cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The layered S-N model of HTSC and its physical properties

Abstract The superconductor is supposed to consist of alternating layers of two kinds: (1) layers with an attractive electron interaction and an effective mass of usual magnitude; (2) layers without interaction and with a large effective mass. The overlap between the layers is assumed to be small, its energy t being much less than Δ. It is shown that such a model explains the most peculiar property found in experiments on electron Raman light scattering: different threshold values for the Raman satellite measured at two different polarizations of the incident and scattered light. The tunneling conductance G ( V )=d J /d V is analyzed for the same model. In order to fit the qualitative features of experimental data, it is assumed that the tunneling probability to the normal layers is much smaller than that to the superconducting layers. The conductance is calculated for the case t ⪡Δ. A brief analysis is given for the case t ⋍Δ, which proves that such an assumption definitely contradicts the experimental data for BSCCO. The possible nature of the electronic states in the normal layers is discussed.
Stigmatizing language with unintended meanings: “Persons with mental illness” or “mentally ill persons”?

Language is a method of communication that transmits intended and unintended meanings. Unintended stigmatizing meanings, which are probably more insidious and dangerous (than language that clearly communicates intended meanings) can perpetuate socially constructed power dynamics and become so “commonplace” that they are invisible. Persons must be aware of these unintended stigmatizing meanings. This is especially important in language about marginalized persons such as persons with mental illness.
Suppression of lymphoproliferation by alveolar macrophages in the guinea pig.

Abstract Setting : The relationship between alveolar macrophages (AM) and lymphocytes may be important in the early establishment of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis . AM in several species have been shown to suppress lymphoproliferation by producing inhibitors that include nitric oxide (NO). Objective : To study this phenomenon in the guinea pig, the mitogen-induced proliferation of splenic lymphocytes was quantified under various conditions of co-culture with resident AM. Results : Guinea pig AM consistently and profoundly suppressed proliferation in the co-cultures at AM:lymphocyte ratios of 1:4 or greater. The inclusion of a NO synthesis inhibitor, N-monomethyl-L arginine (NMMA), in the co-culture medium did not influence the suppression of Con A-induced lymphoproliferation by resident guinea pig AM. No nitrite could be detected in supernatant fluids of co-cultured AM and splenocytes. Attempts to stimulate guinea pig AM with LPS in combination with recombinant murine and human IFN--γ, infection with live Listeria monocytogenes , or incubation with the supernatants from ConA-activated guinea pig lymphocytes failed to generate NO metabolites. The addition of catalase or indomethacin to the Con A-induced AM-splenocyte co-cultures, to inhibit hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or prostaglandin E2(PGE2), respectively, did not counteract the suppression mediated by AM. Cell contact was necessary for the co-cultures to generate their inhibitory effects on lymphoproliferation, however, the suppression was actually mediated, at least in part, by soluble factors produced in the co-cultures. Conclusion : These results suggest that resident alveolar macrophages suppress lymphocyte proliferation in the guinea pig, but that the effect is not mediated by NO, PGE2or H2O2. The failure to demonstrate NO synthesis under a variety of stimulatory conditions, which resulted in macrophage activation, suggests that the guinea pig is similar to the human in that regard.
Selecting a Doctoral Programme Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process — The Importance of Perspective

This paper discusses the application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to the selection of a doctoral programme. The first section of this paper includes a brief discussion of the AHP. In the next section, we describe a hierarchy for selecting a doctoral programme that includes the perspective or career objective of the decision-maker as what we call a pseudo-level. This is followed by an illustration of the hierarchy in a case study with MBA students contemplating a doctoral programme. Finally, we discuss the results and highlight the importance of perspective as a discrete criterion that should not be included as another level of the hierarchy in the usual way.
Acoustic sources in the low Mach number turbulent boundary layer

The sources of sound production in a low Mach number turbulent boundary layer are examined. The sources are shown to be quadrupole in nature and to result from supersonically convecting wave-number components of the fluctuating Reynolds' normal stresses. The primary Tollmien-Schlichting instability of the boundary layer is found to radiate no sound. Analysis of various vortical phenomena suggests that the primary source is the process of formation of horseshoe vortices, with viscous sublayer bursts a possible secondary source.
Visible saints: social cynosures and dysphoria in the Mediterranean tradition.

