness after a 500 h exposure at 600 °C, compared to the base line air-firing condition. At 650 °C, no systematic increase in the reaction rate was observed when switching from the air firing to the oxy-firing gas. These simulations suggest that higher CO2 contents with oxy-firing do not increase the rate of oxidation.
Herbivore and pathogen damage on grassland and woodland plants: a test of the herbivore uncertainty principle

Researchers can alter the behaviour and ecology of their study organisms by conducting such seemingly benign activities as non-destructive measurements and observations. In plant communities, researcher visitation and measurement of plants may increase herbivore damage in some plant species while decreasing it in others. Simply measuring plants could change their competitive ability by altering the amount of herbivore damage that they suffer. Currently, however, there is only limited empirical evidence to support this ‘herbivore uncertainty principle’ (HUP). We tested the HUP by quantifying the amount of herbivore and pathogen damage in 13 plant species (> 1400 individuals) at four different visitation intensities at Cedar Creek Natural History Area, Minnesota, USA. Altogether, we found very little evidence to support the HUP at any intensity of visitation. Researcher visitation did not alter overall plant herbivore damage or survival and we did not detect a significant visitation effect in any of the 13 species. Pathogen damage also did not significantly vary among visitation treatments, although there was some evidence that high visitation caused slightly higher pathogen damage. Based on our results, we question whether this phenomenon should be considered a ‘principle’ of plant ecology.
1H, 15N and 13C chemical shifts of the D. melanogaster myosin VI light chain androcam in high calcium

Androcam is a calmodulin-like protein that acts as a testis-specific light chain to myosin VI during spermatogenesis in D. melanogaster. Modest, localized chemical shift changes that accompany Ca2+ binding to the androcam N-terminal lobe indicate that unlike calmodulin, androcam does not undergo a dramatic conformational change upon binding calcium. Here we report the 1H, 15N and 13C resonances of androcam in the high calcium (10 mM) state and show the extent of chemical shift changes for backbone resonances relative to the low calcium state.
Pre-Conscious Assessment of Trust: A Case Study of Financial and Health Care Web Sites

The goal of this study was to determine the reliability of pre-conscious trust assessments of web sites. Participants in Experiment 1 (n=72) viewed 50 screenshots of popular financial and health care home pages in a random order in two separate trials. Each screenshot was presented for 50ms, followed by a mask for 150ms, followed by an assessment of trust on 9-point semantic differential scale from distrust to trust. Results from a series of Pearson Product Moment Correlations showed that approximately one-half of the participants were consistent in their trust assessments for the same web sites across trials. The correlation between trust assessments on the first and second trials, averaged across all participants was statistically significant (p<.001). Results from Experiment 2 (n=11), utilizing a different method for participant participation, showed a similar pattern of results. These findings suggest that pre-conscious mind plays a more significant role in assessing trust than previously believed.
An examination of the reliability of a classification algorithm for subgrouping patients with low back pain.

Study design Test-retest design to examine interrater reliability. Objective Examine the interrater reliability of individual examination items and a classification decision-making algorithm using physical therapists with varying levels of experience. Summary of background data Classifying patients based on clusters of examination findings has shown promise for improving outcomes. Examining the reliability of examination items and the classification decision-making algorithm may improve the reproducibility of classification methods. Methods Patients with low back pain less than 90 days in duration participating in a randomized trial were examined on separate days by different examiners. Interrater reliability of individual examination items important for classification was examined in clinically stable patients using kappa coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients. The findings from the first examination were used to classify each patient using the decision-making algorithm by clinicians with varying amounts of experience. The reliability of the classification algorithm was examined with kappa coefficients. Results A total of 123 patients participated (mean age 37.7 [+/-10.7] years, 44% female), 60 (49%) remained stable between examinations. Reliability of range of motion, centralization/peripheralization judgments with flexion and extension, and the instability test were moderate to excellent. Reliability of centralization/peripheralization judgments with repeated or sustained extension or aberrant movement judgments were fair to poor. Overall agreement on classification decisions was 76% (kappa = 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.56, 0.64), with no significant differences based on level of experience. Conclusion Reliability of the classification algorithm was good. Further research is needed to identify sources of disagreements and improve reproducibility.
The role of cognition in classical and operant conditioning

