cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Children and Aerobic Exercise: A Review of Cognitive and Behavioral Effects

Abstract The current article critically reviews studies involving the cognitive and behavioral effects of aerobic exercise in children. Studies evaluated are those with school children and "normal" groups as well as use of aerobic exercise with clinical or "special" populations. Few studies concurrently measured physiological and psychological changes making it difficult to ascertain the role of fitness in any resulting psychological or behavioral changes. Better descriptions of procedures and monitoring of heartrate levels during exercise to ensure appropriate levels of intensity of exercise are needed. Similarities and differences between results of studies with children and adults are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research directions.
Novel and Unique Matrix Design for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering

Osteochondral (OC) tissue is comprised of articular cartilage, the subchondral bone and the central cartilage-bone interface. To facilitate proper regeneration, an equally complex and multiphasic matrix must be used. Although mono-phasic and bi-phasic matrices were previously applied, they failed to establish the OC interface upon regeneration. In this study, we designed and developed a novel matrix with increasing pore volume from one end to other, along the matrix length. For this matrix polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) 85:15 microspheres were combined with a water-soluble porogen in a layer-by-layer fashion and thermally sintered. The resulting matrix was then porogen-leached to form a gradiently-porous structured matrix. The formation of this gradient pore structure was established using Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) scanning. A biodegradable hydrogel was infiltrated into the structure to form a unique OC matrix where the microsphere and hydrogel phases co-exist with opposing gradients. When the individual phases are associated with osteogenic and chondrogenic growth factors, the structureinduced factor delivery might provide the spatially controlled factor delivery necessary to regenerate osteochondral tissue structure. Overall, we designed a gradient matrix system that is expected to support osteochondral tissue engineering while forming a seamless interface between the cartilage and the bone matrix.
Secondary flow induced by riblets

The effects of riblets on one wall of a channel bounding fully developed turbulent flow are investigated. Various perturbation elements including wires, fins and slots are modelled in order to understand the effects of riblets. It is found that widely spaced riblets, fins and wires create a substantial increase in turbulent activity just above the element. These elements are also found to produce a remarkable pattern of secondary mean flows consisting of matched pairs of streamwise vortices. The secondary flows occur only if the bulk flow is turbulent and their characteristics depend on element geometry. It is suggested that these secondary flows are strongly linked with the increase in drag experienced by widely spaced riblets in experimental studies. The secondary flows are probably caused by two-dimensional spanwise sloshing of the flow, inherent in a turbulent boundary layer, interacting with the stream-aligned element. This two-dimensional mechanism is investigated with a series of two-dimensional simulations of sloshing flow over isolated elements. Grid resolution and domain size checks are made throughout the investigation.
THE CULTURAL LOGIC OF HIERARCHY IN THE TARASCAN STATE

This paper seeks to broaden our understanding of the Tarascan state by analyzing the cultural logic of hierarchy as revealed in the Relacion de Michoacan. Following the insights of Dumont (1980) and Sahlins (1985), it is proposed that the historical narrative contained within that document is concerned with legitimizing the rule of the Tarascan royal dynasty through a conception of hierarchy based on the logic of encompassment. This analysis interprets the characters of the narrative as instantiations of “elementary categories,” and the interactions between these characters serve to define and ultimately transform those categories. The most important transformation is the encompassing of the “Islander” category by the “Chichimec” category. It is through this encompassment that the royal dynasty symbolized a socio-cosmic totality and therefore possessed legitimate authority. Furthermore, I outline a model of elite interaction and the development of the Tarascan state in which the royal dynasty sought to monopolize foreign trade goods, thus materially constructing its own identity as a possessor of legitimate authority and, therefore, as Chichimecs, according to one connotation of that term. At the same time, a class of status markers was created that could be shared with the lesser nobility, conferring legitimacy on them while preserving the wealth and identity of the royal dynasty.
Transcriptomics Analysis Methods: Microarray Data Processing, Analysis and Visualization Using the Affymetrix Genechip® Vitis Vinifera Genome Array

The study of transcriptomics is a powerful method of studying the responses of organisms to their environment. The transcriptome consists of the entire set of transcripts that are expressed within a cell or organism at a particular developmental stage or under various environmental conditions. There are various technologies for assaying the transcriptome including hybridization-based microarrays and RNA sequencing. Microarrays have been used extensively to quantify the transcript abundance of grape cells, organs and tissues. Here we provide a practical guide on how to analyze microarray data using a study based on the Affymetrix GeneChip® Vitis vinifera genome array. Microarray studies have proven to be very powerful for the elucidation of molecular response networks and physiological processes. In this Chapter, we have outlined the steps required to process and analyze mRNA expression data. The first step is to check both microarray and data quality. The second step is to remove array and data outliers and reduce the variability of the data with cleansing and normalization techniques. The third step is to perform statistical tests to identify sets of transcripts differentially expressed among conditions under statistical significance. The fourth step is to evaluate these sets of significant transcripts using functional categorization and molecular maps. Such data sets can be compared or integrated with proteomic and metabolomic data sets using a systems biology approach to increase the robustness of the conclusions. From data analysis performed in these ways, hypotheses can be generated for further experimentation and validation, which denotes the fifth, and likely the most important, final step.
The Ability of Mothers to Read a Thermometer