“Visible saints” are individuals in the Mediterranean culture area who lead lives of heroic, exemplary and public suffering. This paper offers an analysis of visible saints as social cynosures as a means of exploring critical cultural psychiatric issues. We examine the changing nature of saintly suffering in the culture area and look at the media through which familiarity with the saints and their passions is developed and maintained. A detailed clinical case study is presented of “Madame Lorca,” identified by her peers as a “saint.” We focus on a particular illness episode which proved to be an amplification of symptoms of long standing. Psychiatric diagnostic instruments were administered and indicated the presence of severe clinical depression. However, our research suggests that Mme. Lorca's symptomatology reflects culturally specific methods of coping with dysphoric affects and chronic, illness. The paper concludes with an exploration of the nature of personal illness as it relates to a wider cultural system of meaning. The findings demonstrate that the visible saint and her symptomatology are part of a cultural system which generates, promotes, patterns and frames the experience of dysphoric affect in a cultural complex quite distinct from that of clinical depression.
On the two-phonon bound state in diamond

Abstract By using general tensor force models it is found that the Raman frequency is the absolute maximum frequency for the Δ′ 2 (LO) branch in diamond. The two-phonon bound state in diamond cannot be ruled out on the basis of opposite claims.
“Spatial nodes” in discrete location problems

Discrete location models often assume an underlying network where demands originate at point nodes. To apply these models to planar regions with continuously distributed demand, the region is usually partitioned into “zones” and the demand from each zone is assumed to originate at a point, usually the zone centroid. Thus, the point node in the underlying network represents a spatial zone with a finite area. This paper examines the effect of approximating these “spatial nodes” by point nodes. In some problem scenarios, the approximation does not affect the solution. However, especially when the locational criterion includes the consideration of intra-zonal travel cost variances (e.g. travel time variance) and demands may originate anywhere within zones of nonzero area, point nodes do not give an accurate evaluation of the performance of a locational design. To illustrate the application of the concept of spatial nodes, a model is formulated for locatingp (fire-fighting) units in a region having continuously distributed demand with the objective of minimizing a nonlinear function of arrival times of the first and second closest units to any (fire) incident. A heuristic “site-substitution” procedure is presented that solves the formulated model.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Liquid Water: Hybrid Density Functionals†

The structure, dynamical, and electronic properties of liquid water utilizing different hybrid density functionals were tested within the plane wave framework of first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. The computational approach, which employs modified functionals with short-ranged Hartree-Fock exchange, was first tested in calculations of the structural and bonding properties of the water dimer and cyclic water trimer. Liquid water simulations were performed at the state point of 350 K at the experimental density. Simulations included three different hybrid functionals, a meta-functional, four gradient-corrected functionals, and the local density and Hartree-Fock approximations. It is found that hybrid functionals are superior in reproducing the experimental structure and dynamical properties as measured by the radial distribution function and self-diffusion constant when compared to the pure density functionals. The local density and Hartree-Fock approximations show strongly over- and understructured liquids, respectively. Hydrogen bond analysis shows that the hybrid functionals give slightly smaller average numbers of hydrogen bonds than pure density functionals but similar hydrogen bond populations. The average molecular dipole moments in the liquid from the three hybrid functionals are lower than those of the corresponding pure density functionals.
Uniform ethyl cellulose microspheres of controlled sizes and polymer viscosities and their drug‐release profiles

Monodisperse ethyl cellulose (EC) microspheres (MSs) of three size groups (20–35, 55–60, and 80–105 μm in diameter) were fabricated to study the effect of the MS size on the drug-release profiles with a novel scheme combining mechanical and hydrodynamic forces. More than 90% of the MSs were within ±3 μm of the average diameter, regardless of the EC viscosities used in the study. The effect of the polymer viscosity was also examined with ECs with two distinct viscosities (4 and 45 cp). The encapsulation efficiencies (EEs) of piroxicam and rhodamine were 6.4–51 and 63–80%, respectively. The drug distribution in the MSs showed a higher concentration near the particle surface, and this was more distinct with rhodamine. An approximately zero-order release was observed with the small MSs of 4-cp EC during 24 h without evident initial bursts. The MS size affected the surface-area-to-volume ratio, EE, and intraparticle drug distribution, affecting the drug-release profiles. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009
Space-variant filtering for correction of wavefront curvature effects in spotlight-mode SAR imagery formed via polar formatting

Wavefront curvature defocus effects can occur in spotlight-mode SAR imagery when reconstructed via the well-known polar formatting algorithm (PFA) under certain scenarios that include imaging at close range, use of very low center frequency, and/or imaging of very large scenes. The range migration algorithm (RMA), also known as seismic migration, was developed to accommodate these wavefront curvature effects. However, the along-track upsampling of the phase history data required of the original version of range migration can in certain instances represent a major computational burden. A more recent version of migration processing, the Frequency Domain Replication and Downsampling (FReD) algorithm, obviates the need to upsample, and is accordingly more efficient. In this paper the authors demonstrate that the combination of traditional polar formatting with appropriate space-variant post-filtering for refocus can be as efficient or even more efficient than FReD under some imaging conditions, as demonstrated by the computer-simulated results in this paper. The post-filter can be pre-calculated from a theoretical derivation of the curvature effect. The conclusion is that the new polar formatting with post filtering algorithm (PF2) should be considered as a viable candidate for a spotlight-mode image formation processor when curvature effects are present.
Order-disorder transition in poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxybutylene) diblock copolymers

