cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Responsiveness and Maximum Secretory Capacity of Isolated Fetal Lamb Adrenocortical Cells throughout the Last Third of Gestation

Although considerable evidence implicates increased fetal adrenal function as a major factor in the initiation of parturition in the sheep, the mechanism responsible for this increased activity has not yet been determined. We have investigated the development of the function of fetal lamb adrenal cortical cells dispersed in vitro. There was no change in the sensitivity of the cells to synthetic ACTH (ACTH1–24), as demonstrated by the concentration of ACTH1–24 producing a 50% maximum response in corticoid secretion. This finding does not support the suggestion that there is a qualitative change in fetal adrenal receptor function as term approaches. No stimulation of corticoid was observed after the administration of αMSH or PRL in vitro at any gestational age or of αMSH in vivo in four fetuses at 125–130 days gestation. Both the maximum output and the 50% maximum response in corticoid secretion of adrenal cells from term fetuses were similar to those of adrenal cells from adult ewes. A significant increase...
In vitro chemical degradation of poly(glycolic acid) pellets and fibers

The influence of macroscopic dimensions, heat treatment, and polymer morphology on the chemical degradation of poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) fibers and pellets was examined in media of different pH values by monitoring the sample mass, dimensions, crystallinity, mechanical strength, and surface character. The degradation was found to be chemically controlled and independent of fiber size. The rate was an order of magnitude faster in alkaline vs. acidic media. In general, the pellets degraded faster than fibers, and while the latter showed little surface deterioration, scanning electron photomicrographs of the pellets revealed considerable surface degradation with circumferential microcracks progressing into longitudinal cracks with increasing immersion times and pH. Concomitantly, DSC measurements showed a steady increase in crystallinity for both fibers and pellets. The fiber tensile strength decline was independent of diameter and more drastic in alkaline media. Additionally, the heat-treated fiber was always stronger than the non-heat-treated one. It is concluded that crystallinity and polymer chain orientation, in addition to immersion media, influence PGA degradation. Also, the loss in strength results from chain scission in the amorphous regions while mass loss occurs when polymer chains become small enough to be soluble. These different variables offer a means of modifying PGA fiber tensile properties.
Perception of multidimensional stimuli: a differential-sensitivity account of cognitive processing and development

A differential-sensitivity account of cognitive processing is described that emphasizes the development of perceptual sensitivity to object relations that are directly perceived. Four experiments are presented that investigate this account and compare it to the integrality-separability view of development and the view that younger children are nonselective in their processing of multidimensional stimuli. Results show that stimulus differences are more salient than identities (Expt. 1), younger as well as older children are highly selective in their perception and classify stimuli by separate dimensions (Expt. 2), differential sensitivity affects the perceived magnitude of stimulus differences (Expt. 3), and younger and older children perceive separate dimensions in speeded classifications (Expt. 4). The importance of considering individual patterns of responses in cognitive and developmental research is also demonstrated.
Capacitance of circularly symmetric via for microstrip transmission line

Vias connecting different traces of a multilayered circuit board generally cross at least one ground plane and introduce a capacitance to a transmission line circuit. At sufficiently low frequencies this capacitance can be ignored, but at high frequencies it must be accounted for in the circuit design. The via structure of interest consists of a hollow cylinder with lips that passes through a circular hole in a ground plane. The cylinder has lips at its ends that facilitate connection to a trace of a microstrip transmission line that is supported by and resides on the surface of a dielectric slab, which itself rests on the ground plane. An integral equation is derived for the charge induced on the cylindrical centre of the via, from which one can compute via capacitance, under the condition that the cylinder is raised to a potential V relative to that of the ground plane. The differential equation for the Green's function, which accounts for the dielectric substrate, is solved by a simple technique involving the Hankel transform. Data depicting via capacitance and its dependence on the dielectric constant of the slab and its geometric dimensions are presented for numerous configurations. From the data one can assess the importance of incorporating the effect of the dielectric substrate into the analysis.
Female-biased Sex Ratios in the Neotropical Treehopper Umbonia ataliba (Homoptera: Membracidae)

The authors report and explain female-biased sex ratios in the neotropical treehopper Umbonia ataliba Homoptera: Membracidae at Monteverde, Costa Rica. Umbonia ataliba mothers semelparously oviposit egg masses into host-plant branches, make feeding holes, and guard the eggs and the nymphs until the young moult to become adults. At adulthood, offspring sex ratios are female-biased, with families having, on average, one male per 3.17 females (SD = 0.149, n = 48). The female bias does not appear to be explained by the hypothesis that males are more difficult to raise to independence: males are smaller than females, males have a shorter development time, males do not require disproportionately more feeding holes, and males do not experience higher mortality in families that are unprotected from parasites and predators, rather, females die more often in protected families. Thus females, not males, may be more difficult to raise to independence. The authors investigated whether increases in the size of males and females increased the fitness of either sex disproportionately, but found no relationship between size and fitness for either sex. We found evidence that local-mate competition conditions and inbreeding occur. Mating occurs at the natal site and nearly all copulations take place between siblings (99.3 %, n = 153 copulations). Most females (mean proportion of females = 0.65, SD = 0.33, n = 7 families) copulate with their male siblings prior to dispersing; whether the unmated proportion copulates later is unknown. This paper suggests that the numerical bias reflects an investment bias favoured under selection by inbreeding and local-mate competition conditions.
Using cross borehole ground penetrating radar attenuation tomography for characterizing soil properties in the vadose zone during a two-stage infiltration test

