cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Valence ππ* Excitations in Benzene Studied by Multiconfiguration Pair-Density Functional Theory

We explore the valence singlet and triplet ππ* excitations of benzene with complete active pace self-consistent field (CASSCF) theory, complete active space perturbation theory (CASPT2), and multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) for four different choices of active space. We propose a new way to quantify the covalent and ionic character of the electronic states in terms of the components of the total electronic energy. We also explore the effect of scaling the exchange and correlation components of the on-top density functional used in MC-PDFT; we observe that increasing the exchange contribution improves the MC-PDFT excitation energies for benzene.
Digital Storytelling vs Traditional Storytelling: Teaching English Language to ANHS Students

According to a study published by Crystal & Graddol (1997), English is the most common and utilized language in the world. Regarded as the lingua franca, it is seen in social media, academic texts, novels, television, and more. Due to its omnipresence, it is paramount that every citizen must at least have a decent grasp of the language. However, as stated and shown in the Senate Resolution No. 622 filed by Senator Grace Poe (2018), English proficiency has been on a steady decline (p. 2). Instead of combating this using traditional teaching methods, this paper proposes that teachers instead use the storytelling approach. Studies have shown that stories, when it is aligned with one’s interests, have a profound effect on a person’s ability to understand the language (Gonzales, 2009, p. 105). This paper will focus on determining which type of storytelling will be more effective in teaching English: traditional or digital. Traditional storytelling is the storyteller-listener approach, while digital storytelling is storytelling using computer-based tools. These two types of storytelling were used to test the English proficiency of 2 different sections from the Adult Night High School (ANHS) students of La Salle Green Hills. Using a pre-test borrowed from the Word-Up project, the researchers were able to assess their initial English proficiency level. Afterwards, the students were asked to read the story ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by W.W Jacobs, one through traditional reading and the other through PowerPoint presentation. The students were then given a post-test made by the researchers themselves to see if they improved, and if one class scored higher than the other. Using T-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal Variances with a 95% level of confidence, the statistical computations show that there is little to no statistical difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of traditional storytelling class and the digital storytelling class. Hence, researchers have failed to reject the null hypothesis, which means that there is little to no significant difference between the effectiveness of digital storytelling and the effectiveness of traditional storytelling. However, this could be attributed to the limitations of the study. Therefore, more research must be done in order to come to a more conclusive result.
Detection and Management of Heart Disease in Athletes

Primary care clinicians fulfill critical roles of screening for, diagnosing, and managing cardiovascular disease. In young athletes, primary structural and electrical diseases are the focus. Coronary artery disease is the chief concern in older athletes. Sudden cardiac arrest may be the initial presentation of disease and is more common in young athletes than historically appreciated. The traditional preparticipation evaluation, or sports physical, is limited in its ability to accurately raise suspicion of underlying disease. The 12-lead electrocardiogram is a more accurate screening tool. Contemporary risk stratification and treatment protocols may allow for safe return to sport on a case-by-case basis.
Removal of eight perfluoroalkyl acids from aqueous solutions by aeration and duckweed

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are surfactants. Leveraging their surface active feature, this work investigated using aeration to remove perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) from aqueous solutions. Eight PFAAs were spiked to either deionized water or Hoagland solution at three pHs. After 7 h of aeration, removals of perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) were marginal and much lower than those of and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). In deionized water, close to 80% of PFOA and PFOS at 200 ppb were removed when the pH was 2.3. The Hoagland solution at pH 2.3 and 5.0 benefited removal of long-chain PFAS at 2 ppb, but not at 200 ppb. With duckweed growing on the Hoagland solution surface, >95% of PFHpA, PFHxS, PFOA, and PFOS at 200 ppb were removed after 2 weeks. Aeration enhanced duckweed uptake of PFHxS, PFOA, and PFOS at 2 ppb significantly. Specific to PFOS, duckweed accumulated 14.4% of this compound initially spiked at 2 ppb in 2 weeks. These results demonstrated that aeration plus duckweed could be a viable and scalable remediation solution for surface water contaminated by PFAS.
Antimicrobial susceptibility trends for urinary isolates in the veteran population.