A series of poly(oxyethylene)−poly(oxybutylene) diblock copolymers have been prepared by anionic polymerization. The polymers were characterized by GPC and NMR and were found to have a narrow molar mass distribution. The structures of the melts were determined by SAXS, and peak shapes were found to be Lorentzian for disordered and Gaussian for ordered block copolymers. The structures of the melts agreed with the prediction of the self-consistent field theory (SCFT) phase diagram. The order−disorder transition was determined across a range of molecular weights, and these data were used to estimate the temperature dependence of χ, using a mean-field approximation, as χ = 48.5/(T/K) − 0.0534. The copolymers were found to be well segregated close to the ODT and had sharp interfaces with chains that were strongly stretched. The domain spacing was found to scale as d ∼ N0.69, in agreement with the SCFT prediction.
A multiscale random field model for Bayesian image segmentation

Many approaches to Bayesian image segmentation have used maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation in conjunction with Markov random fields (MRF). Although this approach performs well, it has a number of disadvantages. In particular, exact MAP estimates cannot be computed, approximate MAP estimates are computationally expensive to compute, and unsupervised parameter estimation of the MRF is difficult. The authors propose a new approach to Bayesian image segmentation that directly addresses these problems. The new method replaces the MRF model with a novel multiscale random field (MSRF) and replaces the MAP estimator with a sequential MAP (SMAP) estimator derived from a novel estimation criteria. Together, the proposed estimator and model result in a segmentation algorithm that is not iterative and can be computed in time proportional to MN where M is the number of classes and N is the number of pixels. The also develop a computationally efficient method for unsupervised estimation of model parameters. Simulations on synthetic images indicate that the new algorithm performs better and requires much less computation than MAP estimation using simulated annealing. The algorithm is also found to improve classification accuracy when applied to the segmentation of multispectral remotely sensed images with ground truth data. >
The Crisis of Educational Technology, and the Prospect of Reinventing Education

With the fading monopoly of the industrial mode of production and the emergence of the “information revolution,” modern technology has pervaded almost every aspect of human life. In education, however, information technology has yet to find a place, despite the unceasing attempts to “fit” it into the existing educational system. The paper argues that the industrial mode of production was successful in inventing “education” as a new paradigm, institutionalizing it in schools, and implementing it through a number of tools, such as “certified” teachers, curricula, and textbooks. By contrast, the information mode of production has created the tools, namely “educational technology,” before developing a corresponding paradigm or institution. This crisis of educational technology is therefore a corollary of its misplacement, and subsequent malfunction, in the still-in-use industrial paradigm and institution (education and school). The paper suggests that, in order to ensure a proper functionality of modern technology, we need to resolve this theoretical inadequacy. A possible solution would be to thoroughly restructure “education” and schools, as remnants of the industrial age, into a new paradigm and institution.
Study of surface plasmon chirality induced by Archimedes' spiral grooves.

A chirality of surface plasmons excited on a silver film with Archimedes’ spiral grooves during incidence of a circularly polarized light is analytically and numerically studied by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) modeling method. We found that the surface of a plasmon has selective chirality, which is given by the sum of the chiralities of the incident light and the spiral structure. The surface plasmons with the chirality lead to zero-order, first-order, and high-order evanescent Bessel beams with electric charge distributions on the film. This selectivity could be widely applied for chiral detection of the incident light and chiral excitation of several optical modes in nanophotonics.
The sublinear relationship between index change and carrier density in 1.5 and 1.3 mu m semiconductor lasers

The carrier-induced index change was measured using a novel injection-reflection technique in combination with differential carrier lifetime data. The observed relation between index change and injected carrier density at bandgap wavelength is nonlinear and is approximately given by delta n/sub act/=-6.1*10/sup -14/ (N)/sup 0.66/ for a 1.5- mu m laser and delta n/sub act/=-1.3*10/sup -14/ (N)/sup 0.68/ for a 1.3- mu m laser. The carrier-induced index change for a 1.3- mu m laser at 1.53- mu m wavelength is smaller and is given by delta n/sub act/=-9.2*10/sup -16/ (N)/sup 0.72/. >
Ovarian Cancer Genomic Instability Correlates with p53 Frameshift Mutations

We hypothesize that genomic instability plays an important role in causing specific types of p53 mutations in ovarian cancer. To test this hypothesis, 78 tumors were analyzed for p53 mutations with SSCP analysis of the entire open reading frame. At the same time, alterations in 10 microsatellite loci including di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats were evaluated. Fourteen (26%) of all mutations were insertion/deletion mutations. All insertion/deletion mutations were associated with one of the following features: runs of purines or pyrimidines, repeats of short sequences, or palindromes. There was a strong association of generalized microsatellite instability with p53 in contrast to tumors with other types of mutations or wild-type p53 (P = 0.007). These characteristic p53 mutations appear to be caused by generalized genomic instability rather than to be the direct cause of genomic instability. These findings suggest the existence of additional novel DNA repair genes important to the carcinogenic process.
Tacrolimus placental transfer at delivery and neonatal exposure through breast milk.