Summary Cross Borehole Ground Penetrating Radar is currently being used to monitor the change in moisture content and to test the feasibility of using attenuation tomography in order to monitor the conductive solute transport in the vadose zone at a test site in Socorro, New Mexico. The test site is a fluvial deposit containing alternating layers of sand and clay. Data collection began in December 1998 using five wells along an 11-meter profile intersecting a three-meter by three-meter infiltrometer. The infiltrometer has been discharging water at a constant rate of 2.7 cm/day since February 1999 in order to ensure the constant flux source. After an initial phase in isolating the specific pre-inversion processing steps necessary to produce the attenuation images, as well as determine the accuracy of this imaging method, our efforts have turned to analyzing the spatial distribution of the substance attenuation properties. The results show that two clay layers with a high attenuation coefficient are identified in the XBGPR images. Comparing the water content determined by velocity tomography, the attenuation increases for about 0.3 Neper/m during the first year of water infiltration, and shows a trend associated to the development of the wetted region. Currently, sodium chloride solution is being discharged through the infiltrometer at the test site, and frequent data collection is conducted to determine changes in attenuation coefficient causing by the saline solution.
Local pressure application of cannabinoid agonists increases spontaneous activity of rat substantia nigra pars reticulata neurons without affecting response to iontophoretically-applied GABA

This study tested the hypothesis that cannabinoid agonists, applied locally into the pars reticulata of substantia nigra (SNpr), could modulate striatonigral transmission, without affecting the response of SNpr neurons to iontophoretically-applied GABA. Multibarreled glass capillary electrode assemblies were used for extracellular recording of the spontaneous electrical activity of single SNpr cells in anesthetized rats. Local pressure ejection of the cannabinoid agonists Win 55212-2 (WIN2) and CP 55940 increased SNpr spontaneous firing rate by 13-46%, similar to the effects of systemic injections. Neither WIN2 nor CP 55940 had an effect on the slowing of SNpr neuron activity in response to iontophoretic GABA. Local pressure application of Win 55212-3 (the much less active enantiomer of WIN2) produced an insignificant decrease in SNpr firing rate. Similarly, locally applied vehicle (45% 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin) produced insignificant decreases in SNpr firing. A second application of cannabinoid agonist produced a much smaller effect, suggesting desensitization. Increasing the interval between CP 55940 applications to 45 min showed recovery of sensitivity to the agonist. Local application of the cannabinoid antagonist, SR 141716A, significantly decreased spontaneous cell firing by 34%. CP 55940, when given immediately following or concurrently with the antagonist application failed to produce the expected increase in discharge rate over baseline. A second application of CP 55940 45 min later produced a 26% increase in firing rate. Bicuculline methiodide (BMI) was applied locally causing a significant increase in SNpr cell firing. CP 55940, when locally administered concurrently with bicuculline methiodide, had no further effect on the firing rate of the cell. Based on the reported presynaptic localization of cannabinoid receptors in SNpr, these findings suggest that cannabinoids act within the SNpr to modulate striatonigral neurotransmission presynaptically. The effect of SR 141716A suggests that an endogenous cannabinoid may mediate striato-nigral transmission.
A putative carcinoma-like neoplasm in the hindgut of a red king crab, Paralithodes camtschatica.

Abstract An adult female red king crab, Paralithodes camtschatica , collected in the Kodiak Management area in 1985 contained, on necropsy, a grossly recognizable lesion. The lesion presented as a white lump, 20 × 12 mm, attached to the ventral side of the anterior-most hindgut. Microscopically, the lesion consisted mostly of large pleomorphic epithelioid cells with slightly basophilic cytoplasm and markedly hypertrophied nuclei. The chromatin was sparse, beaded, and positioned marginally and around the nucleolus. The nucleolus was prominent, slightly basophilic, and amorphous. The nuclei were frequently irregularly shaped and multiple nucleoli were common. The epithelioid cells formed swirling crypts or nests within the wall of the hindgut. The putative tumor was unencapsulated but somewhat circumscribed in some areas. Growth was diffusely infiltrative in some areas, but massively invasive in others. The lesion was accompanied by a massive hemocytic, especially eosinophilic granulocyte, response. There were numerous apparent attempts to encapsulate small groups of “tumor” cells and some individual abnormal cells were phagocytosed by eosinophilic granulocytes. The lesion appears to be clearly neoplastic, markedly anaplastic, and poorly differentiated. Possible origins are discussed.
Composers and animators — the creation of interpretative and collaborative vocabularies