The ability of 100 mothers in a suburban private pediatric practice and 100 mothers in an urban hospital-based practice to read a mercury glass thermometer accurately was assessed. Ninety-three percent of suburban practice parents could read three pre-set thermometers correctly, but only 10% of urban practice parents could perform the same task. Education level only partially explained the inability of most urban parents to read successfully. Because certain clinical situations require accurate fever assessment at home, simplified methods of fever assessment should be considered in populations with low competence in reading a thermometer by traditional methods.
The Rhizobium-Legume Symbiosis

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient. As N2 gas it is a major constituent of the atmosphere, but N2 is chemically inert and therefore unavailable as a source of nitrogen for use by most living organisms. However, some bacteria have the ability to reduce N2 and thereby “fix” atmospheric nitrogen using the enzyme nitrogenase. Many leguminous plants have capitalised on this special bacterial asset by going into partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria called rhizobia. In return for supplying nutrients to the bacteria, the plants receive a supply of reduced nitrogen. In essence, the legumes create a highly specialised environment within which the bacteria fix nitrogen. These specialised plant structures are called nodules; usually they are found on roots, but they also occur on the stems of some legumes.
Initiation of ethanol reinforcement using a sucrose-substitution procedure in food- and water-sated rats.

Rats, maintained on free access to both food and water, were trained to press a lever to obtain a 20% sucrose solution. When presentation of the sucrose solution was maintaining responding, low ethanol concentrations were added to the solution. Over 25 sessions, the solution presented as reinforcement was gradually reduced in sucrose concentration until a 10% ethanol solution with no sucrose was presented. Following this initiation procedure, ethanol concentrations up to and including 40% ethanol were found to maintain responding. At the higher ethanol concentrations, the rats consumed doses of ethanol between 0.90 and 0.95 g/kg in the 30-min session. When a concurrent choice between ethanol and water was available in the operant chamber, the rats responded on the lever associated with 10% ethanol presentation. Home cage preference between ethanol and water was found to be altered following the operant ethanol experience with the rats acceptability for 10% ethanol increased prior to the start of the experiment This initiation procedure provides another manner in which ethanol reinforcement can be instigated in animals that have not been either food- or fluid-deprived. It is hypothesized that mechanisms which may regulate the intravascular and intragastric self-administration of ethanol may also be operating when the oral route is employed.
Preoperative physical therapy in primary total knee arthroplasty

In order to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative physical therapy for patients undergoing elective primary total knee arthroplasty, 10 patients completed 6 weeks of physical therapy before surgery (PT group). Ten patients served as controls (C group). Subjects were tested at baseline (PT only), before surgery, 6 weeks after surgery, and 3 months after surgery using the Hospital for Special Surgery knee rating scale, range of motion, thigh circumference, walking speed, Cybex II isokinetic knee flexion, and extension testing, and computed tomography scanning for cross-sectional muscle area. Hospital stay and need for physical therapy after inpatient rehabilitation were also compared. Physical therapy produced modest gains in isokinetic flexion strength in these severely arthritic knees but no difference in extension strength. The decrease in isokinetic strength after surgery was not affected by preoperative physical therapy. Muscle area did not decrease significantly for the PT group, but it did decrease for the C group after surgery. While postoperative strength differences could not be demonstrated, preoperative physical therapy preserved thigh muscle area after surgery. The clinical significance of this finding is uncertain. Consequently, this study failed to support the routine use of preoperative physical therapy in knee replacement surgery.
Using paths to measure, explain, and enhance program behavior

What happens when a computer program runs? The answer can be frustratingly elusive, as anyone who has debugged or tuned a program knows. As it runs, a program overwrites its previous state, which might have provided a clue as to how the program got to the point at which it computed the wrong answer or otherwise failed. This all-too-common experience is symptomatic of a more general problem: the difficulty of accurately and efficiently capturing and analyzing the sequence of events that occur when a program executes. Program paths offer an insight into a program's dynamic behavior that is difficult to achieve any other way. Unlike simpler measures such as program profiles, which aggregate information to reduce the cost of collecting or storing data, paths capture some of the usually invisible dynamic sequencing of statements. The article exploits the insight that program statements do not execute in isolation, but are typically correlated with the behavior of previously executed code.
Towards a generalized regression model for on-body energy prediction from treadmill walking