Background Guidance on empiric treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs) is lacking for the male population which comprises much of the Veteran population in the United States. This study evaluated susceptibility trends in antimicrobials used for treatment of UTIs in the inpatient and outpatient Veteran population nationwide. Methods Urine culture data was retrospectively obtained from Corporate Data Warehouse. All urine cultures from Veteran Health Administration patients 18 years of age or older who were treated at any VA health care center in the years 2009 and 2018 were eligible. Antibiograms were constructed for bacterial isolate susceptibility. Results In 2009 and 2018 isolates from 54,788 and 58,983 Veterans were analyzed, respectively. Escherichia coli was the most common bacteria isolated. For ceftriaxone, E coli susceptibilities were relatively high but trended downward from 2009 to 2018. Common urinary pathogen susceptibilities remained low for fluoroquinolones and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Discussion Empiric therapy for Veterans with UTIs should be based on local susceptibility patterns as previously recommended first-line agents have fallen out of favor due to increasing resistance rates. Conclusions Both inpatient and outpatient stewardship is needed to ensure appropriate treatment, as viable treatment options for UTIs are becoming increasingly limited.
Interlocking reconstruction-mode stem-sideplates preserve at-risk hips with short residual proximal femora

Aims We have evaluated the survivorship, outcomes, and failures of an interlocking, reconstruction-mode stem-sideplate implant used to preserve the native hip joint and achieve proximal fixation wh...
Overall chilled water system energy consumption modeling and optimization

Abstract The emergence of increasingly affordable variable-speed drive technology has changed the approach used to control chilled water systems equipped with these drives. The purpose of this research was to develop an integrated chilled water modeling technique that can determine the optimal system setpoints and estimate the energy saving potential of chiller system. The chiller system equipped with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on cooling tower fans and condenser water pumps. To accomplish the objective, physical component models of the centrifugal chiller, cooling tower and condenser water pump were established with the goal of incorporating the system’s condenser water flow rate and cooling tower fan speeds as optimization variables. Furthermore, a cooling load prediction algorithm was developed using a multiple non-linear regression model to approximate the building’s cooling load subject to a range of environmental conditions. The inputs and outputs of the individual component models were linked to estimate how adjusting the cooling tower fan and condenser water pump speed would influence the system’s comprehensive performance. The overall system model was then optimized using a generalized reduced gradient optimization algorithm to determine the potential energy savings through speed control with VFDs and to ascertain a control logic strategy for the building automation system to operate the heating and cooling system. A case-study was performed on a single chiller system at a museum and the model was calibrated according to logged data collected over four months. Results showed that for the system analyzed, the energy saving of optimizing the cooling tower fan system was found to be 12–15%, while the energy saving potential of optimizing the condenser water pump with the cooling tower fan was negligible. Additionally, comparing different cooling tower fan control strategies showed that a wet-bulb approach-based cooling tower control strategy was shown to have the highest correlation to the optimized fan speed with an R2 of 0.924.
Biologically Plausible Training Mechanisms for Self-Supervised Learning in Deep Networks

We develop biologically plausible training mechanisms for self-supervised learning (SSL) in deep networks. SSL, with a contrastive loss, is more natural as it does not require labelled data and its robustness to perturbations yields more adaptable embeddings. Moreover the perturbation of data required to create positive pairs for SSL is easily produced in a natural environment by observing objects in motion and with variable lighting over time. We propose a contrastive hinge based loss whose error involves simple local computations as opposed to the standard contrastive losses employed in the literature, which do not lend themselves easily to implementation in a network architecture due to complex computations involving ratios and inner products. Furthermore we show that learning can be performed with one of two more plausible alternatives to backpropagation. The first is difference target propagation (DTP), which trains network parameters using target-based local losses and employs a Hebbian learning rule, thus overcoming the biologically implausible symmetric weight problem in backpropagation. The second is simply layer-wise learning, where each layer is directly connected to a layer computing the loss error. The layers are either updated sequentially in a greedy fashion (GLL) or in random order (RLL), and each training stage involves a single hidden layer network. The one step backpropagation needed for each such network can either be altered with fixed random feedback weights as proposed in Lillicrap et al. (2016), or using updated random feedback as in Amit (2019). Both methods represent alternatives to the symmetric weight issue of backpropagation. By training convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with SSL and DTP, GLL or RLL, we find that our proposed framework achieves comparable performance to its implausible counterparts in both linear evaluation and transfer learning tasks.
Predicting clinical events using Bayesian multivariate linear mixed models with application to scleroderma.