AbstractThis article considers the role of the composer within the creation of animated films, and identifies some historical and contemporary models of interpretation and collaboration between animation director and sonic artist. It is argued that the development of tools and graphic systems for communicating specifics from one field to the other evidences a shared creative vocabulary from which may evolve specialist hybrid vocabularies, and at times may lead to innovative collaborative practice.
Effects of d-methamphetamine on auditory and visual reaction times and detection thresholds in the baboon.

Baboons were trained in both auditory and visual reaction time procedures to release a response lever in the presence of low-intensity stimuli. By varying the stimulus intensity from trial to trial, functions relating reaction time (elapsed time from stimulus onset to lever release) to stimulus intensity were established, and detection thresholds were measured. The effects of acute, IM injections of d-methamphetamine (0.001–1.0 mg/kg) were examined on these psychophysical performance baselines. Reaction times for acoustic stimuli generally were faster for higher drug doses, whereas reaction times for visual stimuli either lengthened or shortened, depending on both drug dose and individual differences among animals. Auditory thresholds were unaffected at all drug doses studied, whereas visual thresholds were generally elevated at doses of 0.1 mg/kg and above.
Corticofugal influence upon cat thalamic ventrobasal complex

Summary The influence of somatosensory cortex upon transmission through its specific thalamic relay nucleus, the ventrobasal complex (VB), was studied in the paralyzed, unanesthetized cat. The medial lemniscus was electrically stimulated, and evoked responses were recorded from the thalamic radiations projecting respectively to the first and second somatosensory cortex (SITR) and SIITR) and from the pial surface of SI and SII. Cortical influence was assessed by cooling so as to produce a functional and reversible ablation. This technique avoided the ambiguity usually associated with direct electrical stimulation of cortex. Such stimulation, as used by several other authors, may lead to uncontrolled transsynaptic effects upon VB neurons via antidromic activation of thalamocortical fibers and resultant invasion of VB recurrent collaterals. Cooling of SI and SII together resulted in greatly augmented evoked activity in thalamocortical projection fibers concurrent with cessation of cortical EEG at an intracortical temperature of 21 °C. This is interpreted to mean that under normal conditions the somatosensory cortex exhibits a net tonic inhibitory influence upon VB transmission. The same results were obtained in thecerveau isole preparation; thus, the net cortical inhibitory influence could not be mediated by the brain stem reticular formation, but must be a direct corticofugal influence exerted upon VB. Antidromic activation of ML terminals in VB was unaltered by cooling of somatosensory cortex. This suggests that the corticofugal inhibition is mediated via a postsynaptic mechanism, rather than a presynaptic one. Cooling SI alone resulted in increased responses in SITR but not in SIITR. On the other hand, separate cooling of SII resulted in increased responses in both SITR and SIITR. This suggests that each somatosensory receiving area exerts inhibitory control over its own thalamic input but that, in addition, SII exerts control over SI input.
Towards GPS orbit accuracy of tens of centimeters

In this paper, CASA Uno orbit results are presented utilizing data from four continents. Refinements in orbit modeling, combined with the availability of a worldwide tracking network and the dense distribution of tracking sites in North and South America, have improved orbit determination precision to about 60 cm (per component) for four of the seven GPS satellites tracked in CASA Uno. The orbit results are consistent with California baseline repeatabilities, which are at the few mm level in horizontal and length, and 1-2 cm in the vertical. Baseline comparisons with VLBI provide a measure of orbit accuracy, showing sub-cm agreement in length and 1.5 cm agreement in the horizontal.
Osteogenesis imperfecta: morphologic and biochemical studies of connective tissue.

Extract: In iliac crest biopsies from 11 patients (ages from 4 to 22 years) with osteogenesis imperfecta, cortical thickness, osteoid width, and number of osteons were less than normal at all ages. Bone surface activity (formation and resorption), measured by quantitative microradiography, was lower than normal in younger patients; the normal pubertal decrease in surface activity was not evident in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta and, consequently, bone surface activity in the older patients was higher than in age-matched normal subjects. The ultrastructure of osteocytes, bone collagen, and scleral collagen did not differ from normal; corneal collagen fibers, however, were approximately half the diameter of normal. Total urinary hydroxyl-proline excretion, measured in 11 patients, was below normal in all except 2 infants (less than 12 months old). Serum parathyroid hormone levels, measured in nine patients, were normal. Long term treatment with sodium fluoride (two patients) and treatment with magnesium oxide (three patients) did not alter bone morphology or bone surface activity. Speculation: The supposition that in osteogenesis imperfecta the connective tissue is characterized by an immature form of collagen was not substantiated by this study. The abnormal fibrillar pattern and paucity of collagen in various connective tissues suggest a qualitative defect, related to collagen maturation, as well as a quantitative deficit in the amount of collagen produced.
Contract-based integration of cyber-physical analyses