Walking is a commonly available activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Accurately tracking and measuring calories expended during walking can improve user feedback and intervention measures. Inertial sensors are a promising measurement tool to achieve this purpose. An important aspect in mapping inertial sensor data to energy expenditure is the question of normalizing across physiological parameters. Common approaches such as weight scaling require validation for each new population. An alternative is to use a hierarchical model to model subject-specific parameters at one level and cross-subject parameters connected by physiological variables at a higher level. In this paper, we evaluate an inertial sensor-based hierarchical model to measure energy expenditure across a target population. We first determine the optimal physiological parameter set to represent data. Weight is the most accurate parameter (p<0.1) measured as percentage prediction error. We compare the hierarchical model with a subject-specific regression model and weight exponent scaled models. Subject-specific models perform significantly better (p<0.1 per subject) than weight exponent scaled models at all exponent scales whereas the hierarchical model performed worse than both. We study the effect of personalizing hierarchical models using model results as initial conditions for training subject-specific models with limited training data. Using an informed prior from the hierarchical model produces similar errors to using a subject-specific model with large amounts of training data (p<0.1 per subject). The results provide evidence that hierarchical modeling is a promising technique for generalized prediction energy expenditure prediction across a target population in a clinical setting.
Learning CUDA: lab exercises and experiences

Whereas the fastest supercomputer of 1998 could compute 1.34 trillion double precision floating point operations per second (TFLOPS) [7], today's consumer-level (sub-$500) graphics cards such as the NVidia GeForce GTX 480 can compute 1.35 TFLOPS (single precision) [8]. The rise of multi- and many-core processing has certainly introduced new urgency to teaching parallel programming. In this paper, we focus on lab exercises at the undergraduate level. Three undergraduate students and one faculty member spent several weeks on CUDA lab exercises, starting with the recent book by Kirk and Hwu [4].We describe our experiences and lessons learned working with the book and its accompanying labs. We discuss extended labs including the game of life, curvature flow, and ray tracing, all of which may appeal to an even wider audience of today's learners.
Preliminary comparison of clinical and free-living measures of stepping cadence in older adults

Background: The relationship between clinically assessed and free-living walking is unclear. Cadence (steps/min) can be measured accurately under both conditions using modern technologies, thus providing a common measurement metric. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare clinical and free-living cadence in older adults. Methods: 15 community-dwelling older adults (7 men, 8 women; 61–81 years) completed GAITRite-determined normal and dual-task walks and wore objective monitors for 1 week. Descriptive data included gait speed (cm/sec), steps/day, as well as cadence. Nonparametric tests evaluated differences between normal and dual-task walks and between accelerometer- and pedometer-determined steps/day. Free-living time detected above clinically determined cadence was calculated. Results: Participants crossed the GAITRite at 125.56 ± 15.51 cm/sec (men) and 107.93 ± 9.41 steps/min (women) during their normal walk and at 112.59 ± 17.90 cm/sec and 103.10 ± 1.30 steps/min during their dual-task wal...
Chronic oesophageal fistulation for studying oropharyngeal and gastric influences on ingestive behaviour in the pigeon

Surgical and postoperative procedures were developed in the pigeon to study the influence of oropharyngeal and postingestional factors in the control of food and water intake. Pigeons were prepared with an oesophageal fistula so that material swallowed emerged from a tube exteriorized at the neck. Nutrient solutions were injected into the lower portion of the oesophagus through a feeding tube inserted in the fistula. A postoperative tube-feeding regimen, using commercially available laboratory chow, was established to maintain the pigeon at its preoperative weight.
Failure-prone components are also attack-prone components

Limited resources preclude software engineers from finding and fixing all security vulnerabilities in a software system. A predictive model that identifies which components are attack-prone can prioritize fortification efforts where they are needed most. We have analyzed two large commercial telecommunications systems that have been deployed to the field. We have found strong correlations (as high as 0.82) between non-security failures and security failures and that the most failure-prone components are likely to be attack-prone. Additionally, non-security failures were found to be a good metric for estimating the count of security failures for a given software
Foundations for Literacy: An Early Literacy Intervention for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

The present study evaluated the efficacy of a new preschool early literacy intervention created specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with functional hearing. Teachers implemented Foundations for Literacy with 25 DHH children in 2 schools (intervention group). One school used only spoken language, and the other used sign with and without spoken language. A "business as usual" comparison group included 33 DHH children who were matched on key characteristics with the intervention children but attended schools that did not implement Foundations for Literacy. Children's hearing losses ranged from moderate to profound. Approximately half of the children had cochlear implants. All children had sufficient speech perception skills to identify referents of spoken words from closed sets of items. Teachers taught small groups of intervention children an hour a day, 4 days a week for the school year. From fall to spring, intervention children made significantly greater gains on tests of phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, and expressive vocabulary than did comparison children. In addition, intervention children showed significant increases in standard scores (based on hearing norms) on phonological awareness and vocabulary tests. This quasi-experimental study suggests that the intervention shows promise for improving early literacy skills of DHH children with functional hearing.
Facing a psychopath: Detecting the dark triad from emotionally-neutral faces, using prototypes from the Personality Faceaurus

