cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Industrial Swine and Poultry Production Causes Chronic Nutrient and Fecal Microbial Stream Pollution

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are the principal means of livestock production in the USA and Europe, and these industrial-scale facilities have a high potential to pollute nearby waterways. Chemical and biological stream water quality of a swine and poultry CAFO-rich watershed was investigated on 10 dates during 2013. Geometric mean fecal coliform counts were in the thousands at five of seven sites, especially in locations near swine waste sprayfields. Nitrate concentrations were very high and widespread throughout the watershed, with some individual samples yielding >10 mg-N/L. Ammonium concentrations were likewise high, but greatest near swine waste sprayfields, ranging up to 38 mg-N/L. Five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentrations exceeded 10 mg/L in 11 of 70 stream samples, reaching as high as 88 mg/L. BOD5 concentrations were significantly correlated with components of animal waste including total organic carbon, ammonium, and phosphorus, as well as the nutrient response variable chlorophyll a. The degree of nutrient and fecal contamination did not significantly differ between rainy and dry periods, indicating that surface and groundwater pollution occurs independently of stormwater runoff. This research shows that industrial-scale swine and poultry production leads to chronic pollution that is both a human health and ecosystem hazard. There are approximately 450,000 CAFOs currently operating in the USA, with the majority located in watersheds feeding major riverine and estuarine systems with known water quality problems. Current US waste management protocols for this widespread system of livestock production fail to protect freshwater and estuarine ecosystems along the US Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Gulf coasts, and expansion into industrializing nations will likely bring severe pollution with it.
Placental development in the mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). II. From the establishment of the labyrinth to term

Placental development was studied in 24 gerbils from day 13 to term. Allantoic mesoderm contacts and vascularizes the chorionic-trager plate of germinal cytotrophoblast on day 13. Soon villous extensions penetrate the plate, carrying with them a covering of three layers of trophoblast derived from it. As the villi elongate, clumps of germinal cytotrophoblast are carried peripherally by them. Further development of each villus results in a cylindrical mesenchymal core with a central arteriole, and radially arranged branching lamellar extensions carrying capillaries derived from the villus arteriole. Germinal cytotrophblast clusters disappear near term, but some indication always remains of the trilaminar covering of the villus and its lamellae. A typical countercurrent blood flow pattern occurs. The trophospongium is derived from the ectoplacental cone and the mesometrial surface of the germinal cytotrophoblastic plate. Although a few clusters of small cells occur, it is essentially a giant cell trophospongium and never contains cells resembling the clear cells of the rat. Late in pregnancy it becomes much reduced in thickness. The unique subplacental gland begins to degenerate soon after placental establishment and is gone by the last half of pregnancy. The metrial gland begins development at midterm and becomes a solid mass of cells filling the perivascular space of the mesometrial triangle at term.
Rapid detection of faults for safety critical aircraft operation

Fault diagnosis typically assumes a sufficiently large fault signature and enough time for a reliable decision to be reached. However, for a class of safety critical faults on commercial aircraft engines, prompt detection is paramount within a millisecond range to allow accommodation to avert undesired engine behavior. At the same time, false positives must be avoided to prevent inappropriate control action. To address these issues, several advanced features were developed that operate on the residuals of a model based detection scheme. We show that these features pick up system changes reliably within the required time. A bank of binary classifiers determines the presence of the fault as determined by a maximum likelihood hypothesis test. We show performance results for four different faults at various levels of severity and show performance results throughout the entire flight envelope on a high fidelity aircraft engine model.
A Selective Feature Information Approach for Iris Image-Quality Measure

Poor quality images can significantly affect the accuracy of iris-recognition systems because they do not have enough feature information. However, existing quality measures have focused on parameters or factors other than feature information. The quality of feature available for measure is a combination of the distinctiveness of the iris region and the amount of iris region available. Some irises may only have a small area of changing patterns. Due to this, the proposed approach automatically selects the portions of the iris with the most distinguishable changing patterns to measure the feature information. The combination of occlusion and dilation determines the amount of iris region available and is considered in the proposed quality measure. The quality score is the fused result of the feature information score, the occlusion score, and the dilation score. The relationship between the quality score and recognition accuracy is evaluated using 2-D Gabor and 1-D Log-Gabor wavelet approaches and validated using a diverse data set. In addition, the proposed method is compared with the convolution matrix, spectrum energy, and Mexican hat wavelet methods. These three methods represent a variety of approaches for iris-quality measure. The experimental results show that the proposed quality score is highly correlated with the recognition accuracy and is capable of predicting the recognition results.
Nonrelativistic field-theoretic scale anomaly.