Developing cyber-physical systems involves multiple engineering domains, e.g., timing, logical correctness, thermal resilience, and mechanical stress. In today's industrial practice, these domains rely on multiple analyses to obtain and verify critical system properties. Domain differences make the analyses abstract away interactions among themselves, potentially invalidating the results. Specifically, one challenge is to ensure that an analysis is never applied to a model that violates the assumptions of the analysis. Since such violation can originate from the updating of the model by another analysis, analyses must be executed in the correct order. Another challenge is to apply diverse analyses soundly and scalably over models of realistic complexity. To address these challenges, we develop an analysis integration approach that uses contracts to specify dependencies between analyses, determine their correct orders of application, and specify and verify applicability conditions in multiple domains. We implement our approach and demonstrate its effectiveness, scalability, and extensibility through a verification case study for thread and battery cell scheduling.
Factors influencing removal of pentosan from birch wood: Evidence on the lignin-carbohydrate bond

The effect of particle size, alkali concentration, and temperature on the rate of extraction of pentosans and on the amount of pentosans extractable from birch wood meal has been studied. In general, a very rapid extraction of accessible pentosans is followed by a slow, almost negligible, diffusion of inaccessible pentosans. There is, therefore, almost a limiting amount of pentosans not extractable under each given set of conditions. The effect of decreasing particle size is to increase the amount of pentosan extractable under any given set of conditions. The optimum sodium hydroxide concentrations at 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 degrees are about 2, 4, 7, 10 and 12%, and under the last of these conditions at least 80% of the pentosans can be extracted rapidly from the wood meal. Pentosan is made more accessible by increasing the alkali concentration up to these levels, but thereafter the amount of accessible pentosan is decreased by an increase in alkali concentration. The decrease in extractability has the same concentration and temperature dependence as the increase in cellulose swelling under the same conditions. Therefore, pentosan removal is inhibited by excessive swelling restricted within the rigid lignin and fiber structure. Similar but less marked inhibition by swelling occurs even after lignin removal. Even under conditions of low alkali concentration, when no inhibition of solution by restricted swelling occurs, neither the temperature nor alkali dependence of rate is typical of a chemical process. The factors which inhibit the removal of pentosan are therefore physical and the inhibition of solution of pentosan from birch wood gives no support to the concept of a lignin-carbohydrate bond.
Automation and Democratization of Cartography: An Example of a Mapping System at CEM, University of Durham

AbstractOver the last three decades, the information revolution and technological advances have led to a paradigm shift in cartography. Recently, the major emphasis has been on 'democratization of cartography', where individuals can be empowered with electronic tools to analyse and visualize spatially referenced data (Morrison, 1994). But, an ordinary user can not effectively use the available GIS tools to visualize geographical data. Therefore, cartographers and/or GIS experts need to develop user-friendly map making systems to facilitate the democratization of cartography. A mapping system was designed using the advanced macro language (AML) and menus of ARC/INFO at the Curriculum for Evaluation and Management Centre (CEM) in Durham University to automate the mapping process (extending from spatial and non-spatial data extraction to the printing of a final map), so that any user can map pupils' locations of any school in the United Kingdom simply by entering some key information. The procedure followed ...
Sources of Variation in Ratios of Total to Part Yield

Abstract The influences of breed, age, and season of calving on cumulative and noncumulative ratios of total to part milk and milk fat yields were studied in 49,034 lactations representing five dairy breeds. Average ratios were formed for each of the ten test days, both individually and cumulatively, for all combinations of breed, month of calving, age class, and yield trait (milk and milk fat), but herd and year of of calving were ignored. Brown Swiss cows had the highest ratios throughout lactation, while Ayrshires had the least. Differences among the other breeds were not very pronounced. Ratios were uniformly highest for two-year-old cows among all breeds, but variation among cows four years or more of age was small and inconsequential. Three-year-olds were intermediate, but resembled older cows more than two-year-olds. Ratios for cows calving in summer (July-September) and fall (October-December) changed the least over the lactation, while those for animals calving in spring varied the most. The pattern of response was similar among breeds, although it differed in magnitude. Ratios for milk fat yield were higher than those for milk production, indicating a greater persistency of milk fat yield. Analyses of variance of Holstein data indicated that the influences of age, season, and trait on ratios were significant (P It was concluded that optimum sets of ratios for extending breed, age, season, and milk and milk fat. Where operational considerations limit the number of sets of factors that can be used, the most important stratifications are by breed, by age (two years vs. all older), and by trait.
Sea urchin egg receptor for sperm: sequence similarity of binding domain and hsp70