BACKGROUND Scleroderma is a serious chronic autoimmune disease in which a patient's disease state manifests in several irregularly spaced longitudinal measures of lung, heart, skin, and other organ systems. Threshold crossings of pulmonary and cardiac measures indicate potentially life-threatening key clinical events including interstitial lung disease (ILD), cardiomyopathy, and pulmonary hypertension (PH). The statistical challenge is to accurately and precisely predict these events by using all of the clinical history for the patient at hand and for a reference population of patients. METHODS We use a Bayesian mixed model approach to simultaneously characterize each individual's future trajectories for several biomarkers. We estimate this model using a large population of patients from the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center Research Registry. The joint probabilities of critical lung and heart events are then calculated as a byproduct of the mixed model. RESULTS The performance of this approach is substantially better than standard, more common alternatives. In order to predict an individual's risks in a clinical setting, we also develop a cross-validated, sequential prediction (CVSP) algorithm. As additional data are observed during a patient's visit, the algorithm sequentially produces updated predictions for the future longitudinal trajectories and for ILD, cardiomyopathy, and PH. The updated prediction distributions with little additional computing, for example within an electronic health record (EHR). CONCLUSIONS This method that generates real-time personalized risk estimates has been implemented within the electronic health record system for clinical testing. To our knowledge, this work represents the first approach to compute personalized risk estimates for multiple scleroderma complications.
Chapter 3 Martingales and random walks

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the modern and general discrete time definitions of martingale, supermartingale, and submartingale. The chapter outlines three of the main areas of martingale results: martingale transforms, including transformations under systems of optional stopping, martingale inequalities, and the martingale convergence theorems. It describes some sample applications of these results in probability, statistics, and management science. The optional stopping theorems find direct application in management science to decision problems of an optimal stopping format. For continuous time martingales and stochastic integration, many important topics and applications are highly technical and can be properly stated only after many definitions are made and a new vocabulary is introduced. The chapter provides an introduction to this vocabulary beginning. A heuristic principle of stochastic modeling asserts that every process can be viewed as a Markov process if enough history is included in the state description and the modern theory of stochastic integration, in which martingale theory is basic, provides a framework for carrying out this program.
Neurosurgical Management of High-grade Gliomas

High-grade gliomas include malignant variants of tumors derived from astrocytic and oligodendropheral cell lines. These tumors demonstrate invasive behavior, are rapidly growing and are usually characterized by contrast enhancement and edema on MR or CT neuroimaging. Management includes either biopsy or surgical resection followed by radiotherapy in the majority of cases. Additional adjuvant chemotherapy is also a treatment consideration. Despite advances in management, the prognosis remains poor, with few patients surviving beyond 2–3 years.
Ultrasound to Improve the Diagnostic Yield of Sural Nerve Conduction Studies (P3.167)