We construct a nonrelativistic scalar field theory with a quartic self-interaction in 2+1 dimensions as an infinite mass limit of a relativistic theory, and calculate the two-particle scattering amplitude and two-particle bound-state energy. We show that the results are the same as for quantum mechanics of two scalar particles interacting via a $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function potential. Renormalization of the theory reveals an anomalous breaking of scale symmetry. The renormalization group structure is presented and the anomaly is expressed in terms of the trace of the energy-momentum tensor.
Assessment in the Nineties: A Possible Glance into the Future.

The area of special education assessment is changing constantly. In this article, the authors make several predictions about where the field might be heading in the next decade. The predictions are presented within the new dual-focus framework of Assessment for Effective Intervention that includes traditional assessment and teacher-oriented assessment. Recommendations for a research agenda and changes in assessment practices are also included.
Prothrombin activation in blood coagulation: the erythrocyte contribution to thrombin generation

Prothrombin activation can proceed through the intermediates meizothrombin or prethrombin-2. To assess the contributions that these 2 intermediates make to prothrombin activation in tissue factor (Tf)–activated blood, immunoassays were developed that measure the meizothrombin antithrombin (mTAT) and α-thrombin antithrombin (αTAT) complexes. We determined that Tf-activated blood produced both αTAT and mTAT. The presence of mTAT suggested that nonplatelet surfaces were contributing to approximately 35% of prothrombin activation. Corn trypsin inhibitor–treated blood was fractionated to yield red blood cells (RBCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), platelet-poor plasma (PPP), and buffy coat. Compared with blood, PRP reconstituted with PPP to a physiologic platelet concentration showed a 2-fold prolongation in the initiation phase and a marked decrease in the rate and extent of αTAT formation. Only the addition of RBCs to PRP was capable of normalizing αTAT generation. FACS on glycophorin A–positive cells showed that approximately 0.6% of the RBC population expresses phosphatidylserine and binds prothrombinase (FITC Xa·factor Va). These data indicate that RBCs participate in thrombin generation in Tf-activated blood, producing a membrane that supports prothrombin activation through the meizothrombin pathway.
Distinct Element Method Modeling of Carbon Nanotube Bundles With Intertube Sliding and Dissipation

The recently developed distinct element method for mesoscale modeling of carbon nanotubes is extended to account for energy dissipation and then applied to characterize the constitutive behavior of crystalline carbon nanotube bundles subjected to simple tension and to simple shear loadings. It is shown that if these structures are sufficiently long and thick, then they become representative volume elements. The predicted initial stiffness and strength of the representative volumes are in agreement with reported experimental data. The simulations demonstrate that energy dissipation plays a central role in the mechanical response and deformation kinematics of carbon nanotube bundles.
Effects of sediment transport on deposit feeding: Scaling arguments1

At least five dimensionless variables are needed for dimensional analysis of an individual surfacedeposit feeder using particles containing microbial food both locally produced (by in situ growth) and advected (via sediment transport). From scaling arguments which provide the relationships among these variables, it is apparent that food availability is determined primarily by the ratios of geophysical sediment transport rate into the particle pool from which the animal feeds to its ingestion rate, and of particle residence time in the feeding pool to the microbial doubling time, Increasing sediment transport can either increase or decrease local food availability. Transport patterns beneath waves have dramatic effects: wave mixing makes available to the animal particles which otherwise would be literally out of reach. Specialization on advected particles and reliance on microbial gardening are favored under different environmental conditions, specified in terms of dimensionless ratios. The scaling model also places previous models of deposit feeding in an environmental context. It contrasts with an alternative, nutrient spiraling approach in having a basis in natural selection for its optimization arguments.
Books and travel: inspiration, quests, and transformation

J. Laing and W. Frost, Bristol, Channel View Publications, 2012, 210 pp., (hbk), ISBN 978-1-84541-348-4 Books can inspire readers to dream about travel, to seek adventures they read about in storie...
The Relationship of Motor Skills and Social Communicative Skills in School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Motor skill deficits are present and persist in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Staples & Reid, 2010). Yet the focus of intervention is on core impairments, which are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD, deficits in social communication skills. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the functional motor skills, of 6- to 15-year-old children with high-functioning ASD, predict success in standardized social communicative skills. It is hypothesized that children with better motor skills will have better social communicative skills. A total of 35 children with ASD between the ages of 6-15 years participated in this study. The univariate GLM (general linear model) tested the relationship of motor skills on social communicative skills holding constant age, IQ, ethnicity, gender, and clinical ASD diagnosis. Object-control motor skills significantly predicted calibrated ASD severity (p < .05). Children with weaker motor skills have greater social communicative skill deficits. How this relationship exists behaviorally, needs to be explored further.
Automation of the East Bench irrigation main canal

Canal automation equipment in the East Bench Irrigation District in Dillon, Montana, was over 30 years old and needed to be replaced. Portions of the old automation system were salvaged in an attempt to reduce rehabilitation costs. Because wiring diagrams were not available for the old control system, time would have been saved if the old control system were completely removed and replaced with a completely new system. Data communication via radio and bubbler water level sensors proved to be troublesome. After three seasons of operation, problems with the new automation system were corrected, but it became evident that a technician was needed to maintain the system. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Insights into the evolution of the ErbB receptor family and their ligands from sequence analysis

In the time since we presented the first molecular evolutionary study of the ErbB family of receptors and the EGF family of ligands, there has been a dramatic increase in genomic sequences available. We have utilized this greatly expanded data set in this study of the ErbB family of receptors and their ligands. In our previous analysis we postulated that EGF family ligands could be characterized by the presence of a splice site in the coding region between the fourth and fifth cysteines of the EGF module and the placement of that module near the transmembrane domain. The recent identification of several new ligands for the ErbB receptors supports this characterization of an ErbB ligand; further, applying this characterization to available sequences suggests additional potential ligands for these receptors, the EGF modules from previously identified proteins: interphotoreceptor matrix proteoglycan-2, the alpha and beta subunit of meprin A, and mucins 3, 4, 12, and 17. The newly available sequences have caused some reorganizations of relationships among the ErbB ligand family, but they add support to the previous conclusion that three gene duplication events gave rise to the present family of four ErbB receptors among the tetrapods. This study provides strong support for the hypothesis that the presence of an easily identifiable sequence motif can distinguish EGF family ligands from other EGF-like modules and reveals several potential new EGF family ligands. It also raises interesting questions about the evolution of ErbB2 and ErbB3: Does ErbB2 in teleosts function differently from ErbB2 in tetrapods in terms of ligand binding and intramolecular tethering? When did ErbB3 lose kinase activity, and what is the functional significance of the divergence of its kinase domain among teleosts?
Multiobjective optimization of product and process networks: General modeling framework, efficient global optimization algorithm, and case studies on bioconversion

A comprehensive optimization model that can determine the most cost-effective and environmentally sustainable production pathways in an integrated processing network is needed, especially in the bioconversion space. We develop the most comprehensive bioconversion network to date with 193 technologies and 129 materials/compounds for fuels production. We consider the tradeoff between scaling capital and operating expenditures (CAPEX and OPEX) as well as life cycle environmental impacts. Additionally, we develop a general network-based modeling framework with nonconvex terms for CAPEX. To globally optimize the nonlinear program with high computational efficiency, we develop a specialized branch-and-refine algorithm based on successive piecewise linear approximations. Two case studies are considered. The optimal pathways have profits from −$12.9 to $99.2M/yr, and emit 791 ton CO2-eq/yr to 31,571 ton CO2-eq/yr. Utilized technologies vary from corn-based fermentation to pyrolysis. The proposed algorithm reduces computational time by up to three orders of magnitude compared to general-purpose global optimizers. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 530–554, 2015
Can circulating tumor cells predict resistance in Metastatic breast cancer

Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) enumeration provides prognostic but not predictive information for chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer. Because CTC measurement is reproducible and allows molecular profiling, an assay to assess endocrine resistance was developed. Whether this CTC-based assay can be used to reliably select endocrine therapy must be tested.
Differential responses of coral larvae to the colour of ambient light guide them to suitable settlement microhabitat

Reef-building corals produce planktonic planula larvae that must select an appropriate habitat to settle and spend the rest of their life, a behaviour that plays a critical role in survival. Here, we report that larvae obtained from a deep-water population of Pseudodiploria strigosa settled more readily under blue light and in the dark, which aligns well with the light field characteristics of their natal habitat. By contrast, larvae of the shallow-water coral Acropora millepora settled in high proportions under blue and green light while settlement was less in the dark. Acropora millepora larvae also showed reduced settlement under red light, which should be abundant at shallow depth. Hypothesizing that this might be a mechanism preventing the larvae from settling on the exposed upwards-facing surfaces, we quantified A. millepora settlement in manipulated light chambers in situ on the reef. While A. millepora larvae naturally preferred settling on vertical rather than exposed horizontal surfaces, swapping the colours of upwards-facing and sideways-facing light fields was sufficient to invert this preference. We also tested if the variation in intrinsic red fluorescence in A. millepora larvae correlates with settlement rates, as has been suggested previously. We observed this correlation only in the absence of light, indicating that larval red fluorescent protein is probably not directly involved in light sensing. Our study reveals previously under-appreciated light-sensory capabilities in coral larvae, which could be an important axis of ecological differentiation between coral species and/or populations.
لقاء مع السيد حسين نصر

من خلال المقابلة يتطرق حسين نصر إلى وضع الدين ومفهوم الأديان في عصرنا الحالي الذي يدور حول "عالما قائما على نسيان الله". وبالرغم من ذلك فإن السيد نصر متفائل بأن هناك فرص تسمح للأديان أن تسمع صوتها للعالم من دون أن تعد التعددية الدينية خطرا. حيث أن السيد نصر يقوم بالتطرق إلى التعددية الدينية من منطلق تاريخي، ويوضح الدوافع التي أظهرت الدين بشكل نسبي، بالإضافة إلى مناقشة أهمية معرفة القواسم بين الأديان. ومن خلال المقابلة يقوم السيد نصر بشرح ومناقشة الوقائع التي تمر بها المفاهيم عن الدين والأديان، بالإضافة إلى ذلك يتطرق السيد نصر للحديث عن دور الإسلام والمسلمين في حوار الأديان من منطلق إجتماعي وديني، ويناقش بعض من العوائق التي تحد من حوار الأديان في العالم الإسلامي.
Dissection of the complex genetic basis of craniofacial anomalies using haploid genetics and interspecies hybrids in Nasonia wasps

The animal head is a complex structure where numerous sensory, structural and alimentary structures are concentrated and integrated, and its ontogeny requires precise and delicate interactions among genes, cells, and tissues. Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that craniofacial abnormalities are among the most common birth defects in people, or that these defects have a complex genetic basis involving interactions among multiple loci. Developmental processes that depend on such epistatic interactions become exponentially more difficult to study in diploid organisms as the number of genes involved increases. Here, we present hybrid haploid males of the wasp species pair Nasonia vitripennis and Nasonia giraulti, which have distinct male head morphologies, as a genetic model of craniofacial development that possesses the genetic advantages of haploidy, along with many powerful genomic tools. Viable, fertile hybrids can be made between the species, and quantitative trail loci related to shape differences have been identified. In addition, a subset of hybrid males show head abnormalities, including clefting at the midline and asymmetries. Crucially, epistatic interactions among multiple loci underlie several developmental differences and defects observed in the F2 hybrid males. Furthermore, we demonstrate an introgression of a chromosomal region from N. giraulti into N. vitripennis that shows an abnormality in relative eye size, which maps to a region containing a major QTL for this trait. Therefore, the genetic sources of head morphology can, in principle, be identified by positional cloning. Thus, Nasonia is well positioned to be a uniquely powerful model invertebrate system with which to probe both development and complex genetics of craniofacial patterning and defects.
Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Following Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Background: This longitudinal study sought to identify groups of breast cancer survivors exhibiting distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms up to 24 months following diagnosis, and to describe characteristics associated with these trajectories. Methods: 653 women completed baseline questionnaires within 8 months of breast cancer diagnosis on patient characteristics, symptoms, and psychosocial variables. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months after baseline. Chart reviews provided cancer and treatment-related data. Finite mixture modeling identified trajectories of depressive symptoms measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: Six distinct trajectories were identified. Just over half of the sample had consistently very low (3.8%) or low (47.3%) BDI scores well below the traditional BDI cut-point of 10 thought to be indicative of clinically significant depression; 29.2% had consistently borderline scores; 11.3% had initially high scores that declined over time, but remained above the cut-point; 7.2% showed increased BDI over time; and a small but unique group (1.1%) reported chronically high scores above 25. Women in groups with lower depressive symptom levels were older, had less rigorous chemotherapy, fewer physical symptoms (fatigue and pain), and lower levels of illness intrusiveness. Conclusions: Approximately 20% of women had levels of depressive symptoms indicative of clinical depression that were maintained two years post-diagnosis. Factors related to trajectory membership such as illness intrusiveness, social support, fatigue, pain, and vasomotor symptoms suggest targets for possible intervention. Impact: Results demonstrate the heterogeneity of depressive symptoms following breast cancer and the need for continued screening post treatment.
Knowledge of severe acute respiratory syndrome among community physicians, nurses, and emergency medical responders.

Introduction The preparedness levels of front-line clinicians including physicians, nurses, emergency medical responders (EMRs), and other medical staff working in clinics, offices and ambulatory care centers must be assessed, so these personnel are able to deal with communicable and potentially lethal diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In order to determine the knowledge of these clinicians, a survey of their understanding of SARS and their use of educational resources was administered. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to physicians, nurses, and EMRs attending conferences on SARS in the summer of 2003. Questions related to information sources, knowledge of SARS, and plans implemented in their workplace to deal with it. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (10.1 Program, SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois). Results A total of 201 community healthcare providers (HCPs) participated in the study. A total of 51% of the participants correctly identified the incubation period of SARS; 48% correctly identified the symptoms of SARS; and 60% knew the recommended infection control precautions to take for families. There was little difference in knowledge among the physicians, nurses, and EMRs evaluated. Media outlets such as newspapers, journals, television, and radio were reported as the main sources of information on SARS. However, there appears to be a growing use of the Internet, which correlated best with the correct answers on symptoms of SARS. Fewer than one-third of respondents were aware of a protocol for SARS in their workplace. A total of 60% reported that N-95 masks were available in their workplace. Conclusion These findings suggest the need for more effective means of education and training for front-line clinicians, as well as the institution of policies and procedures in medical offices, clinics, and emergency services in the community.
Additional Notes on the Genus Leucopaxillus

(1947). Additional Notes on the Genus Leucopaxillus. Mycologia: Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 725-736.
Microsite and Interspecific Interactions Affecting Emergence of Root-Infesting Pine Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Wisconsin

The seasonal emergence patterns of three root-infesting weevils of pine trees in Wisconsin were determined. Emergence periods were distinctly separated in the following sequence: Hylobius radicis Buchanan, Hylobius pales (Herbst), Pachylobius picivorus (Germar). The sex ratio for each weevil was 1:1, but the distribution of emerging adults per tree varied with species. Usually only one H. radicis emerged per tree, whereas the distribution of H. pales was much more clustered. Brood production within a site was directly related to elevation along a slope. This was probably caused by differential exposure to flooding. All three species can breed and develop successfully in the same tree concurrently, and there was no evidence of competition between the primary H. radicis and the secondary species. Co-occurrence generally facilitated development of the various species, suggesting that moderate-sized trees killed by H. radicis may provide a reservoir for development by H. pales and P. picivorus , which could then damage seedlings by adult feeding. Experiments with chemical lures confirm that only overwintered pine root weevils respond to olfactory cues in Wisconsin.
Architectures for High-Definition MPEG Encoders

The paper discusses architectures for MPEG-2 encoders capable of operating at High Level as required for the transmission of high-definition television. The computational requirements of such an encoder cannot be met today by a single process; some degree of segmentation or parallel processing is required. — Some designs of high-definition encoder achieve this segmentation at a system level by dividing the high-definition image among a number of standard-definition encoders and subsequently combining the encoded datastreams. This approach offers simplicity of design and may appear to offer certain advantages to the user. — The paper discusses various aspects of the operation of encoders, including the coding of I-frames, the generation and coding of motion vectors, and bit allocation. It describes a number of problems with this type of segmentation, and shows that optimal efficiency cannot be achieved. The paper further suggests that the apparent user benefits are difficult to realize, and concludes that a purpose-designed “full-frame” high-definition encoder provides a superior solution.
Fluoroscopically guided retrocalcaneal bursa steroid injection: description of the technique and pilot study of short-term patient outcomes

Objective To describe a lateral fluoroscopically guided retrocalcaneal bursa injection technique, report patient outcomes at 1–4 weeks after steroid/anesthetic retrocalcaneal bursal therapeutic injection, and correlate pre-injection diagnostic heel ultrasound variables with improvement in patient pain scores.
Post fabrication tuning of GaN based RF power amplifiers for pico-cell applications

The RF Power Amplifier (PA) is usually the bottleneck in designing high efficiency, high linearity wireless transceivers within any given power specification. Pico-cell basestation PAs deliver power in the range of 10 Watts, with aggressive gain and efficiency requirements for next generation cellular networks. The slightest variations in PA biasing or the input and output load networks can cause significant degradation in RF PA performance. This work discusses the impact of process variation and variability in input/output networks on RF performance, and suggests ways to regain various performance parameters through post fabrication tuning of the PA.
Endothelium-derived relaxing factor regulates renin release in vivo

Endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF), through its inhibitory second messenger guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), inhibits renin release in vitro. To determine whether EDRF affects renin in vivo, we tested whether EDRF synthesis inhibition could stimulate renin secretion in intact rats. Because EDRF synthesis inhibition increases blood pressure and consequently withdraws sympathetic activity (both renin inhibitory signals), we also studied the effect of L-N omega-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME) when renal perfusion pressure was controlled and during beta-adrenergic blockade. Mean blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and plasma renin activity (PRA) were measured in anesthetized rats before and after EDRF synthesis inhibition by a 10 mg/kg body wt bolus of L-NAME. L-NAME decreased PRA by 67% [from 11.0 +/- 2.7 to 3.7 +/- 0.8 ng angiotensin I (ANG I).ml-1.h-1, n = 12; P less than 0.001], increased BP by 20 +/- 2 mmHg (P less than 0.001), and decreased HR from 332 +/- 8 to 312 +/- 9 beats/...
Customized implant abutment copings to achieve biologic, mechanical, and esthetic objectives

Fixed restorations for patients with implant-supported abutments frequently produce an unsatisfactory mechanical, biologic, or esthetic compromise. Pure titanium transmucosal abutments have biologic advantages, and factory-milled abutments for the comparable implant interface have mechanical advantages. The ultimate restorative objective is to satisfy the patient's desire for an esthetic restoration. This can generally be accomplished with precisely positioned implants; however, compromised locations need to be corrected with modified abutments. The use of customized copings fabricated by casting to pure titanium abutments can satisfy all three criteria, and may in some situations be the restorative procedure of choice. The clinical and laboratory procedures involved in achieving these criteria are described in detail.
Extracellular potassium, volume fraction, and tortuosity in rat hippocampal CA1, CA3, and cortical slices during ischemia

1. An in vitro slice model of ischemia was used to study changes in extracellular potassium concentration and diffusion properties in the stratum pyramidale of CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus and in the cortex of the rat. Slices were submerged in artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and ischemia was induced by removing oxygen and glucose until anoxic depolarization occurred. 2. Extracellular potassium concentration was measured with a valinomycin-based ion-selective microelectrode. The bathing medium contained 5 mM potassium, and in vitro ischemia caused the potassium concentration to rise to 45 mM in CA1, 12 mM in CA3, and 32 mM in cortex. 3. Extracellular volume fraction and tortuosity were determined during normoxic conditions and in vitro ischemia by measuring the diffusion of tetramethylammonium. This cation was iontophoretically released into the extracellular space and its concentration as a function of time determined with an ion-selective microelectrode approximately 100 microns away from the source. 4. During normoxia the volume fraction was 0.14, 0.20, and 0.18, and tortuosity was 1.50, 1.57, and 1.62 in CA1, CA3, and cortex, respectively. These data confirm that the volume fraction of CA1 is smaller than in the two other regions. 5. During ischemia the volume fraction decreased to 0.05, 0.17, and 0.09 in CA1, CA3, and cortex, respectively. Only in CA3 did the tortuosity change significantly by increasing to 1.75. Because of limitations in the time resolution of the diffusion method, the changes in volume fraction and tortuosity during the anoxic depolarization phase of ischemia may have been underestimated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Current studies of ifosfamide for pediatric solid tumors and leukemia in the United States.

Teniposide and etoposide are third-generation semi-synthetic derivatives of epipodophyllotoxin. Following the initial clinical introduction of teniposide in the 1970s, investigations focused almost exclusively on its analogue, etoposide, because of its formulation, which was felt to have advantages in addition to oral administration. Despite consistently inadequate dosing and scheduling, early phase I and II trial results with teniposide were promising, and current trends encourage a second look. The substantial antitumor activity of teniposide is comparable with that of etoposide, and clinical interest was rekindled when it was shown to have considerable activity against small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In view of the inadequacy of early trials and the premature cessation of clinical study, it is recommended that teniposide be reevaluated for its activity against malignant lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease, leukemias, and SCLC, against all of which its early results were encouraging. In addition, consideration should be given to its activity against brain tumors, neuroblastomas and other childhood solid tumors, and ovarian cancer; its potential value against gastric, hepatocellular, breast, and bladder cancers also should be investigated. Other areas that warrant further study include elucidation of the exact mechanism of action of teniposide, its role in both single- and multiple-agent chemotherapeutic regimens, and resolution of its optimal dose and schedule. Finally, it is suggested that with new routes of administration and improved formulations, teniposide may be expected to play a significant role in the treatment of malignant lymphomas, SCLC, and pediatric lymphocytic leukemia and neuroblastoma.
Mathematical Analysis of Programs

This thesis provides mathematical techniques for the static analysis of numerical operations in programs. Specifically, we design efficient algorithms for the automatic discovery of invariant linear and non-linear interrelationships among the variables of the input program. We shall consider imperative programs over numerical quantities. These programs arise naturally in many domains: scientific programs, process controllers, network protocols, timed and hybrid process models, models of manufacturing systems, and models of biochemical reaction mechanisms are all examples of such programs. The thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, we provide efficient algorithms for the discovery of linear relations for linear programs, i.e. programs where the guards and assignments are linear. The second part of the thesis provides techniques for discovering invariant nonlinear relations for nonlinear programs. Linear relation analysis is performed by forward propagation, wherein a set of states is approximated by a convex polyhedron. These techniques have been widely used in the analysis of timed and linear hybrid systems. Analysis techniques based on polyhedra do not scale to large systems owing to the exponential space polyhedral operations involved. Common solutions consider weakly relational domains, wherein the analysis is carried out over polyhedra with a pre-defined fixed shape such as intervals, octagons, and octahedra. In this thesis, we define an alternative simple polynomial time analysis on arbitrary user-defined polyhedra by means of repeated linear optimization queries that can be solved efficiently. Traditional linear relation analysis algorithms use heuristic guesses in the form of widening to guarantee termination. We define an alternative constraint-based approach that casts the search for a candidate invariant relationship into a non-linear constraint solving problem. We demonstrate efficient techniques for solving these constraints both exactly and approximately. The second part of the thesis addresses nonlinear relations for nonlinear programs. We provide a technique that discovers nonlinear equality invariants using computational tools such as Groebner bases. We demonstrate applications to the verification of nonlinear control systems, and automatically prove the correctness of some simple numerical algorithms using our technique.
Training Principles: Checks and Balances, Sample Training Sessions, and Recommendations for Promoting an Equitable Work Environment