Fertilization depends on cell surface recognition proteins that interact and thereby mediate binding and subsequent fusion of the sperm and egg. Overlapping complementary DNA's encoding the egg plasma membrane receptor for sperm from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus were cloned and sequenced. Analysis of the deduced primary structure suggests that the receptor is a transmembrane protein with a short cytoplasmic domain. This domain showed no sequence similarity to known protein sequences. In contrast, the extracellular, sperm binding domain of the receptor did show sequence similarity to the heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) family of proteins. Recombinant protein representing this portion of the receptor bound to the sperm protein, binding, and also inhibited fertilization in a species-specific manner; beads coated with the protein became specifically bound to acrosome-reacted sperm. These data provide a basis for detailed investigations of molecular interactions that occur in gamete recognition and egg activation.
RADAR DETECTION OF VEHICLES IN A STRING: GAINING SITUATION AWARENESS OF A PROPAGATING CONFLICT

A database of empirical driving measurements is employed to compute the situation awareness benefit of a driver-assistance function that uses the ability of radar to detect targets several deep in a string of vehicles ahead in the same lane. The database resulted from a new roadside video imaging method that has yielded the complete X-Y trajectories, state response variables, and intervehicular motion relationships of 30,500 vehicles on a segment of five-lane arterial street. These data were compiled as a relational database, and queries were run for detecting all cases in which a string of three vehicles is disturbed by a conflict that arises in the leading vehicle pair. Computations reveal, through distributions of the actual motion responses, the larger time cushion that would be available if any following driver in a string became aware of an impending headway conflict as soon as it develops ahead of the preceding vehicle. Results show the value to the following driver that might accrue from a crash-warning function that employs such anticipatory detection. The results indicate that the threat of rear-end crashes in vehicle strings could be mitigated by driver-assistance devices that sense range and range-rate relationships several deep in the string. Because most modern radar technologies have some degree of this capability but do not use it, the results encourage the development of crash-warning applications based on the look-ahead feature.
Regulation of cytochrome P-450 dependent steroid hydroxylase activity in Manduca sexta: effects of the ecdysone agonist RH 5849 on ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity.

Abstract The non-steroidal ecdysone agonist RH 5849 (1,2-dibenzoyl-1-tert-butylhydrazine) was found to inhibit in a dose-response and apparently competitive fashion the cytochrome P-450 dependent ecdysone 20-monooxygenase activity in the midgut of wandering stage last instar larvae of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. More effectively on a per molar basis than the naturally occurring molting hormones ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone, RH 5849 was also found to elicit the dramatic 50-fold increase in midgut steroid hydroxylase activity (which normally occurs with the onset of the wandering stage) when injected into competent head or thoracic ligated pre-wandering last instar larvae. These data support and extend the potential usefulness of RH 5849 as a pharmacological probe for further investigating the actions of ecdysteroids and their role(s) in the regulation of ecdysteroid monooxygenases.
Face-specific processing in the human fusiform gyrus

The perception of faces is sometimes regarded as a specialized task involving discrete brain regions. In an attempt to identi$ face-specific cortex, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure activation evoked by faces presented in a continuously changing montage of common objects or in a similar montage of nonobjects. Bilateral regions of the posterior fusiform gyrus were activated by faces viewed among nonobjects, but when viewed among objects, faces activated only a focal right fusiform region. To determine whether this focal activation would occur for another category of familiar stimuli, subjects viewed flowers presented among nonobjects and objects. While flowers among nonobjects evoked bilateral fusiform activation, flowers among objects evoked no activation. These results demonstrate that both faces and flowers activate large and partially overlapping regions of inferior extrastriate cortex. A smaller region, located primarily in the right lateral fusiform gyrus, is activated specifically by faces.
Training and Education of North American Master's of Divinity Students in Relation to Serious Mental Illness

Individuals in psychological distress often seek out assistance and support from pastors. To determine the extent of mental health training students preparing for the pastorate receive, Master's of Divinity (MDiv) programs at accredited seminaries in the North America were surveyed after contact by telephone. Of the 70 seminaries assessed, 88% offered courses in which the topic of mental illness was addressed in some form (although this point may not have been in a counseling course). Of those seminaries, 43% offered a counseling course or courses specifically dedicated to mental illness. All church traditions reported a minority of seminaries that provided courses dealing with mental illness. These findings emphasize the need for increased mental health awareness and education in seminaries.
Dynamic stresses in the vicinity of a crack along the cylindrical surface

By using the method of boundary integral equations combined with the method of small parameter, we solve the problem of low-frequency loading of a shallow crack along a cylindrical surface in an infinite elastic body. The distributions of the modes I–III stress intensity factors along the contour of the defect are obtained for different values of crack curvature and wave numbers.
Computer analysis of two-dimensional gels