OBJECTIVE: To determine if performing ultrasound imaging, prior to nerve conduction studies, can improve the diagnostic yield of sural nerve conduction studies in an adult population. BACKGROUND: The sural nerve is often one of the more difficult nerves to locate. If visualized via ultrasound beforehand, diagnostic yield of nerve conduction studies may improve. DESIGN/METHODS: Seven healthy adult subjects had nerve conduction studies performed on their bilateral sural nerves at two separate encounters. One encounter included nerve conduction with ultrasound and the other encounter included nerve conduction without the use of ultrasound. The order of the studies was randomized. At each encounter recordings of the sural amplitude, number of shocks, stimulus for supramaximal stimulation, and duration of each study were performed. RESULTS: Of the seven subjects enrolled, 57[percnt] were female and 43[percnt] had ultrasound performed prior to nerve conduction studies. The mean BMI was 23.0. Use of sural nerve ultrasound prior to nerve conduction studies resulted in a statistically significant reduction in stimulation needed for maximal amplitude recording (p=0.040). This occurred at the cost of an increase in total study time (p=<0.001). There was no difference in recorded sural amplitudes (p=0.990). There were measurable, but not statistically significant, improvements in number of shocks needed (2.64 vs 3.43) and subjective pain ratings (1.7 vs 2.4) when utilizing ultrasound. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest neuromuscular ultrasound does not significantly improve the diagnostic yield of sural nerve conduction studies, however may improve patient experience. The ability to visualize the sural nerve prior to the nerve conduction study allows for decreased stimulation at the site resulting in improved patient comfort and tolerability. As this study was performed on a small population of healthy controls, future studies should be conducted on patients with a variety of ages and comorbidities as well as a larger sample size. Disclosure: Dr. White has nothing to disclose.
CHAPTER 31 – Gustatory System

This chapter describes the human gustatory system and integrates the clinical and experimental literature. When the clinical reports contradict the experimental literature, the chapter has weighed the likelihood of a species difference versus the possibility that the disagreement reflects differences in the quality of the data. This chapter deals primarily with the central organization of the gustatory system and emphasizes its cortical organization, where most of the research over the last decade has been done. The human peripheral gustatory apparatus is described. On the anterior tongue, taste buds occur in fungiform papillae. The density of taste buds on the anterior tongues of adult cadavers varies by two orders of magnitude, and the differences are not attributable to age or race. These differences in the number of taste buds per papilla are more than an anatomical curiosity. The number of fungiform papilla correlates positively with taste intensity, the inherited ability to taste bitterness, and the intensity of the “burn” produced by capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers. Furthermore, functional issues such as transduction, coding, and behavior are also covered in this chapter.
Extension and partitioning of use cases in support of formal object modeling

The number of use cases produced for any non-trivial system can be large. These use cases may contain redundancies resulting from multilevel stakeholder communities, natural language ambiguity, terminology differences, and common data and behaviours. In order to prepare use cases for formal requirements modeling, some structure is needed to classify the use cases into partitions that are meaningful to the object modeler. This paper extends Jacobson's (1992) use cases with a refinement called system oriented use cases. The extensions are then partitioned according to the strength of their similarity: behavioural, intentional, and environmental. The partitioning is exhaustive and produces a hierarchy. The hierarchy is a useful input to bound the requirements modeling activity that follows the elicitation phase.
The rising incidence of pediatric empyema with fistula

Purpose The incidence and etiology of empyema with fistula (EWF) in children is unknown. We analyzed a national database to define the epidemiology and diagnoses associated with this condition.
Exercise and Stem Cells

Stem cells are traditionally studied in the context of embryonic development, yet studies confirm that a fraction remains in the adult organism for the purpose of daily remodeling and rejuvenation of multiple tissues following injury. Adult stem cells (ASCs) are found in close proximity to vessels and respond to tissue-specific cues in the microenvironment that dictate their fate and function. Exercise can dramatically alter strain sensing, extracellular matrix composition, and inflammation, and such changes in the niche likely alter ASC quantity and function postexercise. The field of stem cell biology is still in its infancy and identification and terminology of ASCs continues to evolve; thus, current information regarding exercise and stem cells is lacking. This chapter summarizes the literature that reports on the ASC response to acute exercise and exercise training, with particular emphasis on hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, and mesenchymal stem cells.
Rapamycin together with herceptin significantly increased anti-tumor efficacy compared to either alone in ErbB2 over expressing breast cancer cells.