This chapter offers basic training principles to avoid gender shrapnel and to ensure the creation and maintenance of a more equitable workplace. In this chapter, Mayock focuses on structures, processes, and people, including human resources professionals, administrators, and employees. She maps training principles for the trainers (e.g. Title IX officers) and recommends the use of case studies that are specific to a particular environment. Sample training sessions for prevention of sexual discrimination and harassment and for broader hiring practices are included.
SOCIAL CLASS AS A FACTOR IN PARTICIPATION IN AND LEADERSHIP OF STUDENT ORGANISATIONS

This chapter discusses how cultural categories indicated by socioeconomic status of students' parents, which represent culture and behavior patterns of the student and his family applies to the various kinds of participation and leadership in student organizations and societies. The chapter shows that social and academic distribution of the student body in various social spheres is a result of the factors of self-selection and selection by significant others, whether institutionally or informally defined. The chapter discusses self-selection and aspiration in various fields of activity and the acceptance patterns by others, which alone makes possible certain desired ends or goals of ego. The chapter is a study of the meshing of values and value constraints within a whole cultural configuration of acting and interacting groups. The chapter discusses various aspects of selection by middle-class educational institutions, which operate against the working-class student. It also discusses the ways in which working-class culture is or is not compatible with the culture of the selecting and accepting institution.
Sound Propagation through the Stochastic Ocean

Introduction and Historical Background In the undersea world the sound wave rules supreme, as is evidenced by the highly evolved acoustic physiology and sophisticated auditory processing capability of fish and marine mammals. Humans are relative latecomers to the world of undersea sound. Leonardo da Vinci (1483) developed a device to listen to approaching ships, writing If you let your ship stop, and dip the end of a long blowpipe in the water and hold the other end to your ear, then you can hear ships which are very far distant from you. There are also reports that for centuries Inuit whalers have been using acoustic methods to localize their prey. By placing the butt of a dipped oar against one'sjawbone, the underwater vibrations of the vocalizing whales could be sensed. Curiously the giants of classical physics (e.g., Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, Helmholtz) seem to have paid little attention to the subject, instead devoting their energies in acoustics toward musical problems. Even the great acoustical authority, Lord Rayleigh, makes scarce mention of underwater sound in his masterpiece publications The Theory of Sound , Parts 1 and 2, in 1887 and 1896. Indeed, the speed of sound in fresh water was not measured until 1826 (Colladon and Sturm, 1827), and the first crude measurements in sea water came roughly a century later (Wood, 1930). Developments in ocean acoustics seem to be inseparably tied to matters of military importance, the first of which was the problem of knowing the seafloor adequately so as to avoid vessel grounding. This was the genesis of the acoustic fathometer (echo sounder) invented shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, which was also in great favor with the European royals whose fleets suffered many losses due to grounding. The first measurements of the speed of sound in sea water were largely motivated by echo sounding and sound ranging. The addition of the submarine to the naval arsenal provided a particularly strong catalyst for advancement in the twentieth century. Though there were some significant developments during and after World War I (Wood, 1930), the independent discovery of the ocean sound channel by both US and Soviet scientists toward the end of World War II brought the field to an entirely new level (Ewing and Worzel, 1948; see also the discussion of the Soviet discovery in Munk et al.
Ultrafast gas breakdown at pressures below one atmosphere

Gas breakdown in quasi homogeneous electric fields with amplitudes of up to 3 MV/cm is investigated. The setup consists of a RADAN 303 A pulser and pulse slicer SN 4, an impedance-matched oil-filled coaxial line with a lens-transition to a biconical line in vacuum or gas, and an axial or radial gap with a width on the order of mm, with a symmetrical arrangement on the other side of the gap. Capacitive voltage dividers allow to determine voltage across as well as conduction current through the gap, with a temporal resolution determined by the oscilloscope sampling rate of 20 GS/s and an analog bandwidth of 6 GHz. The gap capacitance charging time and voltage risetime across the gap is less than 250 ps. Previous experiments at TTU with a slightly larger risetime have shown that breakdown is governed by runaway electrons, with multi-channel formation and high ionization and light emission in a thin cathode layer only. In argon and air, time constants for the discharge development have been observed to have a minimum of around 100 ps at several 10 torr. A qualitative understanding of the observed phenomena and their dependence on gas pressure is based on explosive field emission and gaseous ionization for electron runaway conditions.
Stem Cell Yield after Bone Marrow Concentration

Objectives:The number of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSCs) in the human bone marrow (BM) is small compared to other cell types, estimated at 0.01-0.02%. Bone marrow aspirate concentration (BMAC...
Likelihood for Detection of Sub-parsec Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Spectroscopic Surveys

Motivated by observational searches for sub-parsec supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) we develop a modular analytic model to determine the likelihood for detection of SBHBs by ongoing spectroscopic surveys. The model combines the parametrized rate of orbital evolution of SBHBs in circumbinary disks with the selection effects of spectroscopic surveys and returns a multivariate likelihood for SBHB detection. Based on this model we find that in order to evolve into the detection window of the spectroscopic searches from larger separations in less than a Hubble time, $10^8M_\odot$ SBHBs must, on average, experience angular momentum transport faster than that provided by a disk with accretion rate $0.06\,\dot{M}_E$. Spectroscopic searches with yearly cadence of observations are in principle sensitive to binaries with orbital separations $< {\rm few}\times 10^4\, r_g$ ($r_g = GM/c^2$ and $M$ is the binary mass), and for every one SBHB in this range there should be over 200 more gravitationally bound systems with similar properties, at larger separations. Furthermore, if spectra of all SBHBs in this separation range exhibit the AGN-like emission lines utilized by spectroscopic searches, the projection factors imply five undetected binaries for each observed $10^8M_\odot$ SBHB with mass ratio $0.3$ and orbital separation $10^4\,r_g$ (and more if some fraction of SBHBs is inactive). This model can be used to infer the most likely orbital parameters for observed SBHB candidates and to provide constraints on the rate of orbital evolution of SBHBs, if observed candidates are shown to be genuine binaries.
A multi-objective optimization approach to the location of road weather information system in New York State

Inclement weather is a threat to the safety of transportation systems as well as the efficiency of their operation. A road weather information system (RWIS) is a network of environmental sensor stations (ESS) that collect a range of real-time data about weather and pavement conditions. These systems can support highway officials and civilians in making more informed transportation safety decisions, particularly in times of adverse weather, by giving them more accurate and localized weather information. This enables the proper maintenance activities to be executed and safety to be restored while using minimum resources. However, because of the range of network characteristics and geographical factors affecting the implementation of ESS, no widely adopted guidelines exist that outline where to implement ESS in a network beyond taking into the physical criteria of an appropriate site, although several methods have been suggested. This paper aims to take a practical approach to solving the location pr...
A longitudinal study of cognitive trajectories and its factors for Koreans aged 60 and over: A latent growth mixture model.

Objective The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify cognitive trajectories of older Koreans in a population-based longitudinal panel survey and, second, to investigate the main characteristics of the identified heterogeneous classes of cognitive trajectories. Methods Data came from 2445 cognitively healthy persons aged 60 or older in the 2006 to 2012 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Using Korean-mini mental status examination (K-MMSE) as a measure of global cognitive function, the latent growth mixture modeling approach examined potential heterogeneity of longitudinal changes over the 6 years. Results This study found that older Koreans reported an average K-MMSE score of 27 at baseline and experienced a cognitive decline every 2 years by -1.6 (2006-2008) and -1.2 (2008-2010), followed by a slight increase of 0.7 in 2012. Results from the latent growth mixture modeling analysis indicated that there were 2 heterogeneous classes of longitudinal changes in the K-MMSE over a period of 6 years: class 1 with stable cognitive function and class 2 with sharp cognitive decline over time. The sharp decline was found among those older in age and with higher level of depression at baseline. On the contrary, being male, higher education, active social engagement, and regular exercise were main characteristics of stable cognitive function. Conclusion As the first to examine cognitive trajectories among older Koreans, this study highlighted heterogeneity of cognitive trajectories in the population that should be considered for developing differential intervention strategies aimed at both promoting healthy brain and delaying/preventing cognitive decline.
Dronabinol oral solution in the management of anorexia and weight loss in AIDS and cancer

The true incidence of anorexia secondary to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cancer is not well classified owing to the fact that there is a lack of standardized definitions and recent clinical data in these settings. Dronabinol, or Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is a synthetic molecule that closely mimics the action of Cannabis sativa L., a naturally occurring compound activated in the central nervous system by cannabinoid receptors. Dronabinol exerts its effects by directly acting on the vomiting and appetite control centers in the brain, which in turn increases appetite and prevents vomiting. In the USA, dronabinol is currently available in two dosage formulations - oral capsule and oral solution. While the oral capsule was initially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1985, the recent approval of the oral solution in 2016 presents an "easy-to-swallow" alternative for patients using or intending to use dronabinol. Dronabinol is indicated in adult patients with HIV/AIDS for the treatment of anorexia and weight loss. However, there is no approved indication in the setting of cancer-related anorexia and weight loss. This review aims at presenting available data on the use of oral dronabinol in the management of anorexia and weight loss in HIV/AIDS and cancer, as well as characterizing and highlighting the pharmacotherapeutic considerations of the newest formulation of dronabinol.