Abstract New methods and computer programs are described which enable one to analyze autoradiograms produced by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. These programs are completely automatic with respect to finding spots resolved by such gels and quantitating the radioactivity in them. Semiautomatic programs have also been developed to match the spot patterns of different autoradiograms, and to follow the synthesis of any individual polypeptide through a series of gels.
Mr. Scan: extreme scale density-based clustering using a tree-based network of GPGPU nodes

Density-based clustering algorithms are a widely-used class of data mining techniques that can find irregularly shaped clusters and cluster data without prior knowledge of the number of clusters it contains. DBSCAN is the most well-known density-based clustering algorithm. We introduce our version of DBSCAN, called Mr. Scan, which uses a hybrid parallel implementation that combines the MRNet tree-based distribution network with GPGPU-equipped nodes. Mr. Scan avoids the problems of existing implementations by effectively partitioning the point space and by optimizing DBSCAN's computation over dense data regions. We tested Mr. Scan on both a geolocated Twitter dataset and image data obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. At its largest scale, Mr. Scan clustered 6.5 billion points from the Twitter dataset on 8,192 GPU nodes on Cray Titan in 17.3 minutes. All other parallel DBSCAN implementations have only demonstrated the ability to cluster up to 100 million points.
Microcircuits and their interactions in epilepsy: Is the focus out of focus?

Epileptic seizures represent dysfunctional neural networks dominated by excessive and/or hypersynchronous activity. Recent progress in the field has outlined two concepts regarding mechanisms of seizure generation, or ictogenesis. First, all seizures, even those associated with what have historically been thought of as 'primary generalized' epilepsies, appear to originate in local microcircuits and then propagate from that initial ictogenic zone. Second, seizures propagate through cerebral networks and engage microcircuits in distal nodes, a process that can be weakened or even interrupted by suppressing activity in such nodes. We describe various microcircuit motifs, with a special emphasis on one that has been broadly implicated in several epilepsies: feed-forward inhibition. Furthermore, we discuss how, in the dynamic network in which seizures propagate, focusing on circuit 'choke points' remote from the initiation site might be as important as that of the initial dysfunction, the seizure 'focus'.
A high-throughput method for the conversion of CO2 obtained from biochemical samples to graphite in septa-sealed vials for quantification of 14C via accelerator mass spectrometry.

The growth of accelerator mass spectrometry as a tool for quantitative isotope ratio analysis in the biosciences necessitates high-throughput sample preparation. A method has been developed to convert CO2 obtained from carbonaceous samples to solid graphite for highly sensitive and precise 14C quantification. Septa-sealed vials are used along with commercially available disposable materials, eliminating sample cross contamination, minimizing complex handling, and keeping per sample costs low. Samples containing between 0.25 and 10 mg of total carbon can be reduced to graphite in ∼4 h in routine operation. Approximately 150 samples per 8-h day can be prepared by a single technician.
Prediction of Three Social Cognitive-Motivational Structure Types:

Strmmary.-Previously, using interviews from Baun~rind's longitudinal study, three cognitive-motivational structures (CMSs) were predicted in 68 adolescents from caregiving settings and from the CMS rypes of their mothers, based on the mothers' interviews elicited six years earlier. CMS theory proposes that during Piaget's Concrete Operational l'eriod care-receiving influences the child's adoption of a social ccynltlve style, which corresponds to one of Piaget's stages of cognitive development. One who is classified as an Operational experiences the caregiving setting as tuned to the child's long-term interests, becomes focused on function and control of function and grasps the distinctions bentreen and gradations of social attributes. One classilied as future Intuitive experiences the caregiving as insufficient or unreliable and becomes focused on getting and having, and assesses social situations based on current striking dimensions. A person classified as being future Symbolic experiences the caregiving as out of tune with the sel€ or the world, becomes focused on identity and emotional closeness, and may define self or object by a single attribute. This previous study did not distinguish between the influence of caresiving (including mothers' CMS) on the €ormation of adolescent CMS type and the possible constancy of CMS type from ages 9 to 15 years. The current study was designed to distinguish benvccn thesc two possibilities, using data from 67 of the same mothers. Mothers' interviews were purged of descriptions of her child's behavior. Another interview was composed of the purged descriptions of child behavior. This was also done for interviews held when the child mas 4 and 15 as well as at 9. From interviews with descriptions of child behavior purged, mother's CMS type at the child's age of 4 and 9 yr. agreed with her adolescent's previously assigned CMS type (p<.05), and caregiving setting at 9 years predicted the adolescent's CMS type (p<.05). From interviews composed of descriptions of only the child's behavior, adolescent CMS type agreed with previously assigned adolescent CMS type (p<.01). Findings were consonant with the idea that CMS type formation is influenced at about Age 9 and sufficiently established to be recognized at Age 15.
Radiative decay of vibrationally excited CH2