Aim(s) The current investigation aims to provide new insights into fetal exposure to tacrolimus in utero by evaluating maternal and umbilical cord blood (venous and arterial), plasma and unbound concentrations at delivery. This study also presents a case report of tacrolimus excretion via breast milk. Methods Maternal and umbilical cord (venous and arterial) samples were obtained at delivery from eight solid organ allograft recipients to measure tacrolimus and metabolite bound and unbound concentrations in blood and plasma. Tacrolimus pharmacokinetics in breast milk were assessed in one subject. Results Mean (±SD) tacrolimus concentrations at the time of delivery in umbilical cord venous blood (6.6 ± 1.8 ng ml−1) were 71 ± 18% (range 45–99%) of maternal concentrations (9.0 ± 3.4 ng ml−1). The mean umbilical cord venous plasma (0.09 ± 0.04 ng ml−1) and unbound drug concentrations (0.003 ± 0.001 ng ml−1) were approximately one fifth of the respective maternal concentrations. Arterial umbilical cord blood concentrations of tacrolimus were 100 ± 12% of umbilical venous concentrations. In addition, infant exposure to tacrolimus through the breast milk was less than 0.3% of the mother's weight-adjusted dose. Conclusions Differences between maternal and umbilical cord tacrolimus concentrations may be explained in part by placental P-gp function, greater red blood cell partitioning and higher haematocrit levels in venous cord blood. The neonatal drug exposure to tacrolimus via breast milk is very low and likely does not represent a health risk to the breastfeeding infant.
Language production: Methods and methodologies

Methodological problems have been a longstanding barrier to the systematic exploration of issues in language production. Recently, however, production research has broadened beyond traditional observational approaches to include a diverse set of experimental paradigms. This review surveys the observational and experimental methods that are used to study production, the questions to which the methods have been directed, and the theoretical assumptions that the methods embody. Although tailored to the investigation of language production, most of the methods are closely related to others that are widely employed in cognitive research. The common denominator of these procedures is verbal responding. Because the processing complexities of verbal responses are sometimes overlooked in research on memory, perception, attention, and language comprehension, the methodological assumptions of production research have implications for other experimental procedures that are used to elicit spoken words or sentences.
Synthesis and Self-Assembling Properties of Polymerizable Organogelators

In this paper we report the development of a family of polymerizable urea derivatives that are gelators for organic solvents. The design involves amino-acid-based urea derivatives containing methacrylate functional groups. Several of the bis-ureas show excellent gelation properties in a variety of organic solvents at very low concentrations (1.5 mM). The self-assembling properties of these compounds were studied by X-ray powder diffraction, optical microscopy, and electronic microscopy. The molecules self-assemble into fibrous aggregates as indicated by scanning electron microscopy. Depending on the nature of the monomeric unit, the structure of the aggregates ranges from small to large fibers and planar sheets. In polar solvents, the molecules exhibit multilamellar packing modes. The organogels can be polymerized by photoirradiation leading to significant increases in stability as indicated by changes in phase-transition temperature. The morphology of the aggregates was seen to maintain a similar structure both before and after irradiation. This method provides a novel type of polymer with designed self-assembling architecture and also affords to a route to stabilized polymer gels.
Early development of bacterial community diversity in emergently placed urinary catheters

Background: Approximately 25% of hospitalized patients have a urinary catheter, and catheter associated urinary tract infection is the most common nosocomial infection in the US, causing >1 million cases/year. However, the natural history of the biofilms that rapidly form on urinary catheters and lead to infection is not well described. Findings: We characterized the dynamics of catheter colonization among catheters collected from 3 women and 5 men in a trauma burn unit with different indwelling times using TRFLP and culture. All patients received antibiotic therapy. Results: Colony-forming units increased along the extraluminal catheter surface from the catheter balloon to the urethra, but no trend was apparent for the intraluminal surface. This suggests extraluminal bacteria come from periurethral communities while intraluminal bacteria are introduced via the catheter or already inhabit the urine/bladder. Richness of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) increased over time on the intraluminal surface, but was constant extraluminally. Conclusions: OTU community composition was explained best by time rather than axial location or surface. Our results suggest that catheter colonization can be very dynamic, and possibly have a predictable succession.
Salmonella enterica Infection Stimulates Macrophages to Hemophagocytose