For the past 35 years, learning theorists have been providing models that depend on mental representations, even in their most simple, deterministic, and mechanistic approaches. Hence, cognitive involvement (typically thought of as expectancy) is assumed for most instances of classical and operant conditioning, with current theoretical differences concerning the level of cognition that is involved (e.g., simple association vs. rule learning), rather than its presence. Nevertheless, many psychologists not in the mainstream of learning theory continue to think of cognitive and conditioning theories as rival families of hypotheses. In this article, the data pertaining to the role of higher-order cognition in conditioning is reviewed, and a theoretical synthesis is proposed that provides a role for both automatic and cognitively mediated processes.
THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING: PERSPECTIVES FROM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING: PERSPECTIVES FROM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. John H. Schumann, Sheila E. Crowell, Nancy E. Jones, Namhee Lee, Sara Ann Schuchert, and Lee Alexandra Wood . Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. Pp. xiii + 212. $59.95 cloth, $34.50 paper. This volume is an attempt to relate neuroscience research to cognitive metaphors (e.g., auditory loop, Universal Grammar [UG], fossilization) used by SLA researchers and psycholinguists to describe language acquisition. The volume consists of six chapters, originally master's theses and PhD qualifying papers, and an introduction and conclusion by Schumann. The chapters review literature that pertains to the neurobiology of six subtopics: aptitude, motivation, procedural memory, declarative memory, memory consolidation, and attention. In the preface, Schumann suggests that the purpose of the volume is “to promote a neurobiology of language that starts with the brain and moves to behavior” (p. xi), although he acknowledges one page later that “empirical research on the hypothesized mechanisms may be some time off” (p. xii). The volume aims to convince the intended readership, SLA researchers who might know little or no neurobiology, that investing time in the study of the neuroscience of learning is critical to the field's progression.
Rapid population growth in an elephant Loxodonta africana population recovering from poaching in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

We studied the demography of a subpopulation of African elephants Loxodonta africana in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, from 1993 to 2005. The Tarangire elephants had been affected by heavy poaching prior to 1993. We monitored 668 individually known elephants in 27 family groups. The population increased from 226 to 498 individuals, with mean group size increasing from 8.4 to 18.3. The average annual growth rate was 7.1% (range 2.0–16.9%). This approaches the maximal growth rate for African elephants, with corresponding minimal values for demographic parameters. The mean interbirth interval was 3.3 years, mean age of first reproduction 11.1 years, average annual mortality of elephants younger than 8 years 3%, and average annual mortality of adult females 1%. Probability of conceiving was positively correlated with annual rainfall. No significant density-dependent effects were recorded. Rapid growth was aided by high rainfall, low population density and release from the stresses of poaching. These results demonstrate that elephant populations are capable of rapid population increases for extended periods of time given the right ecological and social conditions. This has consequences for elephant conservation and management.
Further examination of the measurement properties of Leifer & McGannon's (1986) Goal Acceptance and Goal Commitment Scales

The factor structure and discriminant validity of the Leifer & McGannon (1986) Goal Acceptance and Goal Commitment Scales were examined with structural equation modelling and a sample of employees (N = 196) who participated in a 2-year goal-setting programme. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Goal Acceptance and Goal Commitment Scales measured two factorially distinct constructs. Internal consistency reliabilities were .81 for the Goal Acceptance Scale and .88 for the Goal Commitment Scale. Structural equation analysis indicated that both scales related positively to performance but differentially related to participation, satisfaction with supervision and goal difficulty.
Characterization of three IGFBP mRNAs in Atlantic croaker and their regulation during hypoxic stress: potential mechanisms of their upregulation by hypoxia

Insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) play important roles in downregulating IGF activity and growth and development in vertebrates under hypoxic stress. However, the mechanisms of hypoxia regulation of IGFBPs in teleost fishes are unknown. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in hypoxia upregulation of IGFBPs in Atlantic croaker were investigated. Three croaker IGFBPs, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-5, were cloned and characterized. Chronic hypoxia exposure [dissolved oxygen (DO): 1.7 mg/l for 2–4 wk] caused significant increases in hepatic and neural IGFBP-1 mRNA expression compared with tissue mRNA levels in fish held under normoxic conditions (6.5 mg DO/l). Moreover, longer-term chronic hypoxia exposure (2–2.7 mg DO/l for 15–20 wk) caused significant increases in mRNA levels of all three IGFBPs in both liver and brain tissues. Hypoxia exposure also markedly increased superoxide radical (O2·−, an index of ROS) production and HIF-1α mRNA and H...
Oxygen chemisorption-induced surface phase transitions on Cu(110)