The objective of this study was to assess the anti-tumor efficacy of rapamycin alone or in combination with herceptin in breast cancer. A total of 20 human breast cancer lines were examined for expression of various receptor tyrosine kinases and activation of their down stream signaling molecules, as well as for their invasion and colony forming ability. The ErbB2 and PI3 kinase pathway inhibitors were tested for the inhibition on breast cancer cell growth and tumor development. Seven of the 20 lines displayed an elevated level of ErbB2, others had varying level of EGF, IGF-1 or insulin receptor. Over 30% of the lines also had constitutive activation of Akt and MAP kinase. The lines displayed a wide range of colony forming and invasion ability. The PI3 kinase pathway inhibitors LY294002 and rapamycin inhibited the colony forming ability of all of the lines with the ErbB2 overexpressing lines having a higher sensitivity. A similar trend was observed for inhibition of invasion by LY294002. Rapamycin alone and additively together with herceptin inhibited the breast cancer cell growth especially in ErbB2 overexpressing cells. Rapamycin and herceptin synergistically inhibited tumor growth and endpoint tumor load in a xenograft model using a MCF-7 subline and in a MMTV-ErbB2 transgenic model. Rapamycin and herceptin significantly reduced the level of cyclin D1 and D3 and increased the cleavage of caspase 3 suggesting an increased apoptosis. Our results suggest that rapamycin together with herceptin has an enhanced anti-cancer effect and could be developed as an improved therapeutic regimen for breast cancer. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Identifying left lower lobe pneumonia at chest radiography: Performance of family practice residents before and after a didactic session

Rationale and Objectives. The authors sought to determine whether the lateral chest radiograph is helpful in identifying left lower lobe pneumonia among inexperienced readers. Materials and Methods. The authors selected all patients who presented to a family practice training program with radiologic and clinical evidence of left lower lobe pneumonia ( n = 65). They then selected an equal number of patients in whom chest radiographs were taken to “rule out pneumonia” and were found to be normal. Eight 1st-year family practice residents were asked to read the radiographs before and after a didactic session that emphasized lateral chest radiograph interpretation. The radiographs were presented under two viewing conditions: posteroanterior (PA) only versus PA and lateral. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve methods were used to compare the effect of both the didactic session and the viewing condition on diagnostic accuracy. Results. There were no significant differences in performance before and after the didactic session and no differences between the two viewing conditions. After including only abnormal radiographs that demonstrated the “spine sign” (an apparent increased opacification of the lower vertebral bodies on the lateral view), the residents performed better when presented with both PA and lateral radiographs than when presented with the PA radiograph only (area under ROC curve, .8158 vs .7418, respectively; P = .024). Conclusion. In patients with left lower lobe pneumonia whose radiographs demonstrated the spine sign, diagnostic accuracy improved when the lateral chest radiograph was viewed.
Thermal preference and temporal distribution in three crayfish species

Abstract 1. 1. Acute thermal preference and final preferendum were determined for three species of crayfish. In all three species the final preferenda nearly matched ambient temperature encountered during months of maximum activity. Procambarus spicultfer also exhibited a circadian cycle in its acute preference, matching habitat temperature changes in both magnitude and timing. P. clarkii exhibited a similar cycle but of smaller amplitude. 2. 2. Cambarus latimanus are not active on a daily basis and did not show the circadian cycle. 3. 3. The acute preference of P. clarkii was lower when they were held in deep water as compared to those held in shallow (≤ 5 cm) water. 4. 4. It is postulated that these measures of thermal preference do not function for thermal regulation but rather serve as cues for arousal from either hibernation or their daily refugia.
Monte Carlo (Hybrid) Suprathermal Electron Transport

A 1-D hybrid model for electron transport in laser targets is introduced, in which the suprathermal electrons are collisional PIC particles, the thermal electrons are a donor-cell fluid, and the E field is calculated by artificially dilating the plasma period. The scheme shows that resistive E fields are too transient and that a calculated ion-acoustic level is too low to explain experimentally observed reduced transport, that can, however, arise as convective inhibition enhanced by troughs in the target density profile.
STRUCTURE IN NEUTRON--PROTON CHARGE EXCHANGE.