ABSTRACT Hemophagocytes are cells of the monocyte lineage that have engulfed erythrocytes and leukocytes. Hemophagocytes frequently accumulate in patients with severe acute bacterial infections, such as those caused by Salmonella enterica, Brucella abortus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The relationship between hemophagocytosis and infection is not well understood. In the murine liver, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium resides within hemophagocytic macrophages containing leukocytes. Here we show that S . Typhimurium also resides within hemophagocytes containing erythrocytes. In cell culture, S . Typhimurium benefits from residence within hemophagocytes by accessing iron, but why macrophages hemophagocytose is unknown. We show that treatment of macrophages with a cocktail of the proinflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulates engulfment of nonsenescent erythrocytes. Exposure of resting or IFN-γ-treated macrophages to live, but not to heat-killed, S . Typhimurium cells also stimulates erythrocyte engulfment. Single-cell analyses show that S . Typhimurium-infected macrophages are more likely to erythrophagocytose and that infected macrophages engulf more erythrocytes than uninfected macrophages within the same culture well. In addition, macrophages containing erythrocytes harbor more bacteria. However, S . Typhimurium does not promote macrophage engulfment of polystyrene beads, suggesting a role for a ligand on the target cell. Finally, neither of the two S . Typhimurium type 3 secretion systems, T3SS1 or T3SS2, is fully required for hemophagocytosis. These results indicate that infection of macrophages with live S. Typhimurium cells stimulates hemophagocytosis. IMPORTANCE Macrophages are white blood cells (leukocytes) that engulf and destroy pathogens. Hemophagocytes, a subset of macrophages, are characteristic of severe acute infection in patients with, for instance, typhoid fever, brucellosis, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis. Each of these diseases has the potential to become chronic. Hemophagocytes (blood-eating cells) engulf and degrade red and white blood cells for unknown reasons. The bacterial pathogen Salmonella acquires the essential nutrient iron from murine hemophagocytes. We report that Salmonella stimulates macrophages to engulf blood cells, indicating that cells of this bacterium actively promote the formation of a specialized cellular niche in which they can acquire nutrients, evade killing by the host immune system, and potentially transition to chronic infection.
Optimality in the choice of the convergence factor for gradient-based adaptive algorithms

The convergence and the adaptation speed of gradient-based adaptive algorithms are controlled by the chosen value for the convergence factor μ. In this paper, the existence of an optimal value for this convergence factor is investigated for two classes of algorithms. A proof is first presented for the general case of the complex adaptive-linear-combiner (ALC). The results are applied to the complex and real LMS algorithms. This is followed by a second proof for algorithms which are linear only in a subset of their adaptive coefficients. These cases are found in IIR applications such as the hybrid-recursive, lattice-recursive, and recursive algorithms using the direct realization IIR. For each case, the optimal value is shown to be generated using instantaneous signal estimates. The resulting adaptive algorithms become self-optimizing in terms of their convergence factor, and dependence on incoming training signal levels is reduced. Moreover, a correction factor is introduced in each case to regulate the adaptation process and accommodate practical applications where additive signals are present with the desired signal.
Practical protocols for production of very high yields of recombinant proteins using Escherichia coli.

The gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli offers a mean for rapid, high yield, and economical production of recombinant proteins. However, high-level production of functional eukaryotic proteins in E. coli may not be a routine matter, sometimes it is quite challenging. Techniques to optimize heterologous protein overproduction in E. coli have been explored for host strain selection, plasmid copy numbers, promoter selection, mRNA stability, and codon usage, significantly enhancing the yields of the foreign eukaryotic proteins. We have been working on optimizations of bacterial expression conditions and media with a focus on achieving very high cell density for high-level production of eukaryotic proteins. Two high-cell-density bacterial expression methods have been explored, including an autoinduction introduced by Studier (Protein Expr Purif 2005;41:207–234) recently and a high-cell-density IPTG-induction method described in this study, to achieve a cell-density OD600 of 10–20 in the normal laboratory setting using a regular incubator shaker. Several practical protocols have been implemented with these high-cell-density expression methods to ensure a very high yield of recombinant protein production. With our methods and protocols, we routinely obtain 14–25 mg of NMR triple-labeled proteins and 17–34 mg of unlabeled proteins from a 50-mL cell culture for all seven proteins we tested. Such a high protein yield used the same DNA constructs, bacterial strains, and a regular incubator shaker and no fermentor is necessary. More importantly, these methods allow us to consistently obtain such a high yield of recombinant proteins using E. coli expression.
Complex fractionated atrial electrograms: is this the beast to tame in atrial fibrillation?