Abstract We have observed the presence of vibrationally excited CH2- created in a discharge, by measuring the photodetachment from CH2- as it radiatively relaxes in a high vacuum ion trap. We used a tunable IR laser to produce photons with energies above and below the expected threshold for removing an electron from the ground state. The time dependence of the photodetachment is consistent with the electron affinity of 5250 cm-1 (0.65 eV) obtained by Sears and Bunker for the ground state X3B1 methylene. We have tentatively assigned radiative lifetimes for the excited bending vibrations of CH2-:600 ±300 msec for v2 = 1,80±40msec for v2 = 2, and 10± 5 msec for v2 = 3.
Efficient representation and algebraic manipulation of infinite relations in paraconsistent databases

Abstract Paraconsistent information is information that is incomplete and/or inconsistent. A data model for handling paraconsistent information in relational databases has recently been developed. In this paper, we show that a DBMS based on paraconsistent relations must be capable of handling infinite relations. We also identify classes of infinite paraconsistent relations whose members can be effectively represented and manipulated. We show that the classes of REGULAR and, under different conditions, CONTEXT-SENSITIVE as well as PSPACE paraconsistent relations are such. We also show that the CONTEXT-FREE and R.E. classes do not have the desired properties, while P, NP, LOGSPACE and NLOGSPACE also probably do not. These results help identify the kinds of relational DBMS that can be constructed for handling incomplete and inconsistent information about tuples. We finally show that all operations for the aforementioned PSPACE and CONTEXT-SENSITIVE cases can be carried out efficiently in polynomial time.
Measuring, Managing, and Improving Quality in the End-Stage Renal Disease Treatment Setting: Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis is now performed as an end-stage renal disease modality in nearly 70,000 patients worldwide. The use of this modality varies widely from less than 5% of all end-stage renal disease patients in Japan to over 95% of patients in Mexico. In addition to medical and psychosocial factors, modality selection involves many other factors, including financial reimbursement, educational deficiencies, resource availability, social mores, and cultural habits. Survival on chronic peritoneal dialysis is similar to that on hemodialysis, although older diabetic patients on peritoneal dialysis may have a higher mortality rate. Hospitalizations and transfer off modality are more common in patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis compared with patients on hemodialysis. The important factors contributing to outcome in patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis are unknown. Results of the Baxter Best-Demonstrated Practice Program suggest that process of care has a strong impact on outcome, at least in retention of patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis. Quality of life is another outcome that has been poorly assessed in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients. Available studies suffer from a lack of standardization of instruments used, no control groups, no random patient allocation to modalities, and short-term, small population groups. When chronic peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis are compared, subjective quality of life is generally higher with chronic peritoneal dialysis. For objective quality of life, the balance of studies favor hemodialysis. It is clear that there is a dearth of information available on many aspects of delivery of chronic peritoneal dialysis. Future research should target patient factors that are important in morbidity and mortality with chronic peritoneal dialysis, facility factors ("process of care") that are important in morbidity and mortality with chronic peritoneal dialysis, quality of life in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients, and how to measure quality of life accurately and serially. If these issues can be addressed, algorithms could be developed to help the physician to match the end-stage renal disease patient to the treatment modality that will provide the highest quality of life, the least morbidity, and the longest survival.
ARMY RE‐ENLISTMENT DURING OIF/OEF: BONUSES, DEPLOYMENT, AND STOP‐LOSS

In 2004, stretched by wartime deployments, the US Army countered declining retention by increasing re‐enlistment bonuses and implementing stop‐loss to prevent soldiers from separating at the end of their enlistment. We estimate the effects of bonuses, deployment, and stop‐loss on re‐enlistment between FY 2002 and 2006. We estimate that the baseline propensity to re‐enlist fell by 20%. However, we find that deployed soldiers are more likely to re‐enlist and that the estimated effects of re‐enlistment bonuses are similar to those estimated in peacetime. We evaluate the reasons for our findings, and calculate the cost effectiveness of re‐enlistment bonuses.
Health Literacy for Improved Health Outcomes: Effective Capital in the Marketplace

Improving consumers’ health literacy addresses many of the rising problems in healthcare. We empirically support a reconceptualization of health literacy as a social and cultural practice through which adults leverage a range of skills as well as social networks to meet their needs. Pierre Bourdieu's “theory of practice” guides this reconceptualization and facilitates articulation of the array of strategies used in the complex healthcare marketplace. We focus on the low literate consumers’ alternative forms of capital and the providers’ recognition and support. The findings, from an emergent research design consisting of depth interviews with low literate consumers and healthcare providers, suggest a critical, reflective approach that enhances health literacy, empowers consumers to become partners in their own healthcare programs, and improves health outcomes.
Estrogen Rapidly Induces c-jun Immunoreactivity in Rat Striatum