article i nfo From an interplay between variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and density-functional theory calculations, the evolution of oxygen chemisorption-induced surface reconstructions of the Cu(110) surface is determined. The surface reconstructions proceed via a sequential pathway with increasing oxygen surface coverage. The (2 × 1) reconstruction occurs first and then transits to the c(6 × 2) phase with a higher oxygen coverage through a mechanism that consumes the existing (2 × 1) phase with the supply of Cu adatoms from step edges and terraces. The temperature dependence of the (2 × 1) → c(6 × 2) transition demonstrates that the surface phase transition is an activated process for breaking up added Cu-O-Cu rows in the (2 × 1) structure. Comparison between the experimental observations and the theoretical surface phase diagram obtained from first-principles thermodynamic calculations reveals that the (2 × 1) → c(6 × 2) transition takes place at the oxygen chemical potentials that are far above the chemical potential for Cu2O bulk oxide formation, reflecting the existence of kinetic limitations to the surface phase transition and the bulk oxide formation.
Word fluency and brain damage

Abstract A group of sixty-six adult subjects was given the task of producing as many words as possible beginning with specified letters of the alphabet. The number of words produced during a period of 60 sec correlated highly both with a frequency count derived from the Thorndike-Lorge norms and with estimates derived from the dictionary of the number of words in the English language beginning with each letter. In a second experiment, eight letters representing three levels of difficulty as found in normal subjects were given to thirty brain-damaged and thirty hospitalized control patients. Results in terms of verbal productivity indicated that, for patients of high intelligence, difficult letters (i.e. J and U) showed the greatest discrimination. On the other hand, for patients of low intelligence, easy letters (i.e. F, S, P and T) were more effective in differentiating the brain-damage and control groups. The findings also indicated that difficult letters may be particularly effective in distinguishing between patients with right and left hemisphere damage. An analysis of order of presentation indicated that practice and fatigue effects were not related to verbal fluency when as many as eight letters were administered. It is suggested that the addition of difficult letters to standard word fluency tests may yield more precise discriminations between brain-damaged and control patients when overall level of intellectual functioning is taken into account.
Bruising in children: practice patterns of pediatric hematologists and child abuse pediatricians

The evaluation for children with bruising may be affected by the specialty to which they are referred. We conducted a 3-year retrospective review of subjects referred for bruising to Child Abuse Pediatrics (CAP) or Pediatric Hematology to identify characteristics associated with referral to each specialty and to compare the diagnostic evaluations and diagnoses based on specialty. Of 369 subjects, 275 were referred to CAP and 94 to Hematology. Clinical exam findings were similar in both groups. Hematology referrals were significantly more likely to have laboratory evaluations. Among those referred to CAP, 9.5% had head computed tomography scans and 27.3% had skeletal surveys. No children referred to Hematology had these imaging studies performed. Hematology never diagnosed child physical abuse, and CAP never diagnosed bleeding disorders. Pediatric hematologists and CAPs perform different evaluations and reach different diagnostic conclusions for similar patients with bruising. Further investigation of thes...
Utilization of a Pharmacy Clinical Surveillance System for Pharmacist Alerting and Communication at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center

The objective of this analysis is to describe the utilization metrics of a pharmacy clinical surveillance system (PCSS) at a tertiary, academic medical center.We performed a retrospective database analysis assessing rule-based alerts (RBA), interventions and pharmacist communication notes documented in the PCSS from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. Reports were generated on 92 unique RBAs sent to clinicians for evaluation. Metrics assessed included the number of RBAs that were triggered, clinically evaluated, intervened on by pharmacists, and therapeutic category of interventions. Pharmacy communication notes were also evaluated.A total of 399,979 RBAs were triggered through the PCSS. During that time, pharmacists documented a total of 17,733 interventions. The most common RBAs were related to lab abnormalities (132,487; 33 %) and anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy (126,425; 32.1 %). Interventions were most frequently related to RBAs regarding anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy (6412; 36 %) and antimicrobial therapy (3320; 19 %). Pharmacist communication was most commonly related to clarification of medication and lab orders, and therapeutic drug monitoring.Based on utilization metrics presented, the implementation of a PCSS has successfully generated RBAs to aid pharmacists in clinical practice and improved departmental documentation and communication. Further analysis is warranted to assess the impact of the RBAs, interventions, and communication notes on outcomes such as hospital cost and adverse drug events.
Cognitive Code-Division Channelization