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained arrhythmia, represents a difficult scientific challenge and remains enigmatic even after more than a century of research. Already about a 100 years ago, principles that could account for organization amid much disorganized spatial and temporal patterns of activation were proposed to prevail in the form of reentrant activity.1,2 During the past decades, experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that despite the spatiotemporal complexity of wave propagation during AF, maintenance of the arrhythmia in many cases depends on measurable deterministic properties of fast rotors and hierarchical distribution of activation rates.3–7 However, any suggestion of organization underlying AF is met with skepticism as the proclaimed organization is quite elusive, particularly because the analysis and treatment of the arrhythmia in humans depends, for the most part, on catheter-based, relatively low-resolution electroanatomical mapping.8 As such, when the isolation of pulmonary veins (PVs) by radiofrequency ablation is insufficient to eliminate AF, most clinical electrophysiologists today move on to target areas of complex electrograms, whose ever-changing morphologies, interbeat intervals, and amplitudes have somehow led to the notion that such areas may harbor the sources that maintain AF. In this context, Nademanee et al,9 identified a particular class of electrograms that they termed complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAEs) at sites outside the 4 PV ostia on the posterior and anterior left atrial (LA) walls. Their work stirred much interest among those studying AF, and since then, many attempts have been made to automatically quantify CFAEs and extract from them a better understanding of AF mechanisms.10–13 The ultimate common goal is to guide ablation procedures and increase their efficacy in patients with either paroxysmal or persistent AF.9,14 Article see p 470 In this issue of Circulation: Arrhythmia …
Prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) and spurge (Euphorbia hyssopifolia L.) response to wide row and ultra narrow row cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) management systems

A 4 year field study was conducted from 1998 to 2001 to evaluate the response of prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) and hyssop spurge (Euphorbia hyssopifolia L.) growing in either ultra narrow row (UNR) or wide row (WR) cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) management systems. Weeds surviving pre- and postemergence herbicide treatments were harvested just prior to defoliation and the morphological characteristics were compared. Prickly sida growth was significantly reduced with regard to the number of main stem nodes, primary, secondary and tertiary branching, number of seed capsules produced and dry weight under UNR compared with WR. However, plant height was not affected by the management system. Spurge growth was significantly reduced with regard to branching and fresh weight but not height. These results show that UNR might suppress weed development by reducing vegetative and reproductive growth of prickly sida and vegetative growth of spurge. The reduction in seed and seed capsule production of prickly sida is likely to reduce its reproductive potential and also diminish the subsequent seed rain and soil seed bank reserves. Thus, a potential benefit of UNR cotton management systems might be to reduce the competitive ability of weeds and decrease seed production.
Change of multifractal thermal characteristics in the western Philippine sea upper layer during internal wave-soliton propagation

The upper layer (above 140 m depth) temperature in the western Philippine Sea near Taiwan was sampled using a coastal monitoring buoy (CMB) with 15 attached thermistors during July 28–August 7, 2005. The data were collected every 10 min at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 m using the CMB sensors, and every 15 sec at 15 different depths between 25 m and 140 m. Internal waves and solitons were identified from the time-depth plot of the temperature field. Without the internal waves and solitons, the power spectra, structure functions, and singular measures (representing the intermittency) of temperature field satisfy the power law with multi-scale characteristics at all depths. The internal waves do not change the basic characteristics of the multifractal structure. However, the internal solitons change the power exponent of the power spectra drastically, especially in the low wave number domain; they also break down the power law of the structure function and increase the intermittency parameter. The physical mechanisms causing these different effects need to be explored further.
Studies on the Interaction of Endorphins, Substance P, and Endogenous Somatostatin in Growth Hormone and Prolactin Release in Rats*

Substance P and various opiate receptor activators were injected into the lateral ventricle of urethane-anesthetized male rats which were pretreated with either normal sheep serum (NSS), sheep antiserum to somatostatin (anti-SS), or rabbit antiserum to substance P (anti-SP). The injection of substance P (10-9 mol) suppressed serum GH levels, but not PRL levels, in both NSS- and anti-SP-pretreated rats, whereas the suppressive effect was not observed in animals pretreated with anti-SS. In both NSS- and anti-SS-pretreated rats, β-endorphin (10-10 and 10-9 mol) and D-[Ala2]enkephalin amide (10-9 mol) stimulated both GH and PRL release, whereas α- and γ-endorphins, [Met5]enkephalin, and morphine sulfate (10-9 mol) induced only a meager GH response, but a significant PRL response. Simultaneous injection of β-endorphin (10-10 or 10-9 mol) and substance P (10-9 mol) caused greater GH and PRL responses than did β-endorphin alone in rats pretreated with either NSS, anti-SS, or anti-SP. Both GH and PRL responses to...
A hybrid control scheme for facial rigging

Real-time applications, such as interactive games, often lack the realism that users have come to expect in modern graphics, especially in the area of facial animation. In order to address this issue, a new facial rig is presented that hybridizes several of the traditional rig interfaces and attempts to address the issues of usability and efficiency in its controller setup.
Primary care and health services section: an opportunity for pain medicine and primary care to come together.