Neutron-proton charge-exchange differential cross sections for incident-neutron momenta between 600 and 2000 MeV/c show a sharp change in the slope of $\frac{d\ensuremath{\sigma}}{\mathrm{dt}}$ vs -$u$ in the vicinity of $\ensuremath{-}u=0.01$ ${(\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}/\mathit{c})}^{2}$. Near the one-pion threshold the slope at $u=0$ shows a maximum which reaches a value of order 100 ${(\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}/\mathit{c})}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. Also presented, as a function of $s$, is the intercept at $u=0$ which shows a pronounced deviation from smoothness in the region above the inelastic threshold.
Creating successful cause–brand alliances: The role of cause involvement, perceived brand motivations and cause–brand alliance attitude

Under increasing pressure from consumers to be socially responsible, more brands than ever are engaging in cause–brand alliances. Two challenges facing brands are how to choose a nonprofit partner for the alliance and the impact of the brand's perceived motivations for engaging in the alliance on consumers’ responses to the alliance. Using a theoretical framework based on the congruity theory and the theory of reasoned action, this study examines the influence of consumer cause involvement, perceived brand motivations and cause–brand alliance attitude on consumers’ intentions to purchase the product associated with a cause–brand alliance. Hypotheses were tested in the context of mock cause–brand alliance press releases in an online survey administered to 742 US college students. Findings indicate that perceived brand motivations partially mediate the relationship between cause involvement and cause–brand alliance attitude, and that cause–brand alliance attitude positively influences purchase intentions. Managerial implications are discussed.
Bird species richness within beaver ponds in south-central New York

We surveyed 70 wetlands during winter and spring 1992 to determine the influence of beaver activity on species richness of birds. Wetlands were divided into 3 activity types (active, inactive, potential), and 3 size categories of small ( 0.050) among size classes in the average number of species/wetland, but the average was greater (P<0.050) in potential (4.7) versus active sites (3.1). We detected 106 species in spring, 92% of which were in active sites. Active sites also contained the highest (P<0.050) average number of species/wetland (29) compared to inactive sites (24) and potential sites (22). Active sites contained more open water, dead standing trees, surface water, and flooded emergents than inactive or potential sites. Wetland area (log transformed) was most correlated (r=0.43–0.56) with richness of birds in all activity categories. Overall, beaver occupancy of wetlands may have affected bird richness most by creating intermediate ratios of cover:water.
Albite porphyroblasts with sigmoidal inclusion trails and their kinematic implications: an example from the Taconic Allochthon, west-central Vermont

Abstract Microstructural analyses of albite porphyroblasts in phyllite of the Taconic Allochthon were conducted in order to determine the origin of the sigmoidal inclusion trails within the porphyroblasts and to evaluate if and when the porphyroblasts rotated during the deformation history. Three cleavages (S2, S3, and S4) with similar strike are present in the phyllite. The albite porphyroblasts are characterized by inclusion-rich cores and inclusion-free rims, and the boundary between the cores and overgrowths is characterized by relatively straight and parallel zones of concentrated rutile. The sigmoidal inclusion trails within the cores are inferred to be trapped microfolds. The zones of concentrated rutile are interpreted to be truncation planes that formed during the development of S3. In contrast to the tight orientation distribution of S3, the truncation planes show a wide distribution pattern. The mean orientations of S3 and the truncation planes also differ. These orientation data indicate that the porphyroblasts have not only rotated with respect to S3 but also to the geographic reference frame. In addition, the growth of the porphyroblasts was influenced by differentiation associated with S3 crenulation cleavage formation; the porphyroblasts grew preferentially within microlithon domains where chlorite, a reactant mineral for the porphyroblasts, is abundant.
Effects of serotonin and the serotonin blocker metergoline on meal patterns and macronutrient selection.

Serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)] in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of rats has a suppressive effect on feeding behavior and causes a selective decrease in carbohydrate ingestion, specifically at the onset of the natural (dark) feeding period. Studies conducted here provide furher evidence for this phenomena, showing a similar dose-related decrease in carbohydrate ingestion at dark onset after PVN injection of 5-HT or of the agonists, d-norfenfluramine or fluoxetine, which act through endogenous 5-HT. To further characterize the effects of this indoleamine on the macrostructure of feeding, a computer-automated data acquisition system was used to analyze macronutrient feeding patterns in freely feeding animals maintained on the pure diet of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Results indicate that PVN administration of 5-HT at dark onset decreases intake of the carbohydrate nutrient by decreasing meal size, feeding time, and feeding rate for this nutrient and increasing the satiating effect of carbohydrate. These effects, which occur specifically during the first meal after injection, are opposite those seen after peripheral administration of the 5-HT receptor agonist, metergoline. This drug stimulates feeding through a selective increase in carbohydrate intake, characterized by an increase in meal size, percent composition, and feeding time for this nutrient and a decrease in the satiety ratio for carbohydrate. These results implicate the serotonergic system in the termination of carbohydrate-rich meals that are prevalent during the early hours of the natural feeding cycle.
Case Study on the Improvement of Children's Creative and Esthetic Skills Through Art and Drama in the City of Athens