Abstract Is facial structure a valid cue of the dark triad of personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy)? I obtained self-reports and peer reports of personality as well as expression-neutral photographs of targets, and then I created prototypes of people high and low on each of the three dimensions by digitally combining select photographs of Caucasian targets. The results indicated that unacquainted observers reliably detected the dark triad composite, especially in female prototypes. Thus, not only is the dark triad a set of psycho-social characteristics—it may also be a set of physical–morphological characteristics. In the Discussion, I introduce a website that stores these personality prototypes and many others ( http://www.nickholtzman.com/faceaurus.htm ).
Preliminary evidence for associations between second-trimester human chorionic gonadotropin and unconjugated oestriol levels with pregnancy outcome in Down syndrome pregnancies

Fifty-six cases of Down syndrome were identified in a population of women who had undergone maternal serum triple marker screening [alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and unconjugated oestriol (uE3) analyses]. These affected pregnancies represented all known cases present in the population of 34,368 women screened. Using a 1:270 mid-trimester Down syndrome risk to define the screen-positive group, 42 affected pregnancies were screen-positive (medians: AFP = 0.79 MOM, hCG = 2.13 MOM, uE3 = 0.62 MOM, age 34.6 years) and 14 pregnancies were screen-negative (medians: AFP = 0.82 MOM, hCG = 1.57 MOM, uE3 = 0.92 MOM, age 24.2 years). Four affected pregnancies were associated with in utero death and each of these cases was associated with relatively extreme values of AFP, hCG, and uE3, including the three highest levels of hCG in the entire series of Down syndrome pregnancies. Twenty-nine (15 screen-positive and 14 screen-negative) affected pregnancies resulted in liveborns. Down syndrome pregnancies had a significantly shorter gestational term than controls, and Down syndrome babies were also lighter than controls, even after adjustment for sex and gestational age. In affected pregnancies, a low uE3 level appeared to be associated with a greater chance of a small-for-gestational age baby. No correlations could be demonstrated between AFP or hCG levels and gestational age-adjusted term weight. Based on this small series, it would appear that uE3 may be particularly useful in detecting those Down syndrome cases associated with small-for-gestational age fetuses. A very high hCG value may indicate a higher probability of fetal death.
Increasing the capital income tax may lead to faster growth

Abstract According to conventional economic wisdom, capital income taxes should be low. The purpose of this paper is to cast doubt on this general conclusion and to show that theory can also point in the opposite direction. The paper shows that under rather mild conditions, higher capital income taxes lead to faster growth in an overlapping generations economy with endogeneous growth. Government expenditures are fixed as a fraction of GNP and are financed with labor income taxes as well as capital income taxes. Since capital income accrues to the old, taxing it reliefs the tax burden on the young and leaves them with more income out of which to save. The net effect on savings is positive, if the interest elasticity of savings is sufficiently low, which it seems to be according to several estimates found in the literature. The basic argument is not seriously challenged by a grandfather clause for initial capital or by the old receiving some labor income as well. Extending the model to allow for multiple periods of lives, however, can overturn our results and support the conventional wisdom instead.
On membrane motor activity and chloride flux in the outer hair cell: lessons learned from the environmental toxin tributyltin.

The outer hair cell (OHC) underlies mammalian cochlea amplification, and its lateral membrane motor, prestin, which drives the cell's mechanical activity, is modulated by intracellular chloride ions. We have previously described a native nonselective conductance (GmetL) that influences OHC motor activity via Cl flux across the lateral membrane. Here we further investigate this conductance and use the environmental toxin tributyltin (TBT) to better understand Cl-prestin interactions. Capitalizing on measures of prestin-derived nonlinear capacitance to gauge Cl flux across the lateral membrane, we show that the Cl ionophore TBT, which affects neither the motor nor GmetL directly, is capable of augmenting the native flux of Cl in OHCs. These observations were confirmed using the chloride-sensitive dye MQAE. Furthermore, the compound's potent ability, at nanomolar concentrations, to equilibrate intra- and extracellular Cl concentrations is shown to surpass the effectiveness of GmetL in promoting Cl flux, and secure a quantitative analysis of Cl-prestin interactions in intact OHCs. Using malate as an anion replacement, we quantify chloride effects on the nonlinear charge density and operating voltage range of prestin. Our data additionally suggest that ototoxic effects of organotins can derive from their disruption of OHC Cl homeostasis, ultimately interfering with anionic modulation of the mammalian cochlear amplifier. Notably, this observation identifies a new environmental threat for marine mammals by TBT, which is known to accumulate in the food chain.
Helping medical learners recognise and manage unconscious bias toward certain patient groups