Pain Medicine continues to innovate under the leadership of our Editor-in-Chief, Rollin “Mac” Gallagher, MD, MPH who has long espoused the benefits of integrating pain medicine and primary care [1,2]. In this issue, three articles [3–5] and an accompanying editorial [6] kick off the new Primary Care & Health Services Section. To develop this section, I have teamed up with a stellar cadre of colleagues, including Steve Dobscha, MD (Portland, Oregon), Erin Krebs, MD, MPH (Indianapolis, Indiana), Bill McCarberg, MD (Escondido, California), and Ellen Poleshuck, PhD (Rochester, New York). We are grateful for this opportunity and especially want to thank Dr. Gallagher, the Senior Editors of Pain Medicine , and Colleen Healy (managing editor) for making it happen. We are passionate about the chance to foster scholarship and build the evidence base for pain care relevant to the primary care setting. Ultimately, we hope to contribute substantially to the rising prominence of Pain Medicine by developing an interesting and useful section. The Primary Care Section will be dedicated to advancing the science of pain medicine in primary care. Its lifeblood will be rigorous original research, authoritative reviews, educational and practice innovations, and insightful commentaries. Through these scholarly works, we hope to provide a lens into the most pressing …
Flavonoid modulation of human neutrophil function

Abstract Flavonoids are naturally occurring plant compounds that have been demonstrated to possess a variety of anti-inflammatory effects. We studied the effects of flavonoids on three aspects of neutrophil function that are commonly considered to be associated with inflammation: the release of lysosomal enzymes, the chemiluminescence (CL) response, and the production of superoxide anion. Quercetin and eight other flavonoids at a 10 −5 M concentration inhibited the neutrophil CL response to opsonized zymosan particles by approximately 60% or more. In contrast, the release of lysosomal β-glucuronidase from neutrophils stimulated with opsonized zymosan was only inhibited by two flavonoids, quercetin and chalcone, and only at concentrations of 1.5 × 10 −4 M to 2 × 10 −4 M. Quercetin also inhibited the generation of superoxide anion by neutrophils but to a lesser degree than its effect on CL. The present studies demonstrated that certain flavonoids are not uniformly active in inhibiting neutrophil CL, β-glucuronidase release, or superoxide generation. The effects of flavonoids on neutrophil functions probably depend on many variables including the response measured, the activating stimulus, and specific flavonoid structural features.
Retroviral mediated expression of CD18 in normal and deficient human bone marrow progenitor cells

The CD18 gene encodes the beta subunit of leukocyte integrins, and autosomal recessive deficiency of CD18 in humans causes a life-threatening abnormality of granulocyte migration. A high titer amphotropic retrovirus encoding CD18 was used to infect bone marrow cells from normal and CD18-deficient human donors. Infected cells were maintained in a long-term culture system and analyzed (1) using PCR to detect the provirus in granulocyte or macrophage colonies (CFU-GMs) derived from the culture, (2) using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) to detect transcripts in the floating cells in the culture, and (3) using immunostaining of the floating cells to analyze expression of human CD18. By both cocultivation and supernatant infection, a significant fraction (10-82%) of the CFU-GMs were positive for the provirus after five weeks in long-term culture, and as high as 10-15% of the floating cells were positive by immunostaining after nine weeks in the long-term culture. In all cases, cocultivation showed higher infection efficiency than supernatant infection. This is the first report of the introduction of human CD18 cDNA into the bone marrow progenitor cells of patients with leukocyte adhesion deficiency.
Norman W. Thompson

Norman W. Thompson spent his academic medical career at the University of Michigan, and is recognized as one of the founders of endocrine surgery. He had a broad practice in thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, and adrenal diseases, and advanced the field through his clinical work, research, writing, and teaching.
Baseline central nervous system magnetic resonance imaging in early detection of trilateral retinoblastoma: pitfalls in the diagnosis of pineal gland lesions.

BACKGROUND Trilateral retinoblastoma (TRB) is a rare disease associating bilateral retinoblastoma (RB) with primitive intracranial neuroblastic tumor. AIM To verify the occurrence of TRB in a single-Center case series and point out the clinical relevance of a baseline brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in RB, focusing on pineal gland lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS Baseline MRI was routinely performed in all cases of RB from 1999. All MRIs were reviewed for this study and the RB database was checked in order to identify patients characteristics, treatments and follow-up. RESULTS A total of 107 patients with RB were diagnosed between 1999 and 2012. Sixty-two patients had unilateral RB and 45 bilateral RB. MRI revealed the presence of pineal gland lesions in 10 patients (9%); seven were considered pineal benign cysts (6.5%), while in three patients (2.8%), TRB was suspected. All patients with TRB presented hereditary RB. In one patient, the suspected TRB was metachronous and in the other two patients was synchronous. Biopsy was not performed. Cerobrospinal fluid (CSF) was negative in all patients. The MRI modification, before treatment in the first case and later in the second case, confirmed the TRB diagnosis. The third patient died due to progressive Central Nervous System (CNS) disease that clearly confirmed the TRB diagnosis. None of the three patients had received prior chemotherapeutic treatment. DISCUSSION TRB represents a rare condition in this series, occurring in three (2.8%) out of all patients with RB. A synchronous presentation with small lesion seems more frequent when a baseline MRI is performed. When a histologically-proven diagnosis is not available, a suspected diagnosis should be considered with caution and only follow-up will confirm the diagnosis. A wait-and-see approach should be considered.
Elective Cholecystectomy during Major Urological Surgery