We consider the problem of simultaneous power and code-channel allocation for a secondary transmitter/receiver pair coexisting with a primary code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system. Our objective is to find the optimum transmitting power and code sequence of the secondary channel that maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the output of the maximum SINR linear receiver, while at the same time the SINR of all primary channels at the output of their max-SINR receiver is maintained above a certain threshold. This is a non-convex NP-hard optimization problem. We propose a novel feasible suboptimum solution using semidefinite programming. Simulation studies illustrate the theoretical developments.
Efficient statistical parallel interference cancellation for DS-CDMA in Rayleigh fading channels

We present a reduced-complexity parallel interference cancellation (PIC) technique, in which PIC is performed only on "unreliable" bits (blocks). We term our technique statistical PIC (STPIC), since the decision to employ PIC for any user signal is based upon received signal statistics. Here we propose two different methods: one is bitwise (instantaneous) STPIC (ISTPIC), in which IC is performed only on the bits whose absolute log likelihood ratio (LLR) is below a pre-selected threshold; the other method is block STPIC (BSTPIC), in which IC is performed only on the blocks whose average signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SNIR) is below a pre-selected threshold. Both LLR and SNIR statistics reduce to quantities simple to obtain. We show that STPIC can achieve performance equivalent to conventional full PIC (FPIC) and other partial PIC techniques in flat Rayleigh fading channels, but with reduced computational complexity. We also show our proposed ISTPIC can achieve performance better than FPIC in good channel conditions (e.g., AWGN), still with reduced computational complexity. The ISTPIC performance gain over conventional FPIC is larger in conditions of larger loading factor where efficient IC techniques are more likely to be needed
Unisensory processing and multisensory integration in schizophrenia: A high-density electrical mapping study

In real-world settings, information from multiple sensory modalities is combined to form a complete, behaviorally salient percept - a process known as multisensory integration. While deficits in auditory and visual processing are often observed in schizophrenia, little is known about how multisensory integration is affected by the disorder. The present study examined auditory, visual, and combined audio-visual processing in schizophrenia patients using high-density electrical mapping. An ecologically relevant task was used to compare unisensory and multisensory evoked potentials from schizophrenia patients to potentials from healthy normal volunteers. Analysis of unisensory responses revealed a large decrease in the N100 component of the auditory-evoked potential, as well as early differences in the visual-evoked components in the schizophrenia group. Differences in early evoked responses to multisensory stimuli were also detected. Multisensory facilitation was assessed by comparing the sum of auditory and visual evoked responses to the audio-visual evoked response. Schizophrenia patients showed a significantly greater absolute magnitude response to audio-visual stimuli than to summed unisensory stimuli when compared to healthy volunteers, indicating significantly greater multisensory facilitation in the patient group. Behavioral responses also indicated increased facilitation from multisensory stimuli. The results represent the first report of increased multisensory facilitation in schizophrenia and suggest that, although unisensory deficits are present, compensatory mechanisms may exist under certain conditions that permit improved multisensory integration in individuals afflicted with the disorder.
Impact of xerostomia on dysphagia after chemotherapy–intensity‐modulated radiotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer: Prospective longitudinal study

Background The purpose of this study was to assess how xerostomia affects dysphagia. Methods Prospective longitudinal studies of 93 patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with definitive chemotherapy–intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Observer-rated dysphagia (ORD), patient-reported dysphagia (PRD), and patient-reported xerostomia (PRX) assessment of the swallowing mechanics by videofluoroscopy (videofluoroscopy score), and salivary flow rates, were prospectively assessed from pretherapy through 2 years. Results ORD grades ≥2 were rare and therefore not modeled. Of patients with no/mild videofluoroscopy abnormalities, a substantial proportion had PRD that peaked 3 months posttherapy and subsequently improved. Through 2 years, highly significant correlations were observed between PRX and PRD scores for all patients, including those with no/mild videofluoroscopy abnormalities. Both PRX and videofluoroscopy scores were highly significantly associated with PRD. On multivariate analysis, PRX score was a stronger predictor of PRD than the videofluoroscopy score. Conclusion Xerostomia contributes significantly to PRD. Efforts to further decrease xerostomia, in addition to sparing parotid glands, may translate into improvements in PRD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
Water–Gas Shift on Pd/α-MnO2 and Pt/α-MnO2