The reason for choosing the Marasleios institutions in Athens for implementing the present project is their pioneering efforts in the field of esthetic education in Greece.
Transient disturbances in the stratosphere: implications for theory and observing systems

Abstract Two classes of transient disturbances evident at stratospheric levels, extratropical planetary waves of gravest scale and equatorial modes confined to the tropics, are discussed theoretically and observationally. Both are briefly reviewed and developed within the framework of a space-time spectrum. This representation is a complete and, in some instances, more transparent description than the evolving physical-space analogue. It serves to reconcile the extensive modal structures emergent from observations with localized episodic descriptions. In particular, a localized transient disturbance is shown to correspond to a spectrum of modes . The transient response to localized unsteady forcing involves two constituents: a ‘projection response’ scaling according to the source and a normal mode or ‘barotropic response’ appearing at eigenfrequencies independently of forcing details. For convective heating localized in the tropics, disturbances of the first category are trapped latitudinally about the equator, but radiate vertically. In contrast, disturbances of the second category disperse laterally well out of the tropics, but are vertically trapped. Interference between traveling and stationary components is capable of inducing vacillations in eddy transports via modulation of the stationary zonal wave. In this process, the steady stream of wave action due to the stationary wave alone is transformed into one which is corpuscular and pulsating . These fluctuations, in turn, induce a vacillatory response in the basic flow, locally and intermittently , in proportion to convergences of Eliasen-Palm flux. The traveling wave event of January 1979 is re-examined in the context of a spectrum of modes or, equivalently, a dispersive wavepacket. While in general several modes are indicated, it is demonstrated that two modes, one symmetric and the other antisymmetric about the equator, are reasonably successful in characterizing the observed disturbance. Fluctuations simultaneously observed in the mean flow at upper levels are identified with the vacillatory response to modulation of the stationary wave by the traveling wave. The space-time spectrum and related considerations are applied to satellite and radar observing platforms. Advantages and limitations of each observational technique in monitoring transient phenomena are developed.
Postoperative protein sparing.

Postoperative nitrogen sparing refers to a therapy that decreases net nitrogen loss from the body following an operation. Protein sparing has long been regarded as a surrogate marker for improved outcome, but a critical review of the evidence indicates that this relation is difficult to establish, especially in the short term. Thus, specific endpoints that evaluate outcome are needed to determine the efficacy of a specific therapy that spares protein. Cost effectiveness must also be considered. A variety of therapies were evaluated using protein-sparing, efficiency, and cost criteria. Evidence was reviewed for glucose, amino acids, parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, growth hormone, and glutamine administered during the perioperative period. Only three areas could be identified that spared nitrogen and provided efficacy: (1) preoperative total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for 7 to 10 days before operation in a depleted patient (≤15% body weight loss); (2) the use of growth hormone with nutritional support to promote wound healing (especially in burns) and possibly to enhance muscle strength (particularly in the elderly); and (3) the use of glutamine-supplemented TPN in severely ill surgical patients to decrease mortality. The issue of early tube feeding in trauma patients is still confusing. This therapy must be evaluated by an appropriate study in trauma patients that compares a tube-fed group with an unfed control group. Only by demonstrating improved outcomes and enhanced cost saving with our protein-sparing therapy can we continue to enhance the care of our surgical patients.
General overview and update of positive inotropic therapy

Advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac-ventricular failure and the pharmacophysiology of adrenergic receptors have greatly improved the short-term therapy of the low-output, hypotensive-hypoperfused, cardiac failure states. Agents are now specifically selected for these conditions on the basis of their predominant effects on the heart (positive inotropy) and the peripheral vasculature (vasodilatation or vasoconstriction). With the addition of dobutamine therapy, the pharmacophysiologic spectrum now includes norepinephrine (predominant vasopressor), dopamine (combined vasopressor-positive inotrope), dobutamine (predominant positive inotrope), and isoproterenol (combined positive inotrope-vasodilator). Digitalis was introduced to the medical profession 200 years ago. In terms of chronically administered positive inotropic therapy, to date, this "old-timer" has not been replaced. The yet experimental phosphodiesterase inhibitors, enoximone and milrinone, appear promising as long-term nonparenteral inotropes; however, the precise role, clinical effectiveness, and safety profile of these agents remain to be determined.
Polyploidy: recurrent formation and genome evolution

Polyploidy has played a major role in the evolution of many eukaryotes. Recent studies have dramatically reshaped views of polyploid evolution, demonstrating that most polyploid species examined, both plant and animal, have formed recurrently from different populations of their progenitors. Populations of independent origin can subsequently come into contact and hybridize, generating new genotypes. Because of the frequency of polyploidy in plants, many recognized species are probably polyphyletic. Extensive and rapid genome restructuring can occur after polyploidization. Such changes can be mediated by transposons. Polyploidization could represent a period of transilience, during which genomic changes occur, potentially producing new gene complexes and facilitating rapid evolution.
Strain softening along the MCT zone from the Sikkim Himalaya: Relative roles of Quartz and Micas

Abstract In the Darjeeling – Sikkim Himalaya, two distinct faults form the Main Central thrust (MCT), the structurally higher MCT1 and the lower MCT2; each has accommodated translation greater than 100 km. The lower MCT2 places Greater Himalayan amphibolite grade Paro-Lingtse gneiss over Lesser Himalayan greenschist grade Daling metapelites. The MCT2 is folded by the underlying Lesser Himalayan duplex and is exposed at different structural positions of the fold. At Pelling, the MCT2 zone is exposed as a ∼373 m thick NW dipping fault zone that exposes ∼19 m of hanging wall mylonitized Lingtse gneiss. The Lingtse protolith shows evidence of amphibolite grade plastic deformation features in quartz and feldspar. Within the hanging wall mylonite zone (HWMZ), quartz and feldspar have undergone grain-size reduction by different deformation mechanisms and feldspars are sericitized suggesting the presence of fluids during deformation. We estimate a temperature of ∼300 °C within the fault zone during fluid-assisted retrogression and deformation. Reaction softening of feldspars produced a large proportion of intrinsically weak matrix. This, in combination with development of a strong foliation defined by parallel mica grains, resulted in strain softening along the MCT2 zone, and concentrated the deformation along a thin zone or zones.
Modeling with fractional difference equations

Abstract In this paper, we develop some basics of discrete fractional calculus such as Leibniz rule and summation by parts formula. We define simplest discrete fractional calculus of variations problem and derive Euler–Lagrange equation. We introduce and solve Gompertz fractional difference equation for tumor growth models.
Estimation of the available surface and the jamming coverage in the Random Sequential Adsorption of a binary mixture of disks

A simple analytical expression is proposed for the area available to a disk on a surface for a Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) of binary mixtures of disks. The expression was obtained by combining the low-order terms of the density expansion of the available area with the asymptotic behaviour of the surface coverage near the jamming point. Comparison with Monte Carlo simulations shows that this approach provides a fair estimation of the jamming coverage for both kinds of disks.
Submarine metamorphism of gabbros from the Mid-Cayman Rise: Petrographic and mineralogic constraints on hydrothermal processes at slow-spreading ridges

The coarse-grained, submersible-collected rocks from the Mid-Cayman Rise in our study span a vertical section of about 700 m and range from amphibolite to gabbro. Petrographic and mineralogic studies showed that: (1) some deformation is present in all rocks; (2) the distribution of deformation is not uniform within a specimen; and (3) alteration has taken place preferentially in the deformed