A total of 6 patients underwent a major urological operation with simultaneous elective cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis. All patients did well with no morbidity or increased hospital stay attributable to the biliary operation. Numerous articles in the vascular, general and gynecological surgery literature advocate concomitant cholecystectomy when gallstones are present. The complications of nonoperated biliary calculous disease, including postoperative cholecystitis, are well known. A concomitant operation could reduce over-all risks and costs to the patient and health care system.
Analyzing Real Time Linear Control Systems Using Software Verification

Deployed embedded software interacts with sensors and actuators to control a physical environment. While the evolution of the control system is specified by Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs), the embedded software periodically senses the state of the system, performs computation over the inputs, and initiates the actuators based on the result of computation. In this paper, we present a bounded time safety verification technique for periodically actuated linear control systems. The model considered in this paper takes into account that the control tasks are executed on a real time operating system and hence the task, in some instances misses the real time deadlines. Using matrix exponentiation, and symbolic evaluation of inputs, we reduce the verification problem of such systems into software verification with computation over reals. We compare different techniques for verifying such software, highlight the merits of each of the approaches, and present our experimental results.
Cops and Robbers (Which are Which

The story of the attempt to tax law enforcement personnel on the value of the right to drive their squad cars home at night. The attempt failed after, among other things, one law enforcement professional brought his weapon with him when he testified at the IRS hearing.
Boundary Element Methods for the Navier Stokes Equations

Numerical solutions to the full Navier-Stokes equations are appearing frequently within the fluid dynamics community. These solutions are usually determined with finite difference algorithms. These algorithms are providing excellent data, hut at extrodinary computer costs. Boundary element methods provide an alternative to finite difference methods. In this paper, a boundary element method for the Navier-Stokes equations is described. This method is very accurate and cost efficient when applied to two-dimensional, incompressible problems. Research is now being performed to extend the procedure to two-dimensional compressible flows and to three-dimensional incompressible flows. This research is reviewed in this paper.
Identifying Targets for Improving Mental Healthcare of Adolescents with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Perspectives from Pediatric Rheumatology Clinicians in the United States and Canada.

Objective. To identify targets for improving mental healthcare of adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by assessing current practices and perceived barriers for mental health intervention by pediatric rheumatology clinicians. Methods. Members of the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) completed a Web-based survey assessing current mental health practices, beliefs, and barriers. We examined associations between provider characteristics and the frequency of barriers to mental health screening and treatment using multivariable linear regression. Results. Of the 375 eligible CARRA members, 130 responded (35%) and 119 completed the survey. Fifty-two percent described identification of depression/anxiety in adolescents with SLE at their practice as inadequate, and 45% described treatment as inadequate. Seventy-seven percent stated that routine screening for depression/anxiety in pediatric rheumatology should be conducted, but only 2% routinely used a standardized instrument. Limited staff resources and time were the most frequent barriers to screening. Respondents with formal postgraduate mental health training, experience treating young adults, and practicing at sites with very accessible mental health staff, in urban locations, and in Canada reported fewer barriers to screening. Long waitlists and limited availability of mental health providers were the most frequent barriers to treatment. Male clinicians and those practicing in the Midwest and Canada reported fewer barriers to treatment. Conclusion. Pediatric rheumatology clinicians perceive a need for improved mental healthcare of adolescents with SLE. Potential strategies to overcome barriers include enhanced mental health training for pediatric rheumatologists, standardized rheumatology-based mental health practices, and better integration of medical and mental health services.
Management of Incidental Findings in the Era of Next-generation Sequencing

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies allow for the generation of whole exome or whole genome sequencing data, which can be used to identify novel genetic alterations associated with defined phenotypes or to expedite discovery of functional variants for improved patient care. Because this robust technology has the ability to identify all mutations within a genome, incidental findings (IF)- genetic alterations associated with conditions or diseases unrelated to the patient's present condition for which current tests are being performed- may have important clinical ramifications. The current debate among genetic scientists and clinicians focuses on the following questions: 1) should any IF be disclosed to patients, and 2) which IF should be disclosed - actionable mutations, variants of unknown significance, or all IF? Policies for disclosure of IF are being developed for when and how to convey these findings and whether adults, minors, or individuals unable to provide consent have the right to refuse receipt of IF. In this review, we detail current NGS technology platforms, discuss pressing issues regarding disclosure of IF, and how IF are currently being handled in prenatal, pediatric, and adult patients.