Low temperature water–gas shift (WGS) catalysts, Pd nanoparticles supported on α-MnO2 nanorods termed Pd/α-MnO2 and Pt nanoparticles supported on α-MnO2 nanorods termed Pt/α-MnO2 were synthesized by introducing Pd or Pt precursor to well-prepared α-MnO2 nanorods through precipitation deposition with a following annealing at 300 °C. They are quite active for WGS in the temperature range of 140–350 °C. Activation energies for WGS on Pd/α-MnO2 and Pt/α-MnO2 are 45.3 and 56.4 kJ/mol respectively, comparable to precious metal supported on CeO2 and TiO2 for WGS. Surface chemistries of the two catalysts during WGS were tracked with ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Different from the preservation of the surface and bulk phase of other oxide support such as CeO2, TiO2 in CeO2- or TiO2-based WGS catalysts, both surface and bulk of α-MnO2 nanorods of Pd/α-MnO2 and Pt/α-MnO2 are transited to MnO during WGS. In-situ studies identified oxygen vacancies of the formed MnO support during WGS and the metallic state of Pd and Pt nanoparticles supported on the nonstoichiometric MnO.
The Unknown Unknowns: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Graduate Students from the Perspective of Postsecondary Administration

Graduate education is influenced by trends and events that are political, economic, social, technological, and demographic. These materialize into challenges and opportunities for graduate students, an overview of these is provided in the paper along with recommendations for navigating graduate education, written from the perspective of individuals who have successfully completed graduate school, who have served or continue to serve in faculty positions, and who can offer advice via their roles in administration. As expressed through the paper, the opportunities outweigh the challenges, particularly if you are deliberate in your roadmap, relentless in your quest to be informed, are wise enough to know what you don't know and ask questions lots of questions until you know the things that were, simply, not on your horizon.
ANF secretion and renal responses to volume expansion with equilibrated blood.

To evaluate the role of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in the renal response to acute blood volume expansion without hemodilution, a reservoir syringe filled with donor rat blood was connected to the femoral artery and vein of anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats to allow rapid equilibration of the reservoir with the intravascular blood. Volume expansion with blood from the reservoir in two steps (of 1 and 1.5% body wt, separated by 1 h, n = 5 rats) produced a mean peak increase in plasma immunoreactive ANF from 99 +/- 21 to 1,310 +/- 230 pg/ml (P less than 0.001); plasma ANF levels throughout these experiments correlated significantly with simultaneously measured urine flow (r = 0.74, P less than 0.005) and sodium excretion (r = 0.65, P less than 0.005). Another group (n = 7) underwent the same two-step procedure; after the second volume expansion, high-dose atriopeptin III infusion (0.4 microgram.kg-1.min-1 did not further increase fractional excretion of sodium (3.17 +/- 0.27 to 2.50 + 0.39%, P = NS). In another group (n = 9 rats), the same dose of atriopeptin III was started before any blood volume expansion. After the resulting hypotension was corrected by restoration of blood volume, an additional 1.5% body weight blood volume expansion did not further augment sodium excretion. We conclude that the diuresis and natriuresis, which occur in response to volume expansion without hemodilution, rise and fall in parallel with immunoreactive ANF in the plasma, and that ANF and acute blood volume expansion act on the kidney through a similar, saturable mechanism.
Foreword: The Perils and Pitfalls of Procreation

This is the foreword to a special symposium issue of the Rutgers Law Journal featuring papers written in contemplation of the April 2011 Roundtable on Regulating Reproduction held at the Rutgers School of Law, Camden.
Multidimensional icons

Background: Direct manipulation interfaces, such as the Macintosh desktop, often represent objects with icons [l, 41. For example, text files are represented by icons. Selection of the icon invokes an editor to view the file it represents, thus the icon not only represents the text file but also represents a text editor used to view the text file. Each type of object is viewed by using a specific program. Diagram objects, for example, require a graphical editor to view. In a typical iconic interface, icons represent a single view of an object.While the single-view single-icon model has proven very intuitive and easy to use, some objects have more than one logical view [2]. Program code can be viewed as text by using a text editor, or it can be viewed as program code by a compiler. The machine code that corresponds to the program code can be thought of as another view, thus the execution of a program can be thought of as another view of program code. This paper describes a mechanism for grouping a set of icons that depict several views of a single object into one multidimensional icon.Multidimensional icons group sets of icons, each describing a unique view of an object, into a single entity. The individual icons are projected onto the sides of a simulated cube. There are two distinct advantages to using a cube instead of displaying all the icons in a menu. The first advantage is that since cubes are very familiar objects, it is a natural mental model to think of the faces of a cube as views of the entire cube—views of the actual object. The second advantage is that by allowing rotation of the cube, several icons representing views of an object are accessible using only a fraction of the screen space required to display all the icons.
Mechanistic Insights in the Exchange of Arylthiolate Groups in Aryl(arylthiolato)palladium Complexes Supported by a Dippe Ligand