Estrogen has been reported to exert rapid effects on the function of neurons located in various brain regions, including those where classical estrogen receptors are not abundant, such as the striatum. The mechanism underlying these actions is not well understood, but does not appear to involve classical estrogen receptor-mediated genomic mechanisms. Estrogen has also been shown to regulate expression of immediate-early gene products in many tissues. In the present study, immunohistochemical methods were used to determine whether estrogen modulates the appearance of e-jun immunoreactivity (IR) in the striatum of rats. Administration of estradiol (100 μg/rat) to ovariectomized rats for 15 min induced a rapid and transient increase in c-jun-IR in the dorsomedial striatum and the core region of the nucleus accumbens. These data suggest that c-jun may serve as one of the rapidly responding mediators of estrogen action in the striatum and nucleus accumbens.
Effects of vocabulary instruction on measures of language processing: Comparing two approaches

Abstract This study examined effects on kindergartners (n = 131) of two approaches to vocabulary instruction, repetition and interactive, and a control condition, along a progression of language processing, using a within subject design. The repetition condition featured repeated readings of a story and practice with definitions. The interactive condition featured multiple contexts and active processing of the words. Students were assessed with experimenter-designed measures of meaning recognition, comprehension, and production. Repetition and interactive approaches enabled students’ recognition of word meanings and higher-order processing compared to the control. Two measures of higher-order processing showed advantage for interactive instruction relative to repetition instruction.
Informing interested parties of changes in the optical performance of the cornea caused by keratorefractive surgery: a ray-tracing model that tailors presentation of results to fit the level of soph

Keratorefractive surgery changes a patient's spectacle correction by altering the curve of the cornea. Often the optical performance of the cornea is degraded as a result of surgery. Clinical tests such as visual acuity testing with high contrast optotypes are too insensitive to measure how the operation degrades optical quality. Ray tracing models offer promise as a sensitive indicator of optical degradation, but unfortunately most patients and many ophthalmologists and health care analysts do not understand results from such models when they are displayed as wither Fourier representations of optical degradation or as point spread functions. To address this problem, we improved on an earlier ray tracing program that models the optical performance of the cornea so that it now presents results in whatever format is best understood by the target audience.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Conformational memories and the endocannabinoid binding site at the cannabinoid CB1 receptor.

Endocannabinoid stucture−activity relationships (SAR) indicate that the CB1 receptor recognizes ethanolamides whose fatty acid acyl chains have 20 or 22 carbons, with at least three homoallylic double bonds and saturation in at least the last five carbons of the acyl chain. To probe the molecular basis for these acyl chain requirements, the method of conformational memories (CM) was used to study the conformations available to an n-6 series of ethanolamide fatty acid acyl chain congeners: 22:4, n-6 (Ki = 34.4 ± 3.2 nM); 20:4, n-6 (Ki = 39.2 ± 5.7 nM); 20:3, n-6 (Ki = 53.4 ± 5.5 nM); and 20:2, n-6 (Ki > 1500 nM). CM studies indicated that each analogue could form both extended and U/J-shaped families of conformers. However, for the low affinity 20:2, n-6 ethanolamide, the higher populated family was the extended conformer family, while for the other analogues in the series, the U/J-shaped family had the higher population. In addition, the 20:2, n-6 ethanolamide U-shaped family was not as tightly curved as...
In situ time-resolved X-ray reflectivity study of self-assembly from solution

The authors have studied the formation of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayers on Si(111) surfaces, using X-ray reflectivity at the solution-substrate interface. They find that the thickness of the OTS layer remains at {approximately}25 {angstrom} throughout the entire growth process. The electron density of the deposited layer increases monotonically, from very close to that of the solution to that of a densely packed OTS monolayer. They do not observe any increased roughness at the OTS-solution interface of a partially deposited monolayer. This means that the molecules are vertical when deposited and that the films undergo island-type growth.
A rationale for opiate withdrawal symptomatology

Abstract The discovery of opioid peptide transmitters and the delineation of their interactions with the noradrenergic locus ceruleus (LC) has led to our proposing that opiate effects on mood and physiological responses result from the opiate-induced inhibition of the LC. Withdrawal of opiates removes this “tonic” inhibition of the LC and could readily result in a piperoxane-like release from inhibition. The hypothesis that noradrenergic hyperactivity underlies the physiologic and affective changes seen in opiate withdrawal and spontaneous panic seen in man can be readily tested in man by evaluating the efficacy of drugs which inhibit the LC and block piperoxane- and LC-elicited increases in specific behaviors for the treatment of opiate withdrawal and naturally occurring panic-anxiety states in man.
The requirement for biotin in mouse fibroblast L-cells cultured on serumless medium

Abstract Mouse L-cells, Clone 929, were adapted to growth on a chemically defined medium, Waymouth's Medium MAP 954 1 , in the absence of serum. When biotin was excluded in the preparation of this medium, the resulting medium proved to be incapable of sustaining continuous cell proliferation: A biotin requirement was therefore demonstrable in these cells within a three week period.