cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A biomimetic polyketide-inspired approach to small-molecule ligand discovery

The discovery of new compounds for the pharmacological manipulation of protein function often embraces the screening of compound collections, and it is widely recognized that natural products offer beneficial characteristics as protein ligands. Much effort has therefore been focused on 'natural product-like' libraries, yet the synthesis and screening of such libraries is often limited by one or more of the following: modest library sizes and structural diversity, conformational heterogeneity and the costs associated with the substantial infrastructure of modern high-throughput screening centres. Here, we describe the design and execution of an approach to this broad problem by merging principles associated with biologically inspired oligomerization and the structure of polyketide-derived natural products. A novel class of chiral and conformationally constrained oligomers is described (termed 'chiral oligomers of pentenoic amides', COPA), which offers compatibility with split-and-pool methods and can be screened en masse in a batch mode. We demonstrate that a COPA library containing 160,000 compounds is a useful source of novel protein ligands by identifying a non-covalent synthetic ligand to the DNA-binding domain of the p53 transcription factor.
Metacognition and the influence of polling systems: how do clickers compare with low technology systems

Recent research suggests that clickers (electronic feedback devices) influence metacognition. This article reports qualitative findings from a quasi-experimental study comparing clickers and low technology polling. We sought to establish how clickers influence metacognition and whether differences exist in how each response system influences metacognition. The qualitative data collected includes an open-ended survey administer to all study participants (n = 198), informal observations, and interviews conducted using purposeful sampling. While low technology polling appears to elicit more metacognition than clickers, negative feelings and conformity affect also increase. Clickers result in positive feelings and reduction of the conformity effect. In addition to significantly higher performance outcomes, findings indicate polling systems result in different qualities of metacognition, meaning either more or less productive, and either self-reflective or group reflective. These differences contribute to the degree to which the environment is learner centered.
Optical properties of seawater for a short pulse

Optical properties of the sea water for a short pulseKusiel S. Shifrmn and Ilja G. ZolotovOregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric SciencesCorvallis, Oregon 9733 1-5503ABSTRACTThe present work consists of two parts. In the first part, the principal results of the scattering theory of ultrashort light pulses (USLP) by a small spherical particle, are briefly outlined. In the second part, the peculiarities ofthe USLP scattering by marine suspension are examined.
The effect of phospholipases and proteases on the binding of γ-aminobutyric acid to junctional complexes of rat cerebellum

A preparation enriched in junctional complexes, as judged by marker enzymes and electron microscopy, was prepared from rat cerebellum. The junctional complexes were incubated with gamma-amino [14C]butyric acid at 25degreesC for 10 min, using [3H]sucrose as a marker for entrapped space, Total binding was determined in the absence of, and non-specific binding in the presence of, and excess of unlabelled gamma-aminobutyric acid. The difference bewteen the two binding values, i.e. the specific binding, was saturable and reversible, and showed positive cooperativity with a Hill number of about 2. The specific binding was inhibited by N-methylbicuculline, picrotoxinine and imidazole-4-acetic acid, but not by curare, strychnine or L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid. The above compounds had little effect on the non-specipic binding, but addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid decreased non-specific binding by 80%. Trypsin, pronase, phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4), lysolecithin and sodium dodecyl sulfate decreased binding. Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) increased the specific binding by 260%. Phospholipids competed with gamma-aminobutyric acid for binding, with phosphatidylethanolamine being more potent than phosphatidylcholine. These results lend support for Watkins' hypothesis that phosphatidylethanolamine competes with gamma-aminobutyric acid for binding to the receptor protein.
A gel point method for the estimation of overall apparent activation energies of polymerization

The gel time, measured under isothermal conditions, may be taken as a measure of the overall rate of polymerization of a given system under certain circumstances. This enables us to estimate the Arrhenius activation energy from such measurements. A simple piece of apparatus is described which has been used to measure the overall activation energy of some epoxy resin polymerizations. The agreement with previously published data is reasonable.
Line node and transitional shell element for rotational shells

A transitional shell finite element which is useful for the analysis of shells of revolution with local deviations is developed. For the analysis of such a structure, rotational shell elements may be used in the axisymmetric portion of the shell, while general shell elements are needed in the region where deviations create a local non-axisymmetry. The transitional shell element connects these two different types of elements. To facilitate the transition, a line node, which can accommodate any type of shape function, is developed. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the new element.
Biphasic Effects of Insulin on Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Membrane Disruption

Type II diabetes, in its late stages, is often associated with the formation of extracellular islet amyloid deposits composed of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP or amylin). IAPP is stored before secretion at millimolar concentrations within secretory granules inside the β-cells. Of interest, at these same concentrations in vitro, IAPP rapidly aggregates and forms fibrils, yet within secretory granules of healthy individuals, IAPP does not fibrillize. Insulin is also stored within the secretory granules before secretion, and has been shown in vitro to inhibit IAPP fibril formation. Because of insulin's inhibitory effect on IAPP fibrillization, it has been suggested that insulin may also inhibit IAPP-mediated permeabilization of the β-cell plasma membrane in vivo. We show that although insulin is effective at preventing fiber-dependent membrane disruption, it is not effective at stopping the initial phase of membrane disruption before fibrillogenesis, and does not prevent the formation of small IAPP oligomers on the membrane. These results suggest that insulin has a more complicated role in inhibiting IAPP fibrillogenesis, and that other factors, such as the low pH of the secretory granule, may also play a role.
Hydrogen adsorption at Nb(100): Photoemission evidence of two-state exchange involving subsurface states

Abstract Temperature dependent properties of electronic states resulting from hydrogen adsorption on Nb(100) surfaces have been studied by photoemission spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. The most prominent hydrogen induced feature in photoemission spectra exhibits a temperature dependence that requires contributions from two distinct states. Analysis of the photon energy dependent cross section of the hydrogen induced features suggests that hydrogen chemisorption sites are located below the surface. These results have important consequences for kinetic models that attempt to account for hydrogen uptake by Nb.
PSYCHOTHERAPY AND MANDATED REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE

Seventy-six percent of 65 psychotherapy cases seen in a child guidance clinic either did not change or improved following a mandated report of suspected child abuse. In a significant minority of cases, the therapy relationship deteriorated when the report was made about a client in treatment, and improved when the report was made about a third party not in treatment.
Hormonal Induction of Mouse Selenocysteine Transfer Ribonucleic Acid (tRNA) Gene Transcription-Activating Factor and Its Functional Importance in the Selenocysteine tRNA Gene Transcription in Mouse Mammary Gland

Mouse selenocysteine transfer RNA (tRNA) gene transcription-activating factor (mStaf) is a transcriptional activator that enhances RNA polymerase III-dependent mouse selenocysteine tRNA (tRNA(Sec)) gene transcription. The DNA-binding activity of mStaf in mouse mammary gland undergoes developmental changes, reaching a maximal level during the period of lactation. In this study, we employed an organ culture system to examine the hormonal regulation of mStaf binding and its role in the tRNA(Sec) transcription in the mammary gland. The results showed that mStaf binding in mammary explants was stimulated by treatment with the lactogenic hormones, PRL, insulin, and hydrocortisone and that a specific MEK inhibitor, PD98059, inhibited the hormonal stimulation of mStaf binding. Other kinase inhibitors, such as a Janus kinase inhibitor and a calmodulin kinase inhibitor, had no apparent effect. Northern and Western blot analyses revealed that the level of both mStaf messenger RNA and protein was enhanced by the lactogenic hormones and was reduced by the concomitant treatment with PD98059. The mitogen-activated protein kinase activity in cultured explants was rapidly induced and maintained at high levels by the lactogenic hormones. We also found that the lactogenic hormones increased the amount of tRNA(Sec) in a time-dependent manner, which followed the increase in mStaf binding in cultured mammary explants. These results support the view that mStaf plays a key role in the hormonal stimulation of tRNA(Sec) transcription in the mammary gland.
Safety of carotid artery stenting for symptomatic carotid artery disease: a meta-analysis

Aims Clinical trials comparing carotid artery stenting (CAS) with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease have produced conflicting results. We performed a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate currently available data by comparing CAS with CEA in patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease. Methods and results We searched MEDLINE, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, Current Contents, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts databases, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and scientific meeting abstracts up to 31 October 2006 and then calculated summary risk ratios (RRs) for mortality, stroke, disabling stroke, and death using random- and fixed-effect models. Data from five trials with 2122 patients were pooled. There was no difference in risk of 30-day mortality (summary RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.22–1.47, P = 0.25), stroke (summary RR 1.64, 95% CI 0.67–4.00, P = 0.34), disabling stroke (summary RR 1.67, 95% CI 0.50–5.62, P = 0.50), death and stroke (summary RR 1.54, 95% CI 0.81–2.92, P = 0.19), or death and disabling stroke (summary RR 1.19, 95% CI 0.57–2.51, P = 0.64) among patients randomized to CAS, compared with CEA. Conclusions No significant differences could be identified between CAS and CEA in the treatment of patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease. Larger randomized controlled trials are warranted to compare the two strategies.
On stabilizing strict-feedback linear systems with delayed integrators

The problem of compensation of input delays for unstable linear systems was solved in the late 1970s. The systems with simultaneous input and state delay have remained a challenge, although exponential stabilization has been solved for systems that are not exponentially unstable, such as chains of delayed integrators and systems in the ‘feedforward’ form. We consider a specially selected example of an exponentially unstable system with simultaneous input and state delays, which contains some key features that make the standard matrix exponential based predictor feedback design inapplicable. We construct an explicit feedback law, which contains distributed delay feedback of the input and the delayed state, and present a Lyapunov stability analysis.
STAT3-dependent mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes: analysis of molecular signaling and therapeutic efficacy of cardiomyocyte precommitted mES transplantation in a mouse model of myocardial infarction

Pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cell therapy may be an attractive source for postinfarction myocardial repair and regeneration. However, the specific stimuli and signal pathways that may control ES cell-mediated cardiomyogenesis remains to be completely defined. The aim of the present study was to investigate (1) the effect and underlying signal transduction pathways of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and bone-morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2)-induced mouse ES cell (mES-D3 line) differentiation into cardiomyocytes (CMC) and (2) the efficacy of CMC precommitted mES cells for functional and anatomical cardiac repair in surgically-induced mouse acute myocardial infarction (AMI) model. Various doses of LIF and BMP-2 and their inhibitors or blocking antibodies were tested for mES differentiation to CMC in vitro. CMC differentiation was assessed by mRNA and protein expression of CMC-specific markers, Connexin-43, CTI, CTT, Mef2c, Tbx5, Nkx2.5, GATA-4, and alphaMHC. LIF and BMP-2 synergistically induced the expression of CMC markers as early as 2 to 4 days in culture. Signaling studies identified STAT3 and MAP kinase (ERK1/2) as specific signaling components of LIF+BMP-2-mediated CMC differentiation. Inhibition of either STAT3 or MAPK activation by specific inhibitors drastically suppressed LIF+BMP-2-mediated CMC differentiation. Moreover, in mouse AMI, transplantation of lentivirus-GFP-transduced, LIF+BMP-2 precommitted mES cells, improved post-MI left ventricular functions, and enhanced capillary density. Transplanted cells engrafted in myocardium and differentiated into CMC and endothelial cells. Our data suggest that LIF and BMP-2 may synergistically enhance CMC differentiation of transplanted stem cells. Thus augmentation of LIF/BMP-2 downstream signaling components or cell type specific precommitment may facilitate the effects of ES cell-based therapies for post-MI myocardial repair and regeneration.
Integrating sensing, task planning, and execution for robotic assembly

This paper deals with enhancing the level of autonomy in a robotic work cell. With that mission in mind, the authors present an integrated framework for the sensing, the planning, and the execution aspects of assembly. In experimental demonstrations of this system on a PUMA762, the authors can now throw objects randomly into the workspace of the robot and the robot then automatically synthesizes a manipulation plan that includes the operations of sensing, grasping, and regrasping. Each operation is invoked only when it is deemed necessary for the successful execution of assembly.
Contribution of field-assisted tunneling emission to dark current in InAs-GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors

A model for the dark current in quantum dot infrared photodetectors, including thermionic emission and field-assisted tunneling, is developed. The calculated dark currents are in excellent agreement with measured values for a wide range of temperatures (78 K-295 K) and applied bias (0-3 V).
Recent Results for PowerPC Processor and Bridge Chip Testing

Recent single event effect (SEE) test results for the Freescale 7447A and IBM 750FX microprocessors, and Marvell 64460 bridge chips are reported. The 7447A and 750FX results are compared to earlier work. The 64460 represents unique data. The data extraction methods for each test type are described. The 7447A and 750FX were found to have a single event upset (SEU) threshold of about 1 MeV-cm²/mg and saturated cross section of 2e-9 cm²/bit. Both devices have proton cross sections of about 1e-14cm²/bit and proton thresholds below 20 MeV. The 64460 was shown to have functional interrupts similar to single event latchup with threshold below 1 MeV-cm²/g and saturated cross section around 1 cm².
Policy Solutions for Increasing Economic Impacts of Wind Development in Arizona

Arizona recently dedicated its first utility-scale wind plant, the 63-MW Dry Lake Wind Project on private, state and BLM land near Holbrook. While Arizona has developable wind resources and some available transmission capacity, wind power development has not taken off in the state, and this is often attributed to policy issues and resource quality. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Western Wind & Solar Integration Study quantified the wind capacity that should be built in Arizona under various wind development scenarios, including all-in-state development, least-cost wind resource across the western electric grid in the inter-mountain west, and a scenario providing some accounting for local economic impacts of wind development. In scenarios in which up to 20% of Arizona’s electrical energy was served by wind resources developed within Arizona, the study found that instate wind development actually resulted in a lower overall system operating cost of energy to state consumers than any other scenario (despite higher capacity factor sites being available outside of Arizona). In addition, the economic impacts of this potential development offer revitalization to many of the rural areas in the state. However, the state lacks coherent policies to attract wind power development and to bolster the services available in rural areas to meet the needs of developers during construction and operation of wind power plants. This study presents and evaluates policy mechanisms for use by the state, county, or tribal governments to increase wind penetration, attract wind development through financial incentives, and increase the local economic impacts of the development once it takes place. Example policies from other states, counties, and tribal governments are evaluated with regard to their appropriateness in Arizona, and suggestions are made for changes to federal policy that would increase the viability and impact of wind development projects on tribal land nationwide.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Participation, Perception of Participation, and Citizen Support

Despite strong support for citizen participation in the abstract, there is less support in practice, in part because of different expectations about the impact of participation. This research examines participation in two communities following a disaster. It tests four hypotheses. The research demonstrates that actual participation had no impact or a slight negative impact on satisfaction and legitimacy, but the beliefs that citizens had had an impact and the city had attempted to involve citizens were strongly positively related to both. The research suggests that the symbolic role of participation may be more important than its instrumental role.
Frequency Subband Processing and Feature Analysis of Forward-Looking Ground-Penetrating Radar Signals for Land-Mine Detection

There has been significant amount of study on the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for land-mine detection. This paper presents our analysis of GPR data collected at a U.S. Army test site using a new approach based on frequency subband processing. In this approach, from the radar data that have over 2.5 GHz of bandwidth, we compute separate radar images using the one wide (2 GHz) and four narrow (0.6 GHz) frequency subbands. The results indicate that signals for different frequency subbands are significantly different and give very different performance in land-mine detection. In addition, we also examine a number of features extracted from the GPR data, including magnitude and local-contrast features, ratio between copolarization and cross-polarization signals, and features obtained using polarimetric decomposition. Feature selection procedures are employed to find subsets of features that improve detection performance when combined. Results of land-mine detection, including performance on blind test lanes, are presented
Total Hip Arthroplasty Surveillance: When Do We See Our Patients Postoperatively?

Despite the high volume of total hip arthroplasties (THAs) performed in North America, there is no consensus regarding postoperative implant surveillance. Therefore, an Internet survey of Hip Society members was performed to determine the timing of follow-up visits after THA. The surgeons were queried with respect to the time until the first and second postoperative visits and the interval of follow-up for the first and second decades. The average time until the first follow-up visit is 4.9 weeks, and 63% of patients are seen by 6 weeks after surgery. Ninety percent of respondents saw patients at 1 year after THA. Follow-up visits after year 1 were more variable. Guidelines for follow-up should be established to enhance patient outcomes over time.
Design and evaluation challenges of serious games

As the computer game industry grows, game capabilities and designs are being re-used for purposes other than entertainment. The study of 'Serious Games', i.e. games for education and policy making, is of growing interest in many sectors. This SIG will bring together people interested in the topic area to discuss emerging opportunities and challenges. A panel discussion will cover new uses for games, ways of incorporating new measures such as physiological arousal into traditional usability testing, and ways of pursuing new goals such as peer learning with games. Breakout groups will elaborate on panel topics, and also devise next steps for this interest community. A report of this SIG's outcomes will be submitted to the SIG CHI Bulletin.
Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase of Caulobacter crescentus: cloning, sequencing, and mapping of the gene and periplasmic location of the enzyme.

Abstract Although widely found in the cytoplasm of eucaryotes, the copper-zinc form of superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) has been identified in only a small number of bacterial species. One species is the freshwater bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, which also contains an SOD with iron as the metal cofactor (FeSOD). To investigate the function of this CuZnSOD and its structural relationship to the eucaryotic CuZnSODs, the gene encoding CuZnSOD (sodC) of C. crescentus CB15 was cloned and sequenced. By hybridization to pulsed-field electrophoresis gels, sodC was mapped near cysE in the C. crescentus chromosome. Through analysis of spheroplasts, the two SODs of C. crescentus were shown to be differently localized, CuZnSOD in the periplasm and FeSOD in the cytoplasm. In its natural habitat, C. crescentus is frequently associated with blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). The oxygen evolved by these photosynthetic algae may create an extracellular oxidative stress against which the periplasmic CuZnSOD may defend more effectively than the cytoplasmic FeSOD. Amino acid sequence alignments of C. crescentus CuZnSOD with eucaryotic CuZnSODs and with CuZnSOD of Photobacterium leiognathi (the only other bacterium from which CuZnSOD has been isolated and sequenced) suggest similar supersecondary structures for bacterial and eucaryotic CuZnSODs but reveal four novel substitutions in C. crescentus CuZnSOD: a phenylalanine critical to intrasubunit hydrophobic bonding replaced by alanine, a histidine ligand of zinc replaced by aspartate, and substitutions of two other previously invariant residues that stabilize zinc or both copper and zinc. These amino acid substitutions in C. crescentus CuZnSOD may have implications for its catalysis and stability.
Analyzing and modeling encryption overhead for sensor network nodes

Recent research in sensor networks has raised security issues for small embedded devices. Security concerns are motivated by the deployment of a large number of sensory devices in the field. Limitations in processing power, battery life, communication bandwidth and memory constrain the applicability of existing cryptography standards for small embedded devices. A mismatch between wide arithmetic for security (32 bit word operations) and embedded data bus widths (often only 8 or 16 bits) combined with lack of certain operations (e.g., multiply) in the ISA present other challenges.This paper offers two contributions. First, a survey investigating the computational requirements for a number of popular cryptographic algorithms and embedded architectures is presented. The objective of this work is to cover a wide class of commonly used encryption algorithms and to determine the impact of embedded architectures on their performance. This will help designers predict a system's performance for cryptographic tasks. Second, methods to derive the computational overhead of embedded architectures in general for encryption algorithms are developed. This allows one to project computational limitations and determine the threshold of feasible encryption schemes under a set of the constraints for an embedded architecture.Experimental measurements indicate uniform cryptographic cost for each encryption class and each architecture class and negligible impact of caches. RC4 is shown to outperform RC5 for the Motes Atmega platform contrary to the choice of RC5 for the Motes project, a choice driven in large by memory constraints. The analytical model allows to assess the impact of arbitrary embedded architectures as a multi-variant function for each encryption scheme. Overall, our results are not only valuable to assess the feasibility of encryption schemes for existing embedded architectures, they also extend to assess the feasibility of encryption methods for new algorithms and architectures for sensor systems.
Evaluation procedures for wafer bonding and thinning of interconnect test structures for 3D ICs

Electrical and mechanical impacts of wafer bonding and thinning processes required for three-dimensional (3D) IC fabrication have been evaluated with interconnect structures. In addition to the bonding and thinning required for a two-level 3D IC stack, an additional bonding and thinning process is used along with dielectric glue ashing to expose the previously tested interconnect structures. This procedure permits evaluation of bonding and thinning integrity without inter-wafer interconnect processing. Promising results on wafers with oxide interlevel dielectric (ILD) have been obtained, while some damages observed with the porous low-k ILD.
The bell curve case for heredity

The hereditarian theory of race differences in IQ was briefly revived with the appearance of The Bell Curve but then quickly dismissed. The authors attempt a defense of it here, with an eye to conceptual and logical issues of special interest to philosophers, such as alleged infirmities in the heritability concept. At the same time, some relevant post-Bell Curve empirical data are introduced.
WEGENER'S GRANULOMATOSIS AND ANCA SYNDROMES

Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is a form of necrotizing vasculitis that differs from other forms of systemic vasculitis in its prediliction for involvement of the upper and lower respiratory tracts and the kidneys. 21 The diagnosis of WG is based on the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) published in 1990: 10 Nasal or oral inflammation with painful or painless oral ulcers or purulent bloody nasal discharge; abnormal chest radiography showing the presence of nodules, fixed infiltrates, or cavities; urinary sediment with microhematuria (>5 RBCs per high power field) or red cell casts in urinary sediment; and granulomatous inflammation on biopsy with histologic changes showing granulomatous inflammation within the wall of an artery or in the perivascular or extra vascular area (artery or arteriole). A patient who meets at least two of these four criteria may be diagnosed as having classic WG. An earlier and stricter classification required that the modifier necrotizing be added to the biopsy features, but this is generally no longer adhered to.
Competing Challengers and Contested Outcomes to State Breakdown: The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia

Why do some social movement challenges lead to revolution, others to reform, and others to repression? Current theory has overemphasized the impact of state breakdown on outcomes and has been limited by studies of single movements against the state. This article highlights multiple possible outcomes, explaining the eventual outcome by competition among challengers seeking to mobilize public support on their behalf To develop this claim, I compare successful challengers with real and potential competitors in the velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989. I demonstrate that the democratic outcome was not given by the breakdown of the Leninist state; rather, it was the result ofsucessful mobilization by the civic movements that linked their demands with striking theater networks, which enabled them to overcome their organizational deficiencies. Why do some social movement challenges lead to revolution, others to reform, and others to repression? Current theory has overemphasized the impact of state breakdown on the outcomes of social movement challenges and has been limited
An ultra low-power processor for sensor networks

We present a novel processor architecture designed specifically for use in low-power wireless sensor-network nodes. Our sensor network asynchronous processor (SNAP/LE) is based on an asynchronous data-driven 16-bit RISC core with an extremely low-power idle state, and a wakeup response latency on the order of tens of nanoseconds. The processor instruction set is optimized for sensor-network applications, with support for event scheduling, pseudo-random number generation, bitfield operations, and radio/sensor interfaces. SNAP/LE has a hardware event queue and event coprocessors, which allow the processor to avoid the overhead of operating system software (such as task schedulers and external interrupt servicing), while still providing a straightforward programming interface to the designer. The processor can meet performance levels required for data monitoring applications while executing instructions with tens of picojoules of energy.We evaluate the energy consumption of SNAP/LE with several applications representative of the workload found in data-gathering wireless sensor networks. We compare our architecture and software against existing platforms for sensor networks, quantifying both the software and hardware benefits of our approach.
Spontaneous intracranial hypotension: diagnosis to management

Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension typically occurs from spontaneous CSF leak. CSF volume depletion rather than decrease in CSF pressure is thought to be the main causative feature for intracranial hypotension. More and more cases of intracranial hypotension are getting diagnosed with the advances in the imaging. The advances in the imaging have also led to the better understanding of the dynamic changes that occur with intracranial hypotension. The old theories of CSF overproduction or CSF underproduction have not been substantially associated with intracranial hypotension. It has also led to the fore different atypical clinical features and presentations. Although, it has been known for a long time, the diagnosis is still challenging and dilemma persists over one diagnostic modality over other and the subsequent management. Spontaneous CSF leaks occur at the spinal level and the skull base and other locations are rare. The anatomy of spontaneous intracranial hypotension is a very complex process with significant overlap in connective tissue disorders, previous dural weakness or meningeal diverticula. To localize the location of the CSF leak-CT myelography is the modality of choice. CSF cysternography may provide additional confirmation in uncertain cases and also MRI spine imaging may be of significant help in some cases. Spontaneous intracranial hypotension continues to be a diagnostic dilemma and our effort was to consolidate available information on the clinical features, diagnostics, and management for a practicing neurologist for a "15-20 min quick update of the topic".
Imidazolium-Containing ABA Triblock Copolymers as Electroactive Devices

Two-step reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and two subsequent postpolymerization modification steps afforded well-defined ABA triblock copolymers featuring mechanically reinforcing polystyrene outer blocks and 1-methylimidazole-neutralized poly(acrylic acid)-based central blocks. Size exclusion chromatography and (1)H NMR spectroscopy confirmed predictable molecular weights and narrow distributions. The ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([EMIm][OTf]) was incorporated at 30 wt % into polymeric films. Thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis determined the thermomechanical properties of the polymers and polymer-IL composites. Atomic force microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) determined surface and bulk morphologies, and poly(Sty-b-AA(MeIm)-b-Sty) exhibited a change from packed cylindrical to lamellar morphology in SAXS upon IL incorporation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy determined the in-plane ionic conductivities of the polymer-IL membranes (σ ∼ 10(-4) S/cm). A device fabricated from poly(Sty-b-AA(MeIm)-b-Sty) with 30 wt % incorporated IL demonstrated mechanical actuation under a low applied voltage of 4 V.
Notes from the Library in Volume 6:1

"A [Walt] Whitman Letter" (May 2, 1865) by Oral Sumner Coad; "The Spirit of the Fair," by Rudolf Kirk; "For Bibliophiles: Bookmaking & Kindred Amenities," edited with an Introduction and Notes by Earl Schenck Miers & Richard Ellis. Rutgers Press, reviewed by Lelise A Marchand.
A Model Jazz History Program for the United States: Building Jazz Audiences in the Twenty-First Century

The newly created jazz studies program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln includes not only traditional historical surveys of jazz history, but also an annual “historical concert” featuring music from either a seminal recording or a historically significiant artist/group. The essay argues that if the academy is the chief generator of jazz students in the country, then the academy must also take the lead in developing jazz audiences for those students.
Tropes of Slang

AbstractThis article describes a class of speech varieties whose members have traditionally been called “slang” or “argot” in a large and long-standing literature. Despite the size of this literature, the characteristics of these speech varieties have remained obscure to those who purport to study them. The thing called “slang” has traditionally been reduced to the repertoires that count as samples of the thing without attention to either (a) the reflexive processes through which samples of the thing come to be differentiated from other discursive behaviors or (b) the social-interpersonal processes through which slang expressions undergo change in form and significance for different members of a language community. This article examines these reflexive social processes by considering examples from a large number of languages and historical periods. It offers a comparative framework for studying the forms of social life that such discursive behaviors enable or displace.
Mid-term neurodevelopmental outcome in children with HLHS and related anomalies

Background: Surgical outcome for HLHS and related anomalies has been improved, and today, more than 80% patients can survive Norwood procedure and reach Fontan completion. However, morbidity rate is still high, and neurological and developmental outcome is unclear. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the mid-term neurodevelopmental outcome in patients with HLHS and related anomalies, and to assess the appropriate surgical strategy. Patients and methods: Twenty-six (26) HLHS patients or its variants who underwent the initial surgical palliation between 2003 and 2011 were enrolled (Neonatal Norwood: 6, Bilateral PAB: 20). Twenty-three (23) patients had reached Fontan completion, and the other 3 BDG patients are awaiting TCPC. Bayley scale at 1-year-old (10), at 3-year-old (11) and WISC-III at 6-year-old (11) have been used for the developmental evaluation since 2008. Six patients took 2 types of examination during the study period. Results: Bayley scale: Although most functions are still delayed in HLHS at 1-year old, they are significantly improved at 3-year-old. There was no difference between neonatal Norwood group (4) and bilateral PAB group (7), but 2 patients in neonatal Norwood group showed low FIQ less than 80. View this table: Results of Bayley scale & WISC-III Conclusions: Mid-term neurodevelopmental outcome in Norwood survivors is acceptable, where patients may catch up with their growth. However, some patients show developmental delay, suggesting the possible worse effect of Norwood circulation in the neonatal period. Further study is required.
Nasopharyngeal Cultures in Pertussis.

The generally accepted method for the bacteriological diagnosis of pertussis is the cough-plate culture, originally described by Chievitz and Meyer,1 or some modification of their procedure. The percentage of positive cultures obtained by this technic varies considerably in the hands of different workers and under various conditions.2We have found the cough-plate method satisfactory for older children, but in infants we have obtained positive cultures in only about 25%, even when the cultures were made during the catarrhal period of the disease. This low incidence seems to be due to the fact that the young infant does not cough as vigorously as does the older child, thereby resulting in an inadequate inoculation of the medium.During the course of a comparative study of various technics for making cultures, we were impressed by the favorable results obtained from culturing the nasopharynx. Recent reports3, 45 have described the advantages of the nasopharyngeal culture in the bacteriological diagnosis of pn...
A Proposal to Provide Health Insurance to All Children and All Pregnant Women

Currently, about 33 million people in the United States lack health insurance.1 They include the self-employed, those employed part time, seasonal workers, the unemployed, and full-time workers whose employers offer unaffordable insurance or none at all. More than two thirds of the uninsured work full time but either are not offered employer-based health insurance or are offered insurance at a cost too high for their incomes.2 Among the uninsured are 10 to 12 million children.3 Contrary to popular misconceptions, the typical uninsured child has a working parent,4 lives in a two-parent family, and is white.2 Even more children are underinsured; . . .
Investigating the classroom: Journeying from consuming to producing the scholarship of teaching and learning

This article discusses one faculty member’s journey from reading about others’ pedagogical research to her use of data from her own classes to create new scholarship of teaching and learning.
Functional segregation of monaural and binaural selectivity in the pallid bat auditory cortex

Different fields of the auditory cortex can be distinguished by the extent and level tolerance of spatial selectivity. The mechanisms underlying the range of spatial tuning properties observed across cortical fields are unclear. Here, this issue was addressed in the pallid bat because its auditory cortex contains two segregated regions of response selectivity that serve two different behaviors: echolocation for obstacle avoidance and localization of prey-generated noise. This provides the unique opportunity to examine mechanisms of spatial properties in two functionally distinct regions. Previous studies have shown that spatial selectivity of neurons in the region selective for noise (noise-selective region, NSR) is level tolerant and shaped by interaural level difference (ILD) selectivity. In contrast, spatial selectivity of neurons in the echolocation region ('FM sweep-selective region' or FMSR) is strongly level dependent with many neurons responding to multiple distinct spatial locations for louder sounds. To determine the mechanisms underlying such level dependence, frequency, azimuth, rate-level responses and ILD selectivity were measured from the same FMSR neurons. The majority (∼75%) of FMSR neurons were monaural (ILD insensitive). Azimuth tuning curves expanded or split into multiple peaks with increasing sound level in a manner that was predicted by the rate-level response of neurons. These data suggest that azimuth selectivity of FMSR neurons depends more on monaural ear directionality and rate-level responses. The pallid bat cortex utilizes segregated monaural and binaural regions to process echoes and prey-generated noise. Together the pallid bat FMSR/NSR data provide mechanistic explanations for a broad range of spatial tuning properties seen across species.
Economics of image guidance and navigation in spine surgery

BACKGROUND Image-guidance and navigation in spinal surgery is becoming more widely utilized. Several studies have shown the use of this technology to increase accuracy of pedicle screw placement, decrease the rates of revision surgery, and minimize radiation exposure. In this paper, the authors analyze the economics of image-guided surgery (IGS) and navigation in spine surgery. METHODS A literature review was performed using PubMed, the CEA Registry, and the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database. Each article was screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria, including costs, reoperation, readmission rates, operating room time, and length of stay. RESULTS Thirteen studies were included in the analysis. Six studies were identified to meet the inclusion criteria for reporting costs and seven met the criteria for analysis of efficacy. Average costs ranged from $17,650 to $39,643. Pedicle screw misplacement rates using IGS ranged from 1.20% to 15.07% while reoperation rates ranged from 0% to 7.42%. CONCLUSION There is currently an insufficient amount of studies reporting on the economics of spinal navigation to accurately conclude on its cost-effectiveness in clinical practice. Although a few of these studies showed less costs associated with intraoperative imaging, none were able to establish a statistically significant difference. Preliminary findings drawn from this study indicate a possible cost-effectiveness advantage with IGS, but more comprehensive data on costs need to be reported in order to validate its utilization.
SU-D-207A-01: Female Pelvic Synthetic CT Generation Based On Joint Shape and Intensity Analysis

Purpose: To develop a method for generating female pelvic synthetic CT (MRCT) images from a single MR scan and evaluate its utility in radiotherapy. Methods: Under IRB-approval, an imaging sequence (T1_VIBE_Dixon) was acquired for 10 patients. This sequence yields 3 useful image volumes of different contrast (“in-phase” T1-weighted, fat and water). A previously published pelvic bone shape model was used to generate a rough bone mask for each patient. A modified fuzzy c-means classification was performed on the multi spectral MR data, with a regularization term that utilizes the prior knowledge provided by the bone mask and addresses the intensity overlap between different tissue types. A weighted sum of classification probabilities with attenuation values yielded MRCT volumes. The mean absolute error (MAE) between MRCT and real CT on various regions was calculated following deformable alignment (Velocity). Intensity modulated Treatment plans based on actual CT and MRCT were made and compared. Results: The average/standard deviation of MAE across 10 patients was 10.1/6.7 HU for muscle, 6.7/4.6 HU for fat, 136.9/53.5 HU for bony tissues under 850 HU (97% of total bone volume), 188.9/119.3 HU for bony tissues above 850 HU and 17.3/13.3 HU for intrapelvic soft tissues. Calculated doses were comparable for plans generated on CT and calculated using MRCT densities or vice versa, with differences in PTV D99% (mean/σ) of (–0.1/0.2 Gy) and (0.3/0.2 Gy), PTV D0.5cc of (–0.3/0.2 Gy) and (–0.4/1.7 Gy). OAR differences were similarly small for comparable structures, with differences in bowel V50Gy of (–0.3/0.2%) and (0.0/0.2%), femur V30Gy of (0.7/1.2%) and (0.2/1.2%), sacrum V20GY of (0.0/0.1%) and (–0.1/1.1%) and mean pelvic V20Gy of (0.0/0.1%) and (0.6/1.8%). Conclusion: MRCT based on a single imaging sequence in the female pelvis is feasible, with acceptably small variations in attenuation estimates and calculated doses to target and critical organs. Work supported by NIHR01EB016079
Our Progress Appears to Be Impeded

Prior to the 1930s, flying in aircraft was costly and potentially dangerous. There were fewer passengers and less cargo than required for profitability without government subsidy.
Inflammation and Nutraceutical Modulation

The use of nutraceuticals, as a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), is becoming progressively popular. It is estimated that at least 50% of adults worldwide are using some form of CAM to improve and treat health problems including inflammation. Several of the most studied nutraceuticals have shown promise in treating inflammation through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. The following text explores some of the more researched complementary and alternative nutraceutical treatments that have shown promise in this regard, namely, resveratrol, green tea, curcumin, boswellia, fish oil, vitamin D, and probiotics.
Automated Test Reduction Using an Info-Fuzzy Network

In today’s software industry, design of black-box test cases is a manual activity, based mostly on human expertise, while automation tools are dedicated to execution of pre-planned tests only. However, the manual process of selecting test cases can rarely be considered as satisfactory both in terms of associated costs and the quality of produced software. This paper presents an attempt to automate a common task in black-box testing, namely reducing the number of combinatorial tests. Our approach is based on automated identification of relationships between inputs and outputs of a data-driven application. The set of input variables relevant to each output is extracted from execution data by a novel data mining algorithm called the info-fuzzy network (IFN). The proposed method does not require the knowledge of either the tested code, or the system specification, except for the list of software inputs and outputs. In the paper, we report the results of applying the proposed approach to a typical business application program.
Deformation created by the impact of small angular and spherical particles on individual grains

Damage mechanism induced by 25 μm, average size, angular and spherical particles impacting the surface of Cu-30% Zn (α-brass) was investigated. Particles were impacted to the surface at normal incidence, with a velocity of 12 m/s. The primary characterization tools used were scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM allowed for the measurement of impact profiles, those of the cut surface and material pile-ups. Deformed volume by the particles was limited to a single grain. The impacts produced were asymmetrical and the chip formation was also highly directional. These asymmetries were the same in a single grain but they varied from grain to grain. Regardless of particle geometry, similar deformation features were observed on the target surface impacted by angular and spherical particles. The direction of the deformation appeared to be imposed by the mechanical response of the deforming grain. Since the deformation induced by a single impact is limited to a single grain, anisotropic mechanical properties of the individual grains observed were attributed to their impact damage morphology.
Attributions and Emotions: The Effects on Salesperson Motivation after Successful vs. Unsuccessful Quota Performance

Salesperson motivation is considered to be a key factor in influencing salesperson performance. This research investigates the effects of causal attributions and emotional reactions on salesperson motivation. A comparison is made between successful and unsuccessful quota performance. The results suggest that emotions do influence salesperson motivation. However, the influence of emotional reactions is most apparent after failure outcomes only.