Medical Education 2012: 46: 80–88 Context For the last 30 years, developments in cognitive sciences have demonstrated that human behaviour, beliefs and attitudes are shaped by automatic and unconscious cognitive processes. Only recently has much attention been paid to how unconscious biases based on certain patient characteristics may: (i) result in behaviour that is preferential toward or against specific patients; (ii) influence treatment decisions, and (iii) adversely influence the patient–doctor relationship. Partly in response to accreditation requirements, medical educators are now exploring how they might help students and residents to develop awareness of their own potential biases and strategies to mitigate them. Methods In this paper, we briefly review key cognition concepts and describe the limited published literature about educational strategies for addressing unconscious bias. Discussion We propose a developmental model to illustrate how individuals might move from absolute denial of unconscious bias to the integration of strategies to mitigate its influence on their interactions with patients and offer recommendations to educators and education researchers.
Issues in object-based notification

Integrating notification with shared memory applications is an interesting problem. This paper looks at implementing notification in a shared memory, object-oriented, distributed transaction environment.
On the Peculiar Distribution of the U.S. Stock Indexes' Digits

Abstract Recent research has focused on studying the patterns in the digits of closely followed stock market indexes. In this paper we find that the series of 1-day returns on the Dow-Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) and the Standard and Poor's Index (S&P) reasonably agrees with Benford's law and therefore belongs to the family of anomalous or outlaw numbers.
A Summary and Critical Assessment of the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Adults: Filling the Gaps

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines has recently released the new cholesterol treatment guideline. This update was based on a systematic review of the evidence and replaces the previous guidelines from 2002 that were widely accepted and implemented in clinical practice. The new cholesterol treatment guideline emphasizes matching the intensity of statin treatment to the level of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk and replaces the old paradigm of pursuing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol targets. The new guideline also emphasizes the primacy of the evidence base for statin therapy for ASCVD risk reduction and lists several patient groups that will not benefit from statin treatment despite their high cardiovascular risk, such as those with heart failure (New York Heart Association class II-IV) and patients undergoing hemodialysis. The guideline has been received with mixed reviews and significant controversy. Because of the evidence-based nature of the guideline, there is room for several questions and uncertainties on when and how to use lipid-lowering therapy in clinical practice. The goal of the Mayo Clinic Task Force in the assessment, interpretation, and expansion of the ACC/AHA cholesterol treatment guideline is to address gaps in information and some of the controversial aspects of the newly released cholesterol management guideline using additional sources of evidence and expert opinion as needed to guide clinicians on key aspects of ASCVD risk reduction.
Specific Genetic Interactions Between Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Proteins and B-Type Cyclins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The B-type cyclin Clb5 is involved primarily in control of DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We conducted a synthetic genetic array (SGA) analysis, testing for synthetic lethality between the clb5 deletion and a selected 87 deletions related to diverse aspects of cell cycle control based on GO annotations. Deletion of the spindle checkpoint genes BUB1 and BUB3 caused synthetic lethality with clb5. The spindle checkpoint monitors the attachment of spindles to the kinetochore or spindle tension during early mitosis. However, another spindle checkpoint gene, MAD2, could be deleted without ill effects in the absence of CLB5, suggesting that the bub1/3 clb5 synthetic lethality reflected some function other than the spindle checkpoint of Bub1 and Bub3. To characterize the lethality of bub3 clb5 cells, we constructed a temperature-sensitive clb5 allele. At nonpermissive temperature, bub3 clb5-ts cells showed defects in spindle elongation and cytokinesis. High-copy plasmid suppression of bub3 clb5 lethality identified the C-terminal fragment of BIR1, the yeast homolog of survivin; cytologically, the BIR1 fragment rescued the growth and cytokinesis defects. Bir1 interacts with IplI (Aurora B homolog), and the addition of bub3 clb5-ts significantly enhanced the lethality of the temperature-sensitive ipl1-321. Overall, we conclude that the synthetic lethality between clb5 and bub1 or bub3 is likely related to functions of Bub1/3 unrelated to their spindle checkpoint function. We tested requirements for other B-type cyclins in the absence of spindle checkpoint components. In the absence of the related CLB3 and CLB4 cyclins, the spindle integrity checkpoint becomes essential, since bub3 or mad2 deletion is lethal in a clb3 clb4 background. clb3 clb4 mad2 cells accumulated with unseparated spindle pole bodies. Thus, different B-type cyclins are required for distinct aspects of spindle morphogenesis and function, as revealed by differential genetic interactions with spindle checkpoint components.
Renewable and Solar Energy Technologies: Energy and Environmental Issues

A critical need exists to investigate various renewable and solar energy technologies and examine the energy and environmental issues associated with these various technologies. The various renewable energy technologies will not be able to replace all current 102 quads (quad = 1015 BTU) of U.S. energy consumption (USCB 2007). A gross estimate of land and water resources is needed, as these resources will be required to implement the various renewable energy technologies.
Comparative protein and amino acid digestibilities in growing pigs and sows.