Carbon–sulfur activation of phenyl p-tolyl sulfide by a mixture of [Pd(dippe)(μ-H)]2 (1a) and dinuclear Pd(0), [(μ-dippe)Pd]2 (1b) (dippe = 1,2-bis(diisopropylphosphino)ethane), to yield four carbon–sulfur activation products, (dippe)Pd(p-tolyl)(SPh) (3a), (dippe)Pd(Ph)(S-p-tolyl) (3b), (dippe)Pd(SPh)(Ph)(3c), and (dippe)Pd(p-tolyl)(S-p-tolyl) (3d), was investigated. The carbon–sulfur complexes 3a–3d were completely characterized by 1H, 31P, and 13C NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Exchange interactions between arylthiolate groups in (dippe)Pd(Ar)(SAr′) (3a–3d) were investigated, leading to understanding the mechanism of interconversions among the complexes.
Principals, Agents, and the Impact of Regulatory Federalism on the Savings-and-Loans Crisis of the 1980s

Was state financial regulation a major cause of the massive savings and loan (S&L) failures in the late 1980s? This question is critical at a time of continuing devolution of regulatory authority to the states. We employ a database of information on nearly 4,000 S&Ls in this period to understand the factors that led some of them to fail. We find that state-chartered S&Ls failed at higher rates than federally chartered firms, but that the extremely high failure rate of Texas-chartered S&Ls explains all of this difference. The actions of a single, large state can make an enormous difference in the American federal system of regulation. We also find that stock-owned S&Ls failed at a higher rate than mutually owned S&Ls, and that S&Ls chartered in jurisdictions with more autonomous regulatory structures failed at a higher rate. Thus, when the principal-agent relationship in S&L regulation was weakest, S&L failures were most prevalent.
Earnings over the Early Work Career among Males in the Middle Class: Has Race Declined in its Significance?

Within the context of William Wilson's “declining significance of race” thesis, this study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine differences in the income gap among two cohorts of males through the early stages of their work careers in middle-class jobs during the periods 1975–82 and 1985–92. Findings indicate that the racial gap is structured in a manner that is contrary to predictions from the Wilson thesis. In particular, the gap increases over the seven-year period for both cohorts. Further, the gap is particularly pronounced among the more recent cohort. Specifically, it is larger at the outset of the seven-year period and increases more between 1985 and 1992 than between 1975 and 1982. Specific cohort and period effects that explain the racial differences in income are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.
Assessment and Molecular Characterization of Human Intestinal Parasites in Bivalves from Orchard Beach, NY, USA

Bivalves have been shown to be carriers of the human intestinal parasites Cryptosporidium parvum and Toxoplasma gondii. The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of protozoan parasites in mollusks of New York City using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay. Four species of mollusks, Mya arenaria, Geukensia demissa, Crassostrea virginica, and Mytilis edulis, were collected from Orchard Beach, NY in the fall of 2014, totaling 159 specimens. Each individual mollusk was dissected to harvest the digestive gland, the mantle, the gills, the foot and the siphon. The tissues were assayed for the presence of Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and Toxoplasma gondii DNA by using primers that target parasite-specific genes. C. parvum was found at a prevalence of 50%, 11.3%, and 1%, respectively, in Mya arenaria, G. demissa, and Mytilis edulis. C. parvum DNA was detected in all the tissues of these bivalve species, except the gills. Furthermore, G. lamblia was detected in Mya arenaria, G. demissa, Crassostrea virginica and Mytilis edulis at a prevalence of 37.5%, 4.5%, 60%, and 20.6%, respectively, while T. gondii DNA was not detected.
Neuroimaging for New-Onset Afebrile Seizures

The prevalence of clinically significant abnormal neuroimaging in children presenting in the emergency department (ED) with new-onset afebrile seizures (ASZ) was determined in a series of 500 consecutive cases seen over a 34-month period between October 1996 and July 1998 at the Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA.