cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Structure and Nature of the Broader Autism Phenotype in a Non-clinical Sample

The broader autism phenotype (BAP) is a subclinical behavioral phenotype that is qualitatively similar to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Research on the BAP has used different conceptualizations of this construct. To more closely approximate the nature of the BAP, the current study utilized traditional construct validation methods to identify the BAP structure and characterize its nomological net in undergraduates. A conjoint exploratory factor analysis of the scales from three self-report measures of the construct was used to derive three robust BAP dimensions reflecting pragmatic language difficulties, aloofness, and rigidity. These dimensions were then correlated with theoretically-relevant personality, psychopathology, and interest variables in order to evaluate the criterion validity of the BAP. Correlations were generally consistent with our predictions and showed strongest relations between BAP dimensions and poor communication skills, impaired social functioning, and behavioral and cognitive rigidity. This research represents a first step in the identification and utilization of a common conceptualization of the BAP.
Zone migration in paper chromatography

Abstract The influence of concentration gradients upon zone migration has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the equation R F = A M /(α A S + A M ). is incorrect in relating the R F to the partition coefficient α. The R F shows an initial unsettled period during which it approaches a limiting R F value. Both the limiting and transient values were calculated for the migration of Methyl Orange on Whatman 3 MM paper with a water-saturated butanol solvent. Cases of radial flow with variable length wicks also treated. Using the data from rectangular flow, R R values were successfully predicted for the same Methyl Orange system. The reasons for deviation from the relationship R R 2 = R F were discussed.
Newer tissue and synthetic grafts in canine femoral veins.

Abstract We tested double-velour Dacron, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, gluteraldehyde-preserved human umbilical vein, and spiral composite autogenous vein against the standard of autogenous vein as segmental replacements in canine femoral veins. Technical adequacy of venous anastomoses was assessed by immediate postoperative venography. Continuous patency was assessed by venography at 3, 7, 21, and 42 days. None of the synthetic or other tissue grafts were comparable to autogenous vein in terms of early and continuous patency. Spiral vein composites had significantly better continuous patency when compared to synthetic or preserved tissue grafts. Recanalization was seen with both spiral composite autogenous vein and double-velour Dacron, but was not observed with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene or preserved umbilical vein. We conclude that: (1) these newer synthetic and preserved tissue grafts are unsatisfactory for use in the venous system, particularly in low-flow, small diameter sites and (2) spiral composites offer a simple method of constructing vein grafts of any chosen diameter which can be successful in even low-velocity flow, small diameter sites particularly when appropriately sized unmodified autogenous vein is not available.
Chimpanzee performance: computer analysis of electroencephalograms.

Electroencephalograms were recorded from chimpanzees trained to play tic-tac-toe. Parameters selected by computer analysis served to discriminate between two phases of the game and between correct and incorrect decisions.
Mantle downwelling and crustal convergence - A model for Ishtar Terra, Venus

Models of viscous crustal flow driven by gradients in topography are presented in order to explore quantitatively the implications of the hypothesis that Ishtar is a crustal convergence zone overlying a downwelling mantle. Assuming a free-slip surface boundary condition, it is found that, if the crustal convergence hypothesis is correct, then the crustal thickness in the plains surrounding Ishtar can be no more than about 25 km thick. If the geothermal gradient is larger or the rheology is weaker, the crust must be even thinner for net crustal convergence to be possible. This upper bound is in good agreement with the several independent estimates of crustal thickness of 15-30 km in the plains of Venus based on modeling of the spacing of tectonic features and of impact crater relaxation. Although Ishtar is treated as a crustal convergence zone, this crustal flow model shows that under some circumstances, near-surface material may actually flow away from Ishtar, providing a possible explanation for the grabenlike structures in Fortuna Tessera.
Adhesion signaling: How β-catenin interacts with its partners

The multi-functional protein beta-catenin plays essential roles in cell-cell adhesion and nuclear signaling. Elucidation of the structures of beta-catenin complexes is beginning to clarify how beta-catenin uses the same surface to bind its various partners, and provides insights into how these interactions might be regulated.
Comparison of different exposure settings in a case–crossover study on air pollution and daily mortality: counterintuitive results

Comparison of different exposure settings in a case–crossover study on air pollution and daily mortality: counterintuitive results
Ventilation of the subtropical North Pacific

Abstract The ventilation of the subtropical North Pacific is studied using a simple analytical model. The model is forced by winter mixed layer density and depth calculated from the Levitus climatology and wind stress curl from the Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress data. The wind-driven gyre in the North Pacific is shallow, no more than 1.4 km. The gross feature of the subduction rate is very similar to the results by Huang and Qiu based on data analysis of the Levitus climatology, with a total ventilation rate of 31.3 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), including 20.8 Sv due to the vertical pumping and 10.5 Sv due to lateral induction. The age of water within the ventilated thermocline is relatively young, it is no more than 10 years old, except near the southeast corner of the basin. The young age indicates a fast communication between the atmosphere and the upper ocean on a timescale of less than 10 years. The vertical mass partition is slightly different from the results based on analysing climatology by Huang a...
Extreme ultraviolet lithography resist-based aberration metrology

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) at 13.5 nm is currently the most promising technology for advanced integrated circuit manufacturing nodes. Since the wavelength for EUVL is an order of magnitude smaller than current optical lithography systems (193 nm), aberration tolerances on lens manufacturing must be tightened to avoid image distortion and contrast loss as they scale with wavelength. Therefore, understanding the aberrations of an EUVL system both in idle and production conditions is paramount. This study aims to assess a photoresist-based aberration metrology technique for capturing pupil information of EUVL systems that can be implemented during full system use. Several datasets have been collected on a full-field EUVL system. Various one-dimensional and two-dimensional binary structures were imaged and used for pupil wave front extraction in conjunction with computational modeling and simulations. Results show a successful extraction of a stable aberration signature over several measurements, showing the method to be sensitive to subnanometer levels of intentional aberration change through lens manipulation.
An improved method for identifying functionally linked proteins using phylogenetic profiles

Phylogenetic profiles record the occurrence of homologs of genes across fully sequenced organisms. Proteins with similar profiles are typically components of protein complexes or metabolic pathways. Various existing methods measure similarity between two profiles and, hence, the likelihood that the two proteins co-evolve. Some methods ignore phylogenetic relationships between organisms while others account for such with metrics that explicitly model the likelihood of two proteins co-evolving on a tree. The latter methods more sensitively detect co-evolving proteins, but at a significant computational cost. Here we propose a novel heuristic to improve phylogenetic profile analysis that accounts for phylogenetic relationships between genomes in a computationally efficient fashion. We first order the genomes within profiles and then enumerate runs of consecutive matches and accurately compute the probability of observing these. We hypothesize that profiles with many runs are more likely to involve functionally related proteins than profiles in which all the matches are concentrated in one interval of the tree. We compared our approach to various previously published methods that both ignore and incorporate the underlying phylogeny between organisms. To evaluate performance, we compare the functional similarity of rank-ordered lists of protein pairs that share similar phylogenetic profiles by assessing significance of overlap in their Gene Ontology annotations. Accounting for runs in phylogenetic profile matches improves our ability to identify functionally related pairs of proteins. Furthermore, the networks that result from our approach tend to have smaller clusters of co-evolving proteins than networks computed using previous approaches and are thus more useful for inferring functional relationships. Finally, we report that our approach is orders of magnitude more computationally efficient than full tree-based methods. We have developed an improved method for analyzing phylogenetic profiles. The method allows us to more accurately and efficiently infer functional relationships between proteins based on these profiles than other published approaches. As the number of fully sequenced genomes increases, it becomes more important to account for evolutionary relationships among organisms in comparative analyses. Our approach, therefore, serves as an important example of how these relationships may be accounted for in an efficient manner.
Paper: Characterization of equilibrium sets for bilinear systems with feedback control

Simple analytical methods for the characterization of the equilibrium sets of bilinear systems with linear feedback control are developed based on elimination theory. It is shown that the number of equilibrium points can be determined as a function of the feedback gains, without having to solve for the locations of the equilibrium points. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the origin to be the unique equilibrium point are also presented. These results provide the basis for computing the equilibrium points via a straightforward procedure, which eliminates the convergence, stability and uncertainty problems that can occur when iterative root finding techniques are used. Several illustrative examples are included. The methods developed in this paper can also be used to characterize the equilibrium sets of other classes of nonlinear systems such as quadratic systems.
The adaptive pattern of the auditory N1 peak revealed by standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography

Abstract The N1 peak in the late auditory evoked potential (LAEP) decreases in amplitude following stimulus repetition, displaying an adaptive pattern. The present study explored the functional neural substrates that may underlie the N1 adaptive pattern using standardized Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA). Fourteen young normal hearing (NH) listeners participated in the study. Tone bursts (80 dB SPL) were binaurally presented via insert earphones in trains of 10; the inter-stimulus interval was 0.7 s and the inter-train interval was 15 s. Current source density analysis was performed for the N1 evoked by the 1st, 2nd and 10th stimuli (S1, S2 and S10) at 3 different timeframes that corresponded to the latency ranges of the N1 waveform subcomponents (70–100, 100–130 and 130–160 ms). The data showed that S1 activated broad regions in different cortical lobes and the activation was much smaller for S2 and S10. Response differences in the LAEP waveform and sLORETA were observed between S1 and S2, but not between the S2 and S10. The sLORETA comparison map between S1 and S2 responses showed that the activation was located in the parietal lobe for the 70–100 ms timeframe, the frontal and limbic lobes for the 100–130 ms timeframe, and the frontal lobe for the 130–160 ms timeframe. These sLORETA comparison results suggest a parieto-frontal network that might help to sensitize the brain to novel stimuli by filtering out repetitive and irrelevant stimuli. This study demonstrates that sLORETA may be useful for identifying generators of scalp-recorded event related potentials and for examining the physiological features of these generators. This technique could be especially useful for cortical source localization in individuals who cannot be examined with functional magnetic resonance imaging or magnetoencephalography (e.g., cochlear implant users).
The effects of cognitive distortion and depression on disability in rheumatoid arthritis

The question explored in this study was: What is the effect of cognitive distortion and depression on disability in arthritis patients when stage of disease is controlled? Patients (N = 165) completed the Sickness Impact Profile, two Cognitive Error Questionnaires, and the Symptom Questionnaire, and were staged for severity of disease. Findings indicated a significant effect of distortion on disability in rheumatoid arthritis patients; however, this effect varied by stage. Distortion and depression best explained total disability in Stage II (R2 = .60 using general distortion; R2 = .58 using arthritis distortion). Future nursing interventions designed to decrease or prevent distortion might reduce disability as well as depression.
Blood vessel fibronectin increases in conjunction with endothelial cell proliferation and capillary ingrowth during wound healing.

The regulation of angiogenesis and alterations in the structure of blood vessels taking part in wound healing are poorly understood. In studies of guinea pig 4-mm skin wounds, left uncovered for 1–28days, biopsied and processed for 1- μ m section and immunofluorescence, we found that fibronectin in blood vessel walls markedly increased in conjunction with endothelial cell proliferation and capillary ingrowth. Both the endothelial cell proliferation and the increased vessel wall fibronectin were restricted to a 0.5-mm area along the margin of the wound and occurred 3–7days after injury. Fibronectin was easily demonstrated in capillaries of the peripheral granulation tissue but was difficult to demonstrate in central areas of the granulation tissue secondary to a brightly fluorescent reticular background staining probably attributable to fibroblast-related fibronectin. The fibronectin in blood vessel walls rapidly diminished as endothelial cell proliferation and capillary ingrowth ceased. These data suggest that fibronectin may provide a provisional substratum for endothelial cell mitosis and movement.
All-purpose veterinary education: a personal perspective.

The Recognition Lecture is an annual honor awarded by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) to an individual whose leadership and vision have made significant contributions to academic veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession. In 2011, this prestigious honor was awarded to Dr. Peter Eyre, Dean Emeritus of the Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM). Dr. Eyre is a fierce advocate for veterinary medical education, with a clear vision of its value in ensuring that veterinarians are well positioned to meet societal needs. Dr. Eyre possesses an international perspective regarding the challenges and problems facing veterinary medical education and has a keen eye for getting to the heart of these challenges. He is known to ask hard questions and propose difficult choices. Dr. Eyre received his undergraduate veterinary degree (BVMS), bachelor of science degree, and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. He was Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies for seven years before joining the faculty of the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, where he was Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Associate Director of the Canadian Centre for Toxicology. Dr. Eyre was appointed Dean of the VMRCVM in 1985, where he established the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine in 1989. After retiring in 2003, he was named Interim Dean of the University of Calgary's new veterinary school. Among his many awards are the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award and the Sigma Psi Excellence in Research Award. In 2008 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) honored him with the President's Award, and in 2010 the University of Edinburgh awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. The Peter Eyre Student Leadership Award at the VMRCVM and the Peter Eyre Prize in Pharmacology at the University of Guelph are both named in his honor. He is a past president of the AAVMC, a fellow and former board member of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and a former member of the AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee. In the following article, Dr. Eyre offers his insights on the current debate about the future of veterinary medical education.
Principal Component Analysis Characterizes Shared Pathogenetics from Genome-Wide Association Studies

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have recently revealed many genetic associations that are shared between different diseases. We propose a method, disPCA, for genome-wide characterization of shared and distinct risk factors between and within disease classes. It flips the conventional GWAS paradigm by analyzing the diseases themselves, across GWAS datasets, to explore their "shared pathogenetics". The method applies principal component analysis (PCA) to gene-level significance scores across all genes and across GWASs, thereby revealing shared pathogenetics between diseases in an unsupervised fashion. Importantly, it adjusts for potential sources of heterogeneity present between GWAS which can confound investigation of shared disease etiology. We applied disPCA to 31 GWASs, including autoimmune diseases, cancers, psychiatric disorders, and neurological disorders. The leading principal components separate these disease classes, as well as inflammatory bowel diseases from other autoimmune diseases. Generally, distinct diseases from the same class tend to be less separated, which is in line with their increased shared etiology. Enrichment analysis of genes contributing to leading principal components revealed pathways that are implicated in the immune system, while also pointing to pathways that have yet to be explored before in this context. Our results point to the potential of disPCA in going beyond epidemiological findings of the co-occurrence of distinct diseases, to highlighting novel genes and pathways that unsupervised learning suggest to be key players in the variability across diseases.
Methods for polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of mammalian liver cytochrome P-450 in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate: A critique

Abstract 1. 1. Methods currently employed for the solubilization, denaturation, fractionation and identification of cytochrome P-450 from mammalian liver endoplasmic reticulum were compared and evaluated. 2. 2. The omission of a sulfhydryl reducing agent from the pretreatment solution caused changes in the resulting polypeptides resolved upon polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 3. 3. Gradient gels had a far greater resolving power than a nongradient gel system when the two types of gels were used to analyze either whole solubilized microsomes or a purified cytochrome preparation. 4. 4. No single selective analytical method was found which could detect all cytochrome P-450-derived polypeptides after gel electrophoresis; however, the isochromic application of samples to the gel was found to facilitate localization of the cytochrome derived polypeptides.
Efficient topology-aware overlay network

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking has become a household word in the past few years, being marketed as a work-around for server scalability problems and "wonder drug" to achieve resilience. Current widely-used P2P networks rely on central directory servers or massive message flooding, clearly not scalable solutions. Distributed Hash Tables (DHT) are expected to eliminate flooding and central servers, but can require many long-haul message deliveries. We introduce Mithos, an content-addressable overlay network that only uses minimal routing information and is directly suitable as an underlay network for P2P systems, both using traditional and DHT addressing. Unlike other schemes, it also efficiently provides locality-aware connectivity, thereby ensuring that a message reaches its destination with minimal overhead. Mithos provides for highly efficient forwarding, making it suitable for use in high-throughput applications. Paired with its ability to have addresses directly mapped into a subspace of the IPv6 address space, it provides a potential candidate for native deployment. Additionally, Mithos can be used to support third-party triangulation to quickly select a close-by replica of data or services.
Dexamethasone effects on numbers of cells in lymphocyte subpopulations: Changes associated with major depression and DST nonsuppression

1. The authors studied the effects of administration of 1 mg of dexamethasone on the number of cells in discrete subpopulations of lymphocytes in major depressed and psychiatric control patients with depressive symptoms. 2. Dexamethasone significantly decreased the total lymphocyte count and numbers of T and helper T lymphocytes in control patients. 3. In contrast, dexamethasone failed to significantly decrease the numbers of cells in any of the subpopulations of lymphocytes studied in major depressed patients. 4. Among major depressed patients both DST suppressors and nonsuppressors were insensitive to the suppressive effects of dexamethasone on lymphocyte numbers. 5. However, in DST nonsuppressors, but not in DST suppressors, dexamethasone administration significantly increased the number of cytotoxic/suppressor T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. 6. The authors conclude that insensitivity to the suppressive effects of dexamethasone on lymphocyte numbers is specific to major depression and is not associated with DST status. However, DST nonsuppression is associated with a facilitating effect of dexamethasone on the number of cells in some subpopulations of lymphocytes.
Abstract B87: Multiplexed, bioluminogenic probes for evaluating histone deacetylase inhibitor efficacy and safety.

Aberrant epigenetic modifications are known to contribute to hematological and solid cancer malignancies. Members of an important class of chromatin modifying enzymes, histone deacetylases (HDACs), have been found to be dysregulated in many tumor types. Their specific contribution to oncogenesis is unknown, but numerous studies have linked increased HDAC inhibition to transcriptional repression of gene expression, cell cycle checkpoint activation and other tumor suppression activities. Therefore, HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) are an emerging and important class of modulators for use as single agents or in combination with other anti-neoplastics. Many current HDACi have undesirable off-target toxicities, which may be related to inhibition of specific HDAC isozymes that are required for normal cellular function. In an effort to rapidly and efficiently understand the beneficial and detrimental effects of new HDACi within a cellular context, we have developed a set of selective and pan-active bioluminogenic assay probes for evaluating the effects of HDACi. When multiplexed with same well fluorescent viability and cytotoxicity assays, these probes provide a functional readout of HDACi on-target efficacy and off-target safety in primary or cancer cell models. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B87.
Simultaneous determination of etoposide and its catechol metabolite in the plasma of pediatric patients by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

The anticancer drug etoposide is associated with leukemias with MLL gene translocations and other translocations as a treatment complication. The genotype of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), which converts etoposide to its catechol metabolite, influences the risk. In order to perform pharmacokinetic studies aimed at further elucidation of the translocation mechanism, we have developed and validated a liquid chromatography/electrospray/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the simultaneous analysis of etoposide and its catechol metabolite in human plasma. The etoposide analog teniposide was used as the internal standard. Liquid chromatography was performed on a YMC ODS-AQ column. Simultaneous determination of etoposide and its catechol metabolite was achieved using a small volume of plasma, so that the method is suitable for pediatric patients. The limits of detection were 200 ng ml(-1) etoposide and 10 ng ml(-1) catechol metabolite in human plasma and 25 ng ml(-1) etoposide and 2.5 ng ml(-1) catechol metabolite in protein-free plasma, respectively. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations in the calibration curve ranges 0.2--100 microg ml(-1) etoposide and 10--5000 ng ml(-1) catechol metabolite in human plasma. Acceptable precision and accuracy for protein-free human plasma in the range 25--15 000 ng ml(-1) etoposide and 2.5--1500 ng ml(-1) etoposide catechol were also achieved. This method was selective and sensitive enough for the simultaneous quantitation of etoposide and its catechol as a total and protein-free fraction in small plasma volumes from pediatric cancer patients receiving etoposide chemotherapy. A pharmacokinetic model has been developed for future studies in large populations.
Damaging Hydrogeological Events: A Procedure for the Assessment of Severity Levels and an Application to Calabria (Southern Italy)

A damaging hydrogeological event (DHE) is characterized by two components: a rainfall event and a subsequent damage event, which is the result of floods and landslides triggered by rainfall. The characteristics of both events depend on climatic, geomorphological and anthropogenic factors. In this paper, a methodology to classify the severity of DHEs is presented. A chart which considers indicators of both the damage (Dscore) and the daily rainfall (Rscore) values recorded in the study area is proposed. According to the chart, the events are classified into four types: ordinary events, with low Dscore and Rscore values; extraordinary events, with high Rscore values but low Dscore values; catastrophic events, characterized by non-exceptional rainfall (low Rscore) and severe damage (high Dscore); major catastrophic events, obtained by both high Dscore and Rscore values. Using this approach, the 2013 DHE that occurred in Calabria (Italy) was classified as an ordinary event, when compared to the previous ones, even though the widespread diffusion of damage data induced the perception of high severity damage. The rainfall that triggered this event confirms the negative trend of heavy daily precipitation detected in Calabria, and the damage can be ascribed more to sub-daily than daily rainfall affecting urbanized flood-prone areas.
Assessing Box Office Performance Using Movie Scripts: A Kernel-Based Approach

We develop a methodology to predict box office performance of a movie at the point of green-lighting, when only its script and estimated production budget are available. We extract three levels of textual features (genre and content, semantics, and bag-of-words) from scripts using screenwriting domain knowledge, human input, and natural language processing techniques. These textual variables define a distance metric across scripts, which is then used as an input for a kernel-based approach to assess box office performance. We show that our proposed methodology predicts box office revenues more accurately (29 percent lower mean squared error (MSE)) compared to benchmark methods.
Surface modification of contact-lens materials by silanization: An FTIR-ATR study

The adsorption, desorption, and orientation characteristics of two long-chain chlorosilane compounds, octadecyltrichlorosilane and 1-undecylene-dimethylchlorosilane, onto poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(2-hydroxyl-ethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) are studied using Fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Quantitative monitoring of the amount of silane adsorbed is also attempted. It is believed that the surface modification reaction has been successfully confined to monolayer coverages and that sufficient detection sensitivity has been achieved to observe the reaction at these low levels on both PMMA and PHEMA. Also, ATR polarization studies indicate that on both substrates, a definite preference for orientation exists such that the long molecular axis is perpendicular to the substrate surface. The silanes are observed to be only physisorbed onto the PMMA surface under the anhydrous conditions applied during adsorption, whereas a chemical reaction is observed on the PHEMA surface.
Monoaminergic activities of limbic regions are elevated during aggression: influence of sympathetic social signaling.

Abstract A visual social signal inhibiting aggression is coincident with limiting serotonergic and noradrenergic activity in subiculum, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, medial amygdala, but not lateral amygdala, septum, and hypothalamus. Darkening of postorbital skin in the lizard Anolis carolinensis is stimulated by sympathetic activation of β 2 -adrenergic receptors via adrenal catecholamines, and occurs more rapidly in dominant males during social interaction. Eyespot darkening functions as a social signal limiting aggressive interaction. To assess the effect of this social signal on telencephalic activity of monoamines, males were painted postorbitally with green or black paint, and exposed to a mirror. Serotonergic and noradrenergic turnover, as estimated by ratios of catabolite to transmitter, were elevated in the subiculum, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, and medial amygdala of animals in which the eyespots were masked by green paint. Conversely, dopaminergic activity in these brain regions was lower in males with hidden eyespots (painted green). Hiding the eyespot evoked significantly increased aggressive activity toward the mirror image. Furthermore, changes in monoaminergic turnover were coincident with altered aggressive behavior, suggesting a relationship between them. Changes of monoaminergic activity were not observed in the septum, lateral amygdala, or hypothalamus, when males with eyespots permanently marked (black) were compared with those with eyespots hidden (painted green). Stimulated (serotonergic and noradrenergic) or inhibited (dopaminergic) activity due to social signal and aggression are confined to regions of the brain similarly activated during social stress, and do not constitute a generalized activation of monoaminergic systems.
A Cautionary Tale of Two Basis Sets and Graphene

Density functional theory is a leading approach for simulating materials. However, the basis set used in calculations can directly affect our understanding of a material. By comparing two basis sets for graphene, this highlights an important subtle point for computational materials science and how it can affect interpretation of characterization techniques and electronic transport predictions.
Chronic Respiratory Effects of Exposure to Diesel Emissions in Coal Mines

ABSTRACT A 5-yr prospective design was employed to test the hypothesis that exposure to diesel emissions leads to chronic respiratory effects among underground coal miners. Changes in respiratory function and development of chronic respiratory symptoms were measured during a 5-yr study period (i.e., 1977 to 1982) in 280 diesel-exposed and 838 control miners from Eastern and Western United States underground coal mines. Spirometry measures of respiratory function included forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV, 1.0), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow rate at 50% of FVC (FEF50). Chronic respiratory symptom measures, which included chronic cough, chronic phlegm, and breathlessness, were obtained by questionnaires, as were smoking status and occupational history. Based upon these data, the pattern of evidence did not support the hypothesis either in an age-adjusted comparison of diesel vs. nondiesel miners or in an internal analysis by cumulative years of diesel exposure.
Mortality and Time to Death in Very Low Birth Weight Infants: California, 1987 and 1993

Background. Recent advances in perinatal technology have dramatically increased the survival of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants ( Methods. Infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates and time to death for infants 500 to 749 g, 750 to 999 g, 1000 to 1499 g, and all VLBW infants born during 1987 were compared with those outcomes for infants born in 1993 using statewide California linked birth/death cohort files. To assess the effects of improved survival and changes in time until death, we calculated the total days of life preceding an infant death per 1000 live born infants (TDD). Results. VLBW infants comprised .96% of California9s live births in 1987 and .92% of those in 1993. Between 1987 and 1993, VLBW infant mortality rate decreased 28.4% (from 290.7 to 208.3 per 1000 live born VLBW infants), VLBW neonatal mortality rate decreased 30.3% (from 244.5 to 170.4), and VLBW postneonatal mortality rate decreased 25.3% (from 61.2 to 45.7 per 1000 VLBW alive at 28 days;P Conclusions. Both mortality rate and timing of death are important when assessing the impact of advances in perinatal technology. Although the average time to death was significantly increased in VLBW infants weighing >750 g, between 1987 and 1993, advances in perinatal technology dramatically decreased VLBW mortality. In the State of California in 1993, this resulted in 452 fewer VLBW deaths and 8233 fewer days preceding a VLBW death than expected.
A simple device for the timing of individual films during angiocardiography.

Abstract An inexpensive and simple unit of electronic circuitry is described with which one may record precisely the timing of each film taken during angiocardiography, thereby improving the accuracy of interpreting each film in relation to the cardiac events.
Toward a Definition of Policy Analysis.

Policy analysis is a real-world decision-making tool. The literature is published, most frequently, in public administration studies, but also in political science, philosophy, organizational psychology, economics, and business administration.
Sterol methyl transferase. Evidence for successive C-methyl transfer reactions generating Δ24(28)- and Δ25(27)-olefins by a single plant enzyme

The native SMT from Glycine max (soybean) expressed in Escherichia coli cells catalyzes the step-wise conversion of cycloartenol to 24(28)-methylene cycloartanol to a mixture of stereochemically related Δ24(28)Z-ethylidene-Δ24(28)E-ethylidene- and Δ25(27)-24β-ethylcyclosterols. [27-13C]Cycloartenol was tested as a substrate to determine the C-25 configuration of the Δ24(28)-olefin formed during the first C1-transfer reaction. This substrate yielded (25-R)-[27-13C]24(28)-methylenecycloartanol. These results are entirely consistent with the observed stereochemistries of pathway specific 24-alkyl sterols found in plants and additionally revealed for the first time that a SMT can sequentially C-methylate the Δ24-bond to generate multiple olefins.
Surgical management of soft tissue sarcomas of the hand and foot

BACKGROUND Soft tissue sarcomas of the hand and foot present unique management challenges. The purpose of the current study study was to determine oncologic outcome, particularly with respect to factors affecting local recurrence, distant recurrence, and disease-specific survival. METHODS A retrospective study was performed on 115 patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the hand or foot who were evaluated, treated, and followed at the authors' institution between 1980 and 1998. The medical records and radiographs were reviewed. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used to assess patient survival. RESULTS Most patients (95%) were referred after previous surgery. The majority of tumors (75%) were T1 lesions (less than 5 cm), and most tumors (81%) were high grade. Patients who were treated by definitive, wide re-excision (n = 43) had a 10 year local recurrence-free survival of 88%, which was significantly better than the corresponding rate of 58% for patients who did not have re-excision (n = 40, P = 0.05). Radiation improved local control in patients who did not undergo re-excision (n = 17, P = 0.02). However, radiation did not improve local control in patients who had definitive re-excision with negative margins (n = 13, P = 0.51). The disease-specific survival at 5 and 10 years was 76% and 65%, respectively, for patients who presented with localized disease. Disease-specific patient survival was significantly worse for patients who had regional or distant metastasis. Radical amputation as initial surgical treatment did not decrease the likelihood of regional metastasis and did not improve disease-specific patient survival. The presence of distant metastasis at presentation was an independent predictor of local recurrence. CONCLUSION Limb sparing treatment is possible in many patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the hand and foot. Re-excision to achieve microscopically negative surgical margins is an effective method of achieving a high rate of local control in appropriately selected patients who present after unplanned excision of the primary tumor. There does not appear to be a survival benefit to immediate radical amputation, which should be reserved for cases where surgical excision or re-excision with adequate margins cannot be performed without sacrifice of functionally significant neurovascular or osseous structures. Cancer 2002;95:852–61. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10750
Tough transitions? Mediating beginning urban teachers’ practices through coteaching

The coteaching model for teacher preparation has emerged in recent years as an alternative to the traditional student teaching or practicum experience. Several studies have investigated the process of coteaching and its impact on participants during the actual experience; however, few depict participants’ experiences once they obtain positions and begin to teach independently. This collective case study explored two urban high school teachers’ (Jen and Ian) practices during the induction period after taking part in the coteaching model for student teaching. Using a sociocultural analytic framework, we found that the participants’ agency as beginning teachers was not constrained by their coteaching experiences. Rather, they were able to continue to draw on some of the successful practices they had in coteaching, such as shared reflection, shared responsibility, cogenerative dialogues, and building relationships with students. In addition to describing the coherence and contradictions between Ian’s and Jen’s practices during coteaching and in their beginning years of inservice teaching, we also discuss the ways that they became collaborators in our ethnographic research.
Fourth International Bemisia Workshop International Whitefly Genomics Workshop December 3–8, 2006, Duck Key, Florida, USA

Recently, the sycamore whitefly, Bemisia afer (Priesner & Hosny) has become a new economic pest and it attacks different economic plants in Egypt. The present work deals with host plants, geographical distribution and natural enemies of this pest. The results indicated that this species attacked 18 host plants distributed in 34 locations in Egypt. It was associated with 4 parasitoids [namely: Encarsia inaron (Walker), Encarsia lutea (Masi), Eretmocerus sp. and Eretmocerus aegypticus Evans and Abd-Rabou (Hymenoptera : Aphelinidae)] and 6 predators [namely: Campylomma nicolasi (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Chrysopa cornea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), Coccinella septempunctata (L.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Coccinella undecimpunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Orius sp. (Hemiptera Anthocoridae) and Geocoris sp. (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae)]. During this work, cotton (Gossypium barbadense) was recorded as a new host plant of economic importance attacked by B. afer and E. aegypticus as a promising natural enemy for controlling this pest in Egypt.
Lag sequential analysis as a tool for functional analysis of student disruptive behavior in classrooms.

Lag sequential analysis of individual interactions was explored as a tool to generate hypotheses regarding the social control of inappropriate classroom behavior of students with severe behavior disorders. Four single subject experiments with two students who displayed high rates of disruptive behavior in special education classrooms were completed using lag sequential analysis to identify antecedent and subsequent social events that were significantly related to their disruptive behavior. Three coded events (student handraise, teacher attention, and the “stop code”) were identified as highly related to the students' disruptive behavior. Three of the four experiments were successful in reducing the students' disruptive behavior by prescribing treatment based upon the lag sequential analysis. The results of these experiments indicated that the lag sequential analysis procedure is potentially a useful tool, but additional research is needed. The results are discussed in terms of the usefulness of the analys...
Faraday and kerr effects in magnetic compounds

Some recent work on the magnetooptical properties of magnetic insulators and semiconductors is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on understanding the atomic origin of the Faraday and Kerr effects in terms of molecular-orbital energy levels. The classes of materials discussed are chromium trihalides, orthoferrites, garnets, ferrites, chromium spinels, and divalent europium compounds.
Transferred large area single crystal MoS2 field effect transistors

Transfer of epitaxial, two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 on sapphire grown via synthetic approaches is a prerequisite for practical device applications. We report centimeter-scale, single crystal, synthesized MoS2 field effect transistors (FETs) transferred onto SiO2/Si substrates, with a field-effect mobility of 4.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is among the highest mobility values reported for the transferred large-area MoS2 transistors. We demonstrate simple and clean transfer of large-area MoS2 films using deionized water, which can effectively avoid chemical contamination. The transfer method reported here allows standard i-line stepper lithography process to realize multiple devices over the entire film area.
Evaluating the impact of resistance in carbon nanotube bundles for VLSI interconnect using diameter-dependent modeling techniques

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundles have the potential to provide an attractive solution for the resistivity and electromigration problems faced by traditional copper interconnects. This paper discusses the modeling of nanotube bundle resistance for on-chip interconnect applications. Based on recent experimental results, the authors model the impact of nanotube diameter on contact and ohmic resistance, which has been largely ignored in previous bundle models. The results indicate that neglecting the diameter-dependent nature of ohmic and contact resistances can produce significant errors. Using the resistance model, it is shown that SWCNT bundles can provide up to one order of magnitude reduction in resistance when compared with traditional copper interconnects depending on bundle geometry and individual nanotube diameter. Furthermore, for local interconnect applications, an optimum nanotube diameter exists to minimize the resistance of the carbon nanotube bundle
Treatment and outcome of patients with intracystic papillary carcinoma of the breast

Abstract Background: Intracystic papillary carcinoma (IPC) of the breast is a rare form of noninvasive breast cancer. An appreciation of associated pathology with IPC may be critical in surgical decision-making. Methods The medical records of all patients with IPC treated between 1985 and 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Three patient groups were identified according to the pathologic features of the primary tumor: IPC alone, IPC with associated ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and IPC with associated invasion with or without DCIS. Types of treatment and outcomes were compared between groups. Results: Forty patients were treated for IPC during the study period. Fourteen had pure IPC, 13 had IPC with DCIS, and 13 had IPC with invasion. The incidence of recurrence and the likelihood of dying of IPC did not differ between the three groups regardless of the type of surgery (mastectomy or segmental mastectomy) performed and whether radiation therapy was administered. The disease-specific survival rate was 100%. Conclusions When IPC is identified, it is frequently associated with DCIS and or invasion. Standard therapy should be based on associated pathology. The role of radiation therapy in pure IPC remains to be determined.
Use of Wavelet Bicoherence in Analyzing Nonlinear Wind–Wave Interaction during Wave Growth

Abstract This study investigates the nonlinear wind–wave interaction that occurs during wave growth. Wavelet bicoherence is used in analyzing the detailed phase coupling and nonlinear interaction between wind speed and wave height considering both the sum and difference rules between different frequencies to give the full picture of nonlinear wind–wave interaction. The results show that the phase coupling and nonlinear wind–wave interaction in the case of considering the sum rule of the frequencies is different from the case of considering the difference rule of frequencies. This consequently emphasizes the importance of considering both rules in analyzing the phase coupling between wind speed and wave height during wave growth.
A parallel textured algorithm for optimal routing in data network

A textured decomposition-based algorithm is developed to solve the optimal routing problem in data networks. The idea of the algorithm is to decompose the large-scale network into several smaller-scale subnetworks; then these subnetworks are organized systematically into several levels. Each level contains mutually independent subnetworks. When the external flows to a level are frozen, one can concurrently compute the optimal solution of the subnetworks at the level. The proposed parallel-oriented algorithm will converge to the global optimal solution when some conditions are satisfied. The authors use a few examples to illustrate the convergence conditions of the textured algorithm. A numerical example to demonstrate the potential speedup of the algorithm is also provided. >
LIBERATE: Virtual education platform for Liberal Studies

In Hong Kong, liberal studies (LS) is becoming the corner stone of new secondary curriculum to cultivate creative and innovative talents. This paper first reviews existing research into educational technology in LS; then describes LIBERATE, a Quality Education Fund project exploring the acquisitive, experiential and transdisciplinary learning approaches with the goal of enhancing learnerspsila awareness of contemporary issues, broadening their knowledge base and strengthening their critical thinking skills; and concludes with future development plans. Developed based on the findings of its prototypes LIBERATE comprises the following eight synergistic interfaces: linkage, inspiration, broadening, experiment, role-play, awareness, teamwork and evaluation.