cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Minimal access and standard cochlear implantation: a comparative study.

Abstract Objective To compare the operative times and complications between patients who underwent minimal access cochlear implantation and standard technique cochlear implantation. Methods Patients who underwent unilateral cochlear implantation by a single surgeon from 2001 to 2010. The minimal access technique of an approximately 2.5–3 cm post-auricular incision with creation of subperiosteal pocket for the device was compared to the longer standard “S” incision into the scalp (∼8–10 cm) with bone well creation and suture fixation. Outcomes include operative times and complications. Results There were 122 unilateral implants, 73 (59.8%) in the minimal access group and 49 (40.2%) in the standard group. Mean total time in the operating room was lower in the minimal access group compared to the standard group (200 ± 31 vs. 255 ± 49 min, p There were 17 complications in the entire cohort with 8 and 9 complications in the minimal and standard groups respectively. Of the 17 complications, 12 were surgical technique-specific. Although it appeared that there were higher rates of major, technique-specific, and overall complications in the standard access group, these differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Patients undergoing minimal access cochlear implantation require shorter operative times when compared to the standard access cochlear implantation. In addition, low complication rates are observed for major, technique-specific, and overall complications. Minimal access cochlear implantation may be considered an equivalent and potentially superior technique.
Experimental Tests for Use in Diagnosing Language Disorder

The experiments reported in this paper represent a preliminary investigation of the validity of the techniques described previously in the differential diagnosis between specific language disorder and hearing impairment. In all cases their assistance in making such a diagnosis is confirmed, although the Birch and Belmont Sequence Figures and the Critical Flicker Fusion Test are only viable with younger children. The latter also suffers from a considerable overlapping of the test scores of the two groups and its results are only likely to be confirmatory. In addition to the main findings, the experiments are also interesting in that they throw some light on the way in which perceptual processes develop in language disordered children and the possible causative factors which produce this disorder.
Neural generators of the brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in the rhesus monkey.

Abstract Brain-stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were recorded from rhesus monkeys in response to click stimuli. The BAEPs in the monkey have only 4 major peaks, while 5 major peaks can be identified in the human BAEP. The responses from electrodes placed at the vertex and the mastoid recorded either differentially or separately using non-cephalic references were compared to concomitant recordings from the auditory nerve, the cochlear nucleus, and the inferior colliculus, including the lateral lemniscus and the brachium of the inferior colliculus. It was found that the response from the intracranial portion of the auditory nerve lags behind the far-field response recorded from the mastoid by about 0.2 msec. The major component of the potentials recorded from the lateral lemniscus appeared with a latency that was close to that of the fourth peak in the BAEP. Deafferentation of the inferior colliculus resulted in only small changes in the BAEP, indicating that the contributions to the BAEP from the inferior colliculus and more central structures of the ascending auditory pathway are insignificant. It is concluded that the main reason for the difference between the human BAEP and the BAEP in the rhesus monkey is the smaller size of the monkey's head and the resulting shorter auditory nerve. The result is that the auditory nerve in the monkey only generates one peak in the far-field response, while in man the auditory nerve gives rise to both of the two earliest peaks in the BAEP; thus, the BAEP in man has 5 peaks while that in the monkey has only 4 peaks.
Pharmacokinetics of vincristine sulfate in children

A radioimmunoassay was used to measure vincristine sulfate concentrations in the serum of four children with malignancies (ages 5-16 years) following intravenous (IV) bolus injections. The pharmacokinetic data were analyzed by a non-linear least-square regression program NONLIN. A three-compartment open model fitted the raw data better than a two-compartment model in three patients. In the other patient the raw data fitted a two-compartment open model. The half-lives of the triphasic decay curves alpha, beta, and gamma were 2.6, 41, and 1,531 min (25.5 h), respectively. The mean apparent volume of the central compartment was 3.25 l, and the the volume of distribution per 1.73 m2 body surface area at steady state was 215.9 l. In a three-compartment open model, the first-order distribution and elimination rate constants (min-1) of vincristine were as follows: k12, 0.088; k13, 0.121; k21, 0.028; k31, 0.0026; k10, 0.045. The plasma clearance was 146.2 ml/min per 1.73 m2, while the AUC0 infinity was 27,816 nM . min. Urinary excretion in one patient demonstrated a drug concentration of greater than 1.0 X 10(-7) M in the urine up to 78 h after the injection. Up to 37% of the administered drug was excreted in the urine as vincristine and/or its metabolites by 90 h. The low elimination rate constant from poorly perfused tissues to blood plasma (k31), a large apparent volume of distribution, and a long biological half-life (25.5 h) indicate avid tissue binding from which a slow release of the drug from the body tissues occurs.
Sketches for a Democratic Utopia

I want to sketch the general shape of several new structures that would in my view provide stronger support for democracy than is provided by any existing society. I call these sketches for a democratic Utopia not because I would expect these structures to inaugurate a perfect democracy, whatever that might be, nor because they are beyond human reach. On the contrary the institutions I want to suggest are well within human reach. I call them Utopian only because I am not able to point with confidence to the historical forces that are likely to bring them about. The structures I have in mind are designed to strengthen freedom and equality among citizens of democratic orders.
Species and ionic influences on the accumulation of digitalis glycosides by isolated perfused hearts

Summary 1 The ability of isolated perfused guinea-pig (digitalis-sensitive species) and rat (digitalis-resistant species) hearts to accumulate radio-labelled digitalis glycosides was studied in relation to the ionic composition of the perfusion medium. 2 It was observed that in both species much less digoxin was accumulated than was digitoxin or proscillaridin. 3 The accumulation of digoxin was markedly inhibited in a low sodium or in high potassium medium. These effects were similar, but relatively less marked, with digitoxin and proscillaridin. Calcium and magnesium removal had relatively smaller effects on the accumulation of both polar and non-polar glycosides. 4 The low accumulation of all digitaloids by the rat heart in comparison to the guinea-pig heart may be due to the formation of unstable complexes between the cellular membranes in the rat heart and the various digitaloids used in this study. Although digitaloids have a reduced affinity for rat hearts and rat heart membranes in comparison to guinea-pigs, the order of the accumulation of different glycosides in both species is the same, i.e. much less with polar glycosides than with non-polar glycosides. 5 It was concluded that non-polar glycosides such as digitoxin and proscillaridin demonstrate the same ion-dependent accumulation mechanism as do the more polar glycosides such as digoxin and ouabain. In addition, the non-polar glycosides possess high capacity for ion-independent binding presumably due to lipophilic interactions with membranes.
Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Dynamic Changes in lncRNA Expression during Reprogramming

Cellular reprogramming highlights the epigenetic plasticity of the somatic cell state. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerging roles in epigenetic regulation, but their potential functions in reprogramming cell fate have been largely unexplored. We used single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize the expression patterns of over 16,000 genes, including 437 lncRNAs, during defined stages of reprogramming to pluripotency. Self-organizing maps (SOMs) were used as an intuitive way to structure and interrogate transcriptome data at the single-cell level. Early molecular events during reprogramming involved the activation of Ras signaling pathways, along with hundreds of lncRNAs. Loss-of-function studies showed that activated lncRNAs can repress lineage-specific genes, while lncRNAs activated in multiple reprogramming cell types can regulate metabolic gene expression. Our findings demonstrate that reprogramming cells activate defined sets of functionally relevant lncRNAs and provide a resource to further investigate how dynamic changes in the transcriptome reprogram cell state.
Liquid phase boundaries, dielectric constant, and viscosity of PC-DEC and PC-EC binary carbonates

Among the most important properties of a binary carbonate for its application in nonaqueous electrolytes for lithium batteries are its liquid phase boundaries, dielectric constant e, and viscosity η. These properties were therefore experimentally evaluated in this work for two typical binary carbonates: propylene carbonate-diethyl carbonate (PC-DEC) and propylene carbonate-ethylene carbonate (PC-EC). Forming the upper temperature boundary of the liquid phase, the bubble point θ h b was found to change monotonically with solvent composition, falling with a large curvature from the boiling point of PC to that of DEC in PC-DEC, but rising to that of EC in PC-EC. Giving the lowest temperature of the liquid phase, the eutectic point of PC-DEC was found to be about 10° below the melting point of DEC, and that of PC-EC, only a few degrees below PC. The e changed with solvent composition monotonically. falling with the weight fraction w. of DEC in PC-DEC but rising with w of EC in PC-EC, and fell with rising temperature θ in both solvents. Bjerrum critical distance for ion pairing was evaluated from the measured e data and was found to depend weakly on θ but strongly on w. Glass transition temperature T g was measured for the two solvents for the purpose of evaluating their η and was found to fall with w of DEC in PC-DEC but rise slowly with w of EC in PC-EC. The apparent parallelism in the changes of θ b , e, and T g was attributed to their common connection to the internal cohesion of a solvent. As η is also largely determined by this cohesion, it was argued and demonstrated that T g could be used to qualitatively evaluate η of the carbonates and their mixture. η of the two solvents was thus seen to fall with w of DEC in PC-DEC and rise slowly with wof EC in PC-EC.
Prepared for challenges: The importance of a professional and institutional ethical identity

Anderson, Harbour, and Davies (2007) have proposed a framework of professional identity development for community college leaders. We further this discussion by introducing the idea of “institutional ethical identity” and offer suggestions for how leaders and constituents can work together to build a shared ethical identity on the community college campus.
Environmental determinants of peer social activity in 18-month-old males

The effects of the presence, absence, and size/portability of play materials on the frequency and quality of the social activity of six 18-month-old male infants were examined. Each infant was paired with every other infant and observed in free play for 10 min in each of four experimental conditions: (1) in a play setting furnished with a typical complement of infantappropriate play materials; (2) in the complete absence of play materials; (3) with only small portable toys available; and (4) with only large non-portable play equipment. Significantly more “desirable” and “undesirable” social activity occurred in the absence of play equipment. The large toy setting was associated with more sophisticated social interaction and the expression of more positive affect, while small toys fostered conflict and the expression of negative affect.
The structure of consolidated rapidly solidified powders of Ni3Al

Rapidly solidified powders of stoichiometric Ni3Al and Ni3Al containing boron and titanium have each been consolidated by two distinct routes, namely hot extrusion or hot compaction. The resulting microstructures have been examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The consolidated material did not retain the non-equilibrium structure of the rapidly solidified powders. The addition of titanium and boron produced material with a larger final grain size, a decreased incidence of twinning and, in the extruded material, led to cracking. Although all processing was performed in inert atmospheres, oxides were present in all consolidated products.
An azocarmine stain for differential cell analysis of the rat anterior hypophysis.

A method of staining is described which is especially designed to facilitate differentiation of the cell types of the rat anterior hypophysis. Fixation in Zenker-formol solution is recommended. Pre-staining of the nuclei by a short immersion in alum hematoxylin is followed by mordanting in anilin alcohol and a 45 minute period of staining in azocarmine solution at 60d`C. The counterstains, acid green and orange G, are dissolved in clove oil to avoid destaining of the azocarmine.
The constituent cutin acids of cranbury cuticle

Abstract Purified cutin from cranberry ( Vaccinium macrocarpon , var. Howes) skin was selectively degraded, and the cutin acids, as methyl esters, separated by TLC into seven classes including monobasic acids, dibasic acids, monohydroxy monobasic acids, monohydroxy epoxymonobasic acids, vic -dihydroxy dibasic acids, dihydroxy monobasic acids and trihydroxy monobasic acids. Of the 41 components identified in cranberry cutin by GLC and MS analysis, 18-hydroxyoctadec- cis -9-enoic acid (9·4%), 18-hydroxy- cis -9,10-epoxyoctadecanoic acid (7·5%), 10,16-dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid (16·7%) and threo -9,10,18-trihydroxyoctadecanoic acid (43·7%) were shown to be the major constituents.
Complete groin node dissection with preservation of the fascia lata in the treatment of vulvar carcinoma

Abstract Objective: To assess the local groin recurrence of vulvar carcinoma in patients treated by complete groin node dissection with preservation of the fascia lata. Methods: Charts of 60 patients with stages I–IV vulvar carcinoma who underwent radical vulvectomy and complete groin node dissection with preservation of the fascia lata between 1990 and 1998 were reviewed retrospectively. The superficial inguinal nodes and the deep femoral nodes medial to the femoral vein within the fossa ovalis were removed en bloc while sparing the fascia lata and most of the femoral sheath. Results: Of the 60 patients studied, 14 patients had stage I disease, 20 patients had stage II, 21 patients had stage III, and 5 patients had stage IV. The mean number of groin nodes removed was 10 per groin. Thirty-nine patients had benign nodes on groin dissection. Twenty (51%) of these 39 patients had stage II disease, and 69% had invasion greater than 2 mm at the primary site. None of these 39 patients developed cancer recurrence in the dissected groins. Twenty-one of the 60 study patients (34%) had malignant nodes on groin dissection. Two of these 21 patients experienced cancer recurrence in the groins. Our study describes a groin recurrence of 7.6% in patients with less than three malignant unilateral groin nodes. Postoperatively, 13% of patients developed lymphedema and 15% formed lymphoceles. Conclusions: The zero groin recurrence rate in patients with negative nodes and the low rate of recurrence in patients with positive nodes indicate that groin lymphadenectomy with preservation of fascia lata is complete, therapeutic, and comparable with radical techniques of lymphadenectomy involving skeletonization of femoral vessels, resection of fascia lata, and muscle transposition.
An elephant (Loxodonta africana) survey using dung counts in the forests of the Central African Republic

In May and June of 1989 data on elephant (Loxodonta africana) dung density were collected in the main forested areas of the Central African Republic. A total of 147.0 km of line transects (N = 14 transects, = 10.50 km, SD = 3.79) was completed. Dung was recorded in 37.4% of the 294 sectors of 0.5 km each. The overall dung density was estimated to be 266 piles km-2 (= 382, SD = 383.7). The highest dung density was found in the proposed Dzanga-Sangha Reserve in the extreme south-west with 1166 piles km-2 (N = 12 sectors of 0.5 km). The south-eastern forests were found to have an intermediate dung density of 336 piles km-2 (N = 215 sectors of 0.5 km, = 419, SD = 308). In the eastern section of the south-western forests no dung was recorded along survey transects (N = 67 sectors of 0.5 km). These data indicate that elephant populations are still relatively high in the forests of south-western and south-eastern Central African Republic, while the population in the eastern section of the south-western forests has diminished to a very low level.
Chemical Composition of the Potato as Affected by the Herbicide, Metribuzin: Enzymatic Discoloration, Phenols and Ascorbic Acid Content

The effect of metribuzin (herbicide) applications at pre-emergence (Tr. 1) and pre- and post-emergence (Tr. 2) stages on enzymatic discoloration, phenolic and ascorbic acid contents of Katahdin, Lemhi Russet and Hampton cultivars was investigated. In all the three cultivars Tr. 1 resulted in significantly (p < 0.05) lower phenolic content and enzymatic discoloration and significantly (p < 0.05) higher ascorbic acid than the controls. Tubers from plants receiving Tr. 2 had significantly (p < 0.05) higher phenolic content, enzymatic discoloration and ascorbic acid than Tr. 1. Tubers from Tr. 2 had significantly (p < 0.05) higher ascorbic acid than the controls but did not differ significantly in phenolic content and enzymatic discoloration from the controls. After a storage of 5 months, controls had the highest phenolic content and enzymatic discoloration followed by Tr. 1 and Tr. 2 for two of the three cultivars. Tr. 2 resulted in a retardation of phenol synthesis during storage.
Organothiocyanates as insecticides and carbamate synergists.

Benzyl thiocyanates, benzyl isothiocyanates, phenyl thiocyanates, and alkyl thiocyanates were examined for mode of action as insecticides and as synergists for the carbamate insecticide carbaryl. Substituted benzyl thiocyanates were moderately toxic to the house fly, Musca domestica L., except for p -nitrobenzyl thiocyanate which was nontoxic. All the benzyl thiocyanates were effective synergists for carbaryl. However, the corresponding benzyl isothiocyanates, although slightly more toxic, were nonsynergistic. The phenyl thiocyanates were of the same order of toxicity but were also nonsynergistic. The benzyl thiocyanates were found to inhibit tyrosinase and house fly phenolase in vitro at 10-5 to 10-2 M and effectiveness was directly related, to the electron withdrawing power of the para -substituent. It appears that the intact organothiocyanate molecule is essential for both toxicity and for synergistic activity. Carbamate synergism may result from complex formation with an essential metal cofactor of the detoxifying enzymes.
Improve the Intelligent Consortium Agent for SMEs in the Plastic Market

With development of Internet and technology, the traditional market has become an electronic market, and the value of trading has become more than a traditional market. The SME e-commerce has been grown rapidly, and more businesses have used the e-commerce for selling and buying goods or services. Consequently, most of the plastic e-marketplaces only allow the large companies to search the product and then contact the other large companies by email or phone. The e-marketplace needs an automated or intelligent agent in order to automated purchasing consortium among the SMEs. The consortium agents allow SMEs to make purchasing consortium by exchanging electronic messages in a multi-agent system. In addition, most of the e-marketplace does not support the purchasing consortium. This paper implements an automated purchasing consortium by applying Modified Knapsack Problem Algorithm, and by eliminating the broker agent in the consortium. Also, the efficiency of the simulated system in the plastic market is demonstrated by a series of simulations in which the result is Modified knapsack Algorithm Consortium and Exactly Consortium.
Nicotine patches improve mood and response speed in a lexical decision task.

Abstract The effects of smoking a cigarette or wearing a transdermal nicotine patch on mood and lexical decision-making were tested in eight smokers. Each participant was tested after 4 hours of smoking abstinence, under 4 conditions: placebo (very low nicotine) cigarette, nicotine cigarette, placebo patch, and nicotine patch. Relative to placebo, wearing the nicotine patch reduced Profile of Mood States (POMS) Total Mood Disturbance and Fatigue/Inertia scores, while increasing the speed of some types of lexical decisions. Smoking a nicotine cigarette did not affect reaction times, but unexpectedly decreased the accuracy of Word/Nonword lexical decisions. Thus, transdermal nicotine may improve mood and facilitate long-term memory search and/or attentional processes in nicotine-deprived smokers.
Suramin Determination by Direct Serum Injection

Abstract Suramin is an anti-prostatic tumor drug. Due to its narrow therapeutic range and long half life, frequent monitoring is required to minimize toxicity. We describe here a rapid assay to measure suramin levels in serum. Diluted serum samples are injected directly onto an HPLC cartridge column packed with a wide pore packing material (300A) and eluted with 10 mmol/L phosphate buffer, pH 7.2 containing 15% acetonitrile with detection at 325 nm or 254 nm. The analysis is rapid (< 3 min), while the recovery is about 98% with no interference from common drugs.
A stochastic model for adsorption in an open flow system

A stochastic model is developed to characterize flow, adsorption and transport of solute molecules through the solid phase in an open flow adsorber. The flow process is depicted as composed of n compartments with forward and backward flow connecting adjacent compartments. To account for adsorption and transport of solute molecules through the porous solid, the solid phase in each compartment is partitioned into an outer layer and an inner layer. The stochastic process model accounts for movement of solute molecules in the liquid phase, for the transfer of molecules between the liquid and the outer layer of the solid phase and for solute movement through the solid phase. From this model, one may predict the residence time distribution of a molecule in the system and the concentration profile of solute molecules in the outlet stream (breakthrough curve) and estimate the adsorption and flow parameters of the process. In addition to its usefulness in engineering treatment systems such as water and air purification, this modelling approach is useful in studying the transport of organic chemicals in the soil.
ACR appropriateness criteria® hemoptysis.

Although hemoptysis is often self-limited and benign in origin, it can be an indicator of serious disease including bronchiectasis, granulomatous infection, and malignancy. Hemoptysis severity can be graded on the basis of the quantity of expectorated blood: 300 to 400 mL in 24 hours as massive. Among patients with hemoptysis, chest radiographs are often abnormal and can guide evaluation. The overall risk for malignancy in patients with normal radiographs is low but may be as much as 5% to 10% in patients with >30 mL of hemoptysis and those who are above 40 years of age and have significant smoking history. A combination of negative computed tomography and bronchoscopy results predicts a very low likelihood of lung malignancy diagnosis over medium-term follow-up (2 to 3 y). Bronchial and nonbronchial systemic arteries are much more frequent sources of hemoptysis than pulmonary arteries. Major or massive hemoptysis can usually be stopped acutely by bronchial arterial embolization. Recurrences, however, are common and often require repeat embolization. The ACR Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 2 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances in which evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.
Dislocation Substructures and Nonproportional Hardening

The dislocation substructures created in 1100 aluminum, OFHC copper, and type 304 and 310 stainless steels by in-phase (proportional) and 90 deg out-of-phase (nonproportional) tension-torsion cyclic loading were examined with a transmission-electron microscope. Multislip structures (cells and subgrains) are observed in aluminum under both in-phase and 90 deg out-of-phase tension-torsion loading. For copper and stainless steel, single-slip structures (planar dislocations, matrix veins, and ladders) are observed after proportional loading, whereas multislip structures (cells and labyrinths) are observed after nonproportional loading. The increased cyclic hardening of copper and stainless steels under nonproportional loading is attributed to the change of dislocation substructures. Based on these observations, formulation of a nonproportionality parameter for constitutive modeling is discussed.
Currency war or international policy coordination

“Currency war” is a meme that will not go away. The term was coined by Brazilian finance Minister Guido Mantega in September 2010 in response to quantitative easing in the United States. Mantega’s implied criticism was that the unconventional monetary policies of the Federal Reserve to ward off deflation and stimulate a depressed economy were beggar thy neighbor. They unleashed a tsunami of capital flows toward emerging markets, resulting in inflation, currency appreciation, loss of competitiveness and worrisome upward pressure on asset prices. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff invoked the term and echoed her finance minister’s criticism in the spring of 2012 and again on a visit to the White House later in the year. At the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013, when Bank of Japan committed to large-scale asset purchases and the government of newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked to raise the central bank’s inflation target, once more there were accusations, this time mainly from Japan’s Asian neighbors, that the country was waging a clandestine currency war.
Azithromycin concentrations in blood and gingival crevicular fluid after systemic administration.

Background: Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that is active against several periodontal pathogens. Macrolides are taken up and concentrated inside gingival fibroblasts, which could influence their pharmacokinetics. This study tests the hypothesis that steady-state levels of azithromycin are higher and more sustained in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) than in serum.Methods: Four healthy patients received an initial dose of 500-mg azithromycin followed by 250-mg doses on each of the next 2 days. Serum and GCF samples were obtained 2 hours after the last dose on day 2, and on days 4 and 7. GCF samples were collected from maxillary posterior sites with paper strips. The strips were pooled and eluted with high-purity water. After extraction, the azithromycin content of the serum samples and GCF eluates was determined with an agar diffusion bioassay.Results: On days 2, 4, and 7, the concentrations of azithromycin in blood serum were 0.22 ± 0.02, 0.08 ± 0.02, and 0.04 ± 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. The concen...
MEDOC: An Index for the Health Sciences

Abstract MEDOC is an index to U.S. government documents in the health sciences which has been produced at the Eccles Health Sciences Library for over a decade. The necessity for such an index and its development from an in-house catalog into a self-supporting subscription service is discussed. The application of computer technology in the production of the index is described. A detailed description of the factors which influenced the design of the current version of MEDOC is presented. The article concludes with a description of management concerns, including the development of a system for maintaining subscriber records.
Activity of phenol oxidases at the puparium formation stage in development of nineteen lozenge mutants of Drosophila melanogaster.

Phenol oxidase activity of activated A1 and A2 (A3) electrophoretic components from 19 lozenge mutant and three lozenge double mutant strains was compared to that of wild type flies. Melanin production by the activated A components with tyrosine as substrate was compared to activity in the same acrylamide gels with dopa as substrate. Melanin production decreased, first in the A1 band and then in the A2 (A3) band, with increased morphological expression of the mutant genes. No melanin bands were obtained with either substrate in five of the more severely affected mutants. A possible correlation between phenol oxidase activity and quinone production necessary for normal development of eyes, female accessory sex organs, and claws is discussed.
Vision and Navigation for the CMU Navlab

Recent work on autonomous navigation at Carnegie Mellon spans the range from hardware improvements to computational speed to new perception algorithms to systems issues. We have a new vehicle, the Navlab, that has room for onboard researchers and computers, and that carries a full suite of sensors. We have ported several of our algorithms to the Warp, an experimental supercomputer capable of performing 100 million floating point operations per second. Our perception now uses adaptive color classification for road tracking, and scanning laser rangefinder data for obstacle detection. We have completed the first system that uses the CMU Blackboard for scheduling, geometric transformations, inter and intra machine communications.
Innate immunity: The unsung heroes

The fact that most people are not perpetually sick is testament to innate immunity squelching most of the infections that we contract.
A study of the reaction zone in an SiC fiber-reinforced titanium alloy composite

Results on several aspects of a SiC fiber-reinforced IMI-829 (α-titanium alloy) metal matrix composite (MMC) are presented. Scanning Auger microscopy (SAM) of SiC fibers reveals a high concentration of oxygen which varies across the diameter of the fibers. It also shows that composition of SiC changes across the diameter and, for the most part, is carbon-rich nonstoichiometric SiC. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of thin MMC foils shows the presence of TiC and TiSi2 in the reaction zone. Postfabrication thermal exposures of MMC s at 975 °C lead to void formation in the reaction zone. Concentration profiles of various elements across the reaction zone reveal a buildup of Zr, Nb, and Si and a decrease of Ti, Al, and Sn in the matrix around the reaction zone. Void formation in the reaction zone has been explained by the relatively high flow of Si atoms to the matrix leading to an accumulation of vacancies in the reaction zone which condense to form voids. In addition, an enhancement of hardness in the matrix around the reaction zone has been attributed to a strengthening of the matrix by solid solution and precipitation hardening, together with a contribution from residual stresses.
Progress in Design and Construction of the Optical Communications Laser Laboratory

The deployment of advanced hyperspectral imaging and other Earth sensing instruments on board Earth observing satellites is driving the demand for high-data-rate communications. Optical communications meet the required data rates with small, low-mass, and low-power communications packages. JPL, as NASA's lead center in optical communications, plans to construct a 1-m Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at its Table Mountain Facility (TMF) complex in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. The design of the building has been completed, and the construction contractor has been selected. Ground breaking is expected to start at the beginning of the 1999 TMF construction season. A request for proposal (RFP) has been issued for the procurement of the telescope system. Prior to letting the RFP we conducted a request for information with industry for the telescope system. Several vendors responded favorably and provided information on key elements of the proposed design. These inputs were considered in developing the final requirements in the RFP.
Emergent behavior in large scale networks

We apply mean field asymptotic analysis to explain the emergence of global behavior in large scale networks. The underlying motivating application is epidemics like computer virus spreading, for example, in wide campus local networks. We consider multiple classes of viruses, each type bearing their own statistical characterization - exogenous contamination, contagious propagation, and healing. The network state (distribution of nodes infected by each class in the network) is a jump Markov process, not necessarily reversible, making it a challenge to obtain its invariant distribution. By suitable renormalization, in the limit of a large network (number of nodes,) the macroscopic behavior of the network is described by the solution of a set of deterministic nonlinear differential equations (Riccati type.) We show that, under the heavy traffic assumption, the relevant underlying dynamics induces a coherent nontrivial metastable behavior in a macroscopic space-time scale: a slight imbalance on the effective spreading rate of one class over the others determines a significantly greater steady state predominance of this class over the others, regardless of the initial distribution.
From Nothing to Sociology

Since I typed last, a few days ago, I remembered some essays I had written more than sixty years ago: I remembered the affinity between them and this juncture in this book; and I got both frightened and delighted by this affinity. “Das Unumgangliche” (The Ineluctable) consists of six very short but very “thick” papers, The Poet and Sociology (already then a theme or a problem); a second, untitled essay; On Interpretation (already intrinsic and extrinsic); “Das heutige Ich (made)” (The Self Today [Tired]); “Rede an das kollektiv gedachte unglaubliche Gehirn” (Address to the Incredible Brain Thought of as Collective); and “Distanzierte Unumganglichkeit, Das Unumgangliche” (Distanced Ineluctability, The Ineluctable).1 The themes suggested by these titles are variations in the formulation, or in the effort to find a formulation, of my basic experience, of the basic experience of my time: the questionability, uncertainty, baselessness of everything, the terrible need for finding a ground on which to be able to stand. I quote from one variation: Finally we want to call attention to an essay which... appears to offer insight and a challenge that is similar to ours: Was ist Metaphysik? (What Is Metaphysics?) by Martin Heidegger (Bonn, 1929). We have two points of reference for this opinion [of affinity]. For one, Heidegger claims for science a unique attitude toward life, namely, service to the “Sache selbst” [the thing itself; cf. Husserl’s “To the things” — and Chap. VIII, Sec. 2, above] (p. 9) — the parallel to us might consist in the fact that by this statement Heidegger seems to want to create for himself an ontic anchoring of what he is doing. But much more it is the second symptom that speaks for our view, namely, that this [Heidegger’s] essay tells, with almost poetic immediacy, of his own life, namely, in developing the concept of “nothing,” when Heidegger neither finds nor could accept the possibility of a rational definition but instead reminds us of the feeling in which alone Nothing can be experienced: anxiety. Only out of this ineluctable feeling is the concept of Nothing hypostasized.2 And what does the experience of Nothing, what does Nothing experienced, lead to? To the concept of surrender-and-catch, as it has become obvious to me, over this period of sixty years. And now — which is a different Now — if I surrender to the question of how to justify doing sociology, what catch might I come up with?
A computer search for stable orbits between Jupiter and Saturn

The present experiment with test particles placed in orbits at uniform intervals between 5.7 and 8.8 AU, with randomly distributed eccentricities between 0.0 and 0.02 and inclinations between 0.0 and 0.063 rad, leads to the perception that no stable niches exist in the Jupiter-Saturn zone other than the Lagrangian points of Jupiter. These points are populated by at least 26 Trojan asteroids. The primary implication of these results for future investigations of the Saturn-Uranus-Neptune zone is that experimental design should be as selective as the dynamics of the planetary system have been shown to be.
Pyoderma Gangrenosum Associated with Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an unusual ulcerating cutaneous process frequently representing a dermatologic manifestation of a systemic disease including myeloproliferative disorders. This article describes the first case of PG associated with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AML-M7). This case determined that the morphology of blast forms present within the lesion represented by PG, including elongated cytoplasmic projections, frayed shaggy cytoplasm, and appearance of adhesion of blasts to each other, are suggestive, though not diagnostic, of megakaryoblast. Identification of microthrombi within PG, suggestion of adhesion of circulating megakaryoblasts, and previous reported cases of patients with AML-M7 and patients with PG associated with myeloproliferative disorders exhibiting thrombotic or coagulopathies suggest that a localized microangiopathic consumptive coagulopathy or microthrombotic ischemic process might be considered in the etiology and pathogenesis of PG.
ATP-induced changes in the binding of RNA synthesis termination protein Rho to RNA.

The interaction between rho protein, an RNA synthesis termination factor from Escherichia coli , and synthetic RNA polymers has been studied using a membrane filter binding technique and by the inhibition of enzymes that digest RNA. The binding studies show that rho forms a very stable, salt-resistant complex with poly(C). The high affinity of the interaction correlates with the high activity of poly(C) as an effector of rho-ATPase. Poor rho-ATPase effectors, such as poly(U) and poly(A) also bind to rho but with much lower affinities. However, good binding is not a sufficient condition for activation of rho-ATPase; poly(dC) binds to rho with a higher affinity than poly(U) yet it does not activate rho-ATPase. At low ratios of rho to poly(C), one poly(C) molecule is bound for each molecule of hexameric rho. At higher ratios, a single poly(C) can bind several rho molecules independently. The sites for rho on poly(C) become staturated at a level of one rho molecule per 100 nucleotides, which is about the level expected for close packing of rho on a single-stranded RNA. From the size of poly(C) protected by rho against ribonuclease A digestion, it is concluded that the binding site on rho is large enough to contain 60 residues of poly(C). Poly(C) bound to rho is subject to a bimolecular displacement reaction by free poly(C). The rate of that reaction is decreased by ATP and β-γ imido ATP and increased by ADP. The tight binding of rho to poly(C) or poly(U,C) inhibits the action of polynucleotide phosphorylase, bovine brain exonuclease and Q β replicase on the RNA. The addition of ATP increases the effectiveness of rho in inhibiting these enzymes by a factor of two. ATP also decreases the maximum amount of rho that can be bound to poly(C) by a factor of two. However, ATP does not change the binding stoichiometry when sites on poly(C) are not limiting nor the amount or size of poly(C) protected from ribonuclease A digestion. A model to explain these effects plus the effects of nucleotides on the poly(C) displacement reaction is proposed in which ATP causes poly(C) to become wrapped around rho. We suggest that this occurs through multiple interactions at secondary RNA binding sites on rho.
Low temperature superplasticity in a friction-stir-processed ultrafine grained Al–Zn–Mg–Sc alloy

Abstract Friction stir processing (FSP) was used to create a microstructure with ultrafine grains (0.68 μm grain size) in an as-cast Al–8.9Zn–2.6Mg–0.09Sc (wt.%) alloy. The ultrafine grained alloy exhibited superplasticity at relatively low temperatures and higher strain rates. Optimum ductility of 1165% at a strain rate of 3 × 10−2 s−1 and 310 °C was obtained. Enhanced superplasticity was also achieved at a temperature as low as 220 °C. Experimentally observed parametric dependencies and microstructural examinations indicated that the operating deformation mechanism might be the Rachinger grain boundary sliding accommodated by intragranular slip. The FSP microstructure became highly unstable at 390 °C onwards, thus, affecting ductility adversely. In situ transmission electron microscopy heating was used to understand the instability phenomenon, which has been attributed to the drop in particle pinning forces due to the dissolution of metastable precipitates and microstructural heterogeneity.
Nociception increases during opioid infusion in opioid receptor triple knock-out mice

Abstract Opioids are extensively used analgesics yet can paradoxically increase pain sensitivity in humans and rodents. This hyperalgesia is extensively conceptualized to be a consequence of opioid receptor activity, perhaps providing an adaptive response to analgesia, and to utilize N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptors. These assumptions were tested here in opioid receptor triple knock-out (KO) mice lacking all three genes encoding opioid receptors (μ, δ, and κ) by comparing their thermal nociceptive responses to the opioids morphine and oxymorphone with those of B6129F 1 controls. Injecting acute opioid bolus doses in controls caused maximal analgesia that was completely abolished in KO mice, confirming the functional consequence of the KO mouse opioid receptor deficiency. Continuous opioid infusion by osmotic pump in control mice also initially caused several consecutive days of analgesia that was shortly thereafter followed by several consecutive days of hyperalgesia. In contrast, continuously infusing KO mice with opioids caused no detectable analgesic response, but only immediate and steady declines in nociceptive thresholds culminating in several days of unremitting hyperalgesia. Finally, injecting the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 during opioid infusion markedly reversed hyperalgesia in control but not KO mice. These data demonstrate that sustained morphine and oxymorphone delivery causes hyperalgesia independently of prior or concurrent opioid or NMDA receptor activity or opioid analgesia, indicating the contribution of mechanisms outside of current conceptions, and are inconsistent with proposals of hyperalgesia as a causative factor of opioid analgesic tolerance.
Bipolar syndromes following brain trauma

Abstract A number of illnesses can produce mood abnormalities. Case reports suggest that syndromes resembling Idiopathic bipolar disorders can follow traumatic brain injuries (TBI). We describe a TBI patient who developed episodes of depression and mania after his injuries and review the recent literature on post-traumatic bipolar syndromes. While unipolar depression is common after TBI, bipolar syndromes occur in only a small segment of the TBI population. A bipolar syndrome can appear immediately after a TBI or after a delay of months or years. Patients with post-traumatic mania are often irritable and aggressive. Factors that may predispose a TBI patient to bipolar illness include an inherited vulnerability to mood disorders, pre-existent frontal subcortical and diencephalic atrophy, and post-traumatic seizures. Studies of patients who developed a bipolar syndrome after a brain Insult show a preponderance of right hemisphere lesions, particularly right orbitofrontal and basotemporal cortical, caudate a...
Race, Media, and the Crisis of Civil Society: From Watts to Rodney King

Introduction 2. Race, media and multiple publics 3. Historicizing the public sphere(s): New York, Los Angeles, Chicago 4. The Watts uprisings of 1965 5. The Rodney King beating 6. Rodney King 1992 7. Conclusion Notes References Index.
Abstract 4543: Identification of downstream targets of polo-like kinase 1 in melanoma by large-scale label-free comparative proteomics profiling

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a serine-threonine kinase that plays a critical role in the cell cycle by regulating mitotic entry, progression and exit. In recent years, Plk1 has gained considerable attention as a promising mechanism-based therapeutic target in a variety of cancers. Pre-clinical studies have suggested that Plk1 inhibition is capable of reducing cancer cell growth both in vitro and in vivo with tremendous efficacy and with minimal detriment to normal cells. This evidence has spurred the development of many Plk1-specific inhibitors that has culminated in over 30 clinical trials, either completed or ongoing. However, the remarkable pre-clinical success of Plk1 inhibitors has yet to be validated at the clinical level, thus stressing on an urgent need for a better understanding of Plk1 signaling. In an effort to further elucidate the molecular function of Plk1 inhibitors, we performed a comparative quantitative proteomics strategy to compare the proteome of human melanoma cells (A375) following treatment with the Plk1-specific ATP competitive inhibitor BI 6727 (25 nM, 24 h). We employed label-free nano-LC/MS/MS technology on a Q-exactive followed by SIEVE processing to identify more than 1800 proteins, ≤ 1% false discover rate, 343 of which had significantly altered expression. Using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) to select for proteins with more than two unique peptides and greater than a two-fold change, our proteomic analysis resulted in the identification of more than twenty proteins that were significantly dysregulated following Plk1-inhibition, many of which have not been previously shown to be associated with Plk1 signaling. Interestingly, the metabolic and proteasome pathways harbor the greatest portion of differentially expressed proteins, including five subunits of the 20S proteasome core particle and five members of the glycolysis pathway. Given the importance of these two pathways in cancer cell survival, this study provides two potential mechanisms of Plk1 inhibition that have yet to be explored. Further studies are currently ongoing in our laboratory to validate our findings in additional experiments. Citation Format: Brian D. Cholewa, Molly P. Hahn, Cameron O. Scarlett, Nihal Ahmad. Identification of downstream targets of polo-like kinase 1 in melanoma by large-scale label-free comparative proteomics profiling. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4543. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4543