An experiment was conducted to compare apparent total tract protein digestibilities and apparent ileal digestibilities of protein and amino acids in growing pigs and adult pregnant and lactating sows. Twelve growing pigs and 12 sows were used and surgically fitted with simple T-cannulas at the distal ileum. Six experimental diets based on corn, barley, wheat, soybean meal, canola meal, or meat and bone meal were formulated, and each diet was fed to growing pigs, gestating sows, and lactating sows for 7 d. Chromium oxide was included in all diets as an indigestible marker (.25%) for calculating nutrient digestibilities. Fecal material was collected on d 5 of each feeding period by grab sampling, and ileal samples were collected for 12 h/d during the last 2 d of each feeding period. Apparent fecal protein digestibilities for all feed ingredients were higher (P .05). At the distal ileum, no differences (P > .05) in protein digestibilities were detected between sows and growing pigs regardless of feed ingredient. For all feed ingredients tested, lactating sows had apparent ileal digestibilities of most amino acids that were two to six percentage units higher than those obtained in growing pigs, but not all of the differences were significant. Gestating sows had digestibilities of most amino acids that were intermediate between those of growing pigs and lactating sows. The combined results from the six feed ingredients showed that lactating sows had higher (P < .05) digestibilities of all indispensable amino acids except arginine, and gestating sows had higher (P < .05) digestibilities of five of the indispensable amino acids than did growing pigs. The results of this experiment indicate that apparent fecal protein and apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities obtained in growing pigs are not always representative of digestibilities in either gestating or lactating sows.
The Second Mode in High-enthalpy Boundary Layers in Chemical Non-equilibrium

Abstract Boundary layers at a zero pressure gradient in chemical non-equilibrium are considered for a five-species model of air in a total enthalpy range of 5 - 17 MJ/kg. Comparisons with boundary layers in binary mixtures of oxygen reveal that the growth rates of the second mode are lower in the case of air. This result can be attributed to the lower wall temperatures in binary mixtures of oxygen due to dissociation, with the lower wall temperatures having a destabilizing effect on the second mode similar to the case of boundary layers in calorically perfect gases.
Lateral scaling of 0.25 [micro sign]m InP/InGaAs SHBTs with InAs emitter cap

InP/InGaAs single heterojunction bipolar transistors (SHBTs) have been fabricated using a highly doped InAs emitter cap for a 50% reduction in emitter resistance to allow aggressive lateral scaling to increase fMAX. Type I InP SHBTs have been fabricated with 0.25 µm emitter widths and achieve fMAX values as high as 478 GHz on a laterally scaled LE=1 µm device, and maintain breakdown voltages greater than 4 V.
The dynamic steroid landscape of equine pregnancy mapped by mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) allowed comprehensive analysis of various steroids detectable in plasma throughout equine gestation. Mares (n=9) were bled serially until they foaled. Certain steroids dominated the profile at different stages of gestation, clearly defining key physiological and developmental transitions. The period (weeks 6-20) coincident with equine chorionic gonadotropic (eCG) stimulation of primary corpora lutea and subsequent formation of secondary luteal structures was defined by increased progesterone, 17OH-progesterone and androstenedione, all Δ4 steroids. The 5α-reduced metabolite of progesterone, dihydroprogesterone (DHP) paralleled progesterone secretion at less than half the concentration until week 12 of gestation when progesterone began to decline but DHP concentrations continued to increase. DHP exceeded progesterone concentrations by week 16, clearly defining the luteo-placental shift in pregnane synthesis from primarily ovarian to primarily placental. The period corresponding to the growth of fetal gonads was defined by increasing dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone (Δ5 steroids) concentrations from week 14, peaking at week 34 and declining to term. Metabolites of DHP (including allopregnanolone) dominated the steroid profile in late gestation, some exceeding DHP by weeks 13 or 14 and near term by almost tenfold. Thus Δ4 steroids dominated during ovarian stimulation by eCG, inversion of the ratio of progesterone: DHP (increasing 5α-pregnanes) marked the luteo-placental shift, Δ5 steroids defined fetal gonadal growth and 5α-reduced metabolites of DHP dominated the steroid profile in mid- to late-gestation. Comprehensive LC-MS/MS steroid analysis provides opportunities to better monitor the physiology and the progress of equine pregnancies, including fetal development.
Environmental, Behavioral, and Cultural Factors That Influence Healthy Eating in Rural Women of Childbearing Age Findings From a PhotoVoice Study

Despite increasing recognition of the role nutrition plays in the health of current and future generations, many women struggle to eat healthy. We used the PhotoVoice method to engage 10 rural women in identifying perceived barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in their homes and community. They took 354 photographs, selected and wrote captions for 62 images, and explored influential factors through group conversation. Using field notes and participant-generated captions, the research team categorized images into factors at the individual, relational, community/organizational, and societal levels of a socioecological model. Barriers included limited time, exposure to marketing, and the high cost of food. Facilitators included preparing food in advance and support from non-partners; opportunities to hunt, forage, and garden were also facilitators, which may be amplified in this rural environment. Nutritional interventions for rural women of childbearing age should be multi-component and focus on removing barriers at multiple socioecological levels.
Special Temporary Measures and the Norm of Equality (Chapter 12)

Temporary laws or measures arise in different circumstances to deal with a wide array of perceived problems or concerns. This essay deals with one specific kind of temporary measures, which are provided for in international human rights treaties: ‘preferential treatments’ or ‘positive measures’, as they are called. The essay examines whether these measures undermine the predictability and stability of the norm of equality on which behalf they are said to have been adopted. The essay argues that these measures will be inconsistent with and destablise equality only if equality is understood narrowly as a principle that only requires sameness of treatment rather than the more substantive notion of equality (equality of opportunity) that this essay endorses and advances.
Multi-level Resolution Features for Classification of Transportation Trajectories

We explore the use of filter-like multi-level resolution features of a positional trajectory for classification. Our approach is time and location agnostic which increases generality. Several filter types are discussed and used in feature extraction including moments and wavelets. Previous work by Bolbol et al. is extended to incorporate these features and results are shown for each framework and filter type. We attempt a 6-way classification of mode of transportation from GPS trajectories obtained from cell phone handsets. Our primary contribution is that our approach can classify an entire trajectory, regardless of its length, overcoming a deficiency in other approaches which require trajectories to be segmented into equal length parts. We achieve >60% accuracy split between 6 classes where the 'random' feature accuracy is <28%, an 'informative' gain of over 30%..
Taxonomy of 'Euconnus complex'. Part VIII. Subgenera Napoconnus, Himaloconnus and Nepaloconnus removed from Euconnus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae).

Examination of the type species of Napoconnus , Himaloconnus and Nepaloconnus , taxa previously placed as subgenera of Euconnus , revealed characters remarkably different from those diagnostic for Euconnus . Napoconnus and Himaloconnus have narrowly separated metacoxae, with the metaventral intercoxal process bearing a pair of long and pointed spines touching at middle; this character alone excludes these taxa from Euconnus . Consequently, Napoconnus and Himaloconnus are elevated to the genus rank and redefined. Nepaloconnus was clearly defined on the basis of misinterpreted characters and this name is placed as a junior synonym of Microscydmus s. str. (resulting in Microscydmus khumbuensis (Franz) comb. n.). Morphological structures of the treated species are described and illustrated and taxonomic problems related to the large ' Euconnus complex' are discussed.
Canine-Inherited Dystrophinopathies and Centronuclear Myopathies

The inherited myopathies include channelopathies, myotonias, metabolic and mitochondrial conditions, congenital myopathies, and muscular dystrophies. This chapter focuses on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and one of the centronuclear (congenital) myopathies, X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM). The pattern of disease varies between these two diseases. Initial symptoms principally relate to the appendicular musculature in DMD, with respiratory function becoming impaired in the later stages. In contrast, many XLMTM patients are never able to walk and must receive ventilator support soon after birth. Genetically homologous conditions in dogs, namely, golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) and XLMTM of Labrador retrievers, are valuable models for preclinical studies. In developing preclinical trials in dogs, the clinical course must be carefully considered. Studies in GRMD dogs are typically conducted over the 3–6-month age period when signs progress relatively quickly. On the other hand, the XLMTM syndrome of Labrador retrievers evolves more rapidly, so affected dogs must be treated and assessed even earlier then 3–6 months. A number of preclinical trials have been conducted in GRMD, in some cases providing support for moving the investigative therapy forward to human trials. While studies in XLMTM dogs have been more limited, promising results have already been seen. Future studies in both of these canine-inherited myopathies should shed further light on homologous human diseases.
Calcitonin immunoreactivity and hypercalcitoninemia in two patients with sporadic, nonfamilial, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

BACKGROUND Hypercalcitoninemia in gastroenteropancreatic tumors associated with calcitonin immunoreactivity is rare. METHODS We report here two patients in whom pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors both contained and secreted immunoreactive calcitonin. Both patients experienced elevated basal calcitonin immunoreactivity. RESULTS The peak responses of immunoreactive calcitonin occurred 5 minutes after pentagastrin administration in these two patients and were 30% and 180% above basal concentrations corresponding to peak increments of 0.39 and 8.78 ng/ml, respectively. The immunoreactive calcitonin response to pentagastrin in these two patients was not significantly different from that seen among five patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. CONCLUSION It does not appear that immunoreactive calcitonin responses to pentagastrin stimulation will discriminate between patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland and those with nonfamilial, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors that express calcitonin immunoreactivity. In patients with secretory diarrhea and/or flushing, an elevated level of immunoreactive calcitonin, in the absence of a thyroid mass in the neck, may herald the presence of a gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.
Terahertz Bandwidth Optical Sampling

Characterization of short optical pulses, such as occur in high speed optical communication systems, is currently performed using electronic instrumentation of limited bandwidth.
Clinical Biochemistry in Toxicology

This chapter discusses the clinical biochemistry in toxicology. The susceptibility of the liver to toxic insult is, in part, a consequence of its location between the digestive tract and the rest of the body, and the central role it plays in biotransformation and disposition of xenobiotics. Extrahepatic metabolism of toxins by mixed function oxidases may affect the target organ and potential epatotoxicity of a given xenobiotic. A variety of factors including the induction of these enzyme systems by drugs and suppression of enzyme activity by infectious agents and cytokines may modify the response to a given toxin. Similarly, the clinical signs of weakness, dysmetria, and incoordination suggest not only the possibility of neurological disease, but also skeletal muscular or cardiovascular disease. Acute toxicity of skeletal or cardiac muscle can be detected by elevations in serum creatine kinase. A disease affecting the respiratory tract is often clinically apparent on the basis of dyspnea. Dyspnea in veterinary medicine is often the result of pneumonia rather than intoxication. However, when body temperature is normal, the possibility of pulmonary edema induced by toxins affecting the lung and respiratory tract or cardiovascular system is considered. This chapter discusses in detail the basics of hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. The chapter also gives a detailed overview of the toxins affecting skeletal and cardiac muscles, lung and respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, and various other organ systems.
Learning and Teaching Challenges of Research Writing

Research writing poses a great challenge for graduate students who are novice writers struggling with transitioning from peripheral to full participation in the discourse of their disciplinary community. At the same time, teaching research writing is often daunting for writing instructors due to the unfamiliar disciplinary conventions of research genres. Addressing these learning and pedagogical challenges necessitates an understanding of the individual-cognitive and socio-disciplinary dimensions underpinning research writing. In this first chapter, I elaborate on what these dimensions entail and how they intertwine in the construct of research writing competence. To further reason about how that applies to L2 research writing pedagogy, I discuss two epistemologically different genre teaching traditions — linguistic and rhetorical. I then put forth a rationale for enhancing L2 research writing instruction with genre and corpus-based AWE technology that can foster fundamental linguistic and rhetorical principles.
Application of dynamic topic models to toxicogenomics data

All biological processes are inherently dynamic. Biological systems evolve transiently or sustainably according to sequential time points after perturbation by environment insults, drugs and chemicals. Investigating the temporal behavior of molecular events has been an important subject to understand the underlying mechanisms governing the biological system in response to, such as, drug treatment. The intrinsic complexity of time series data requires appropriate computational algorithms for data interpretation. In this study, we propose, for the first time, the application of dynamic topic models (DTM) for analyzing time-series gene expression data. A large time-series toxicogenomics dataset was studied. It contains over 3144 microarrays of gene expression data corresponding to rat livers treated with 131 compounds (most are drugs) at two doses (control and high dose) in a repeated schedule containing four separate time points (4-, 8-, 15- and 29-day). We analyzed, with DTM, the topics (consisting of a set of genes) and their biological interpretations over these four time points. We identified hidden patterns embedded in this time-series gene expression profiles. From the topic distribution for compound-time condition, a number of drugs were successfully clustered by their shared mode-of-action such as PPARɑ agonists and COX inhibitors. The biological meaning underlying each topic was interpreted using diverse sources of information such as functional analysis of the pathways and therapeutic uses of the drugs. Additionally, we found that sample clusters produced by DTM are much more coherent in terms of functional categories when compared to traditional clustering algorithms. We demonstrated that DTM, a text mining technique, can be a powerful computational approach for clustering time-series gene expression profiles with the probabilistic representation of their dynamic features along sequential time frames. The method offers an alternative way for uncovering hidden patterns embedded in time series gene expression profiles to gain enhanced understanding of dynamic behavior of gene regulation in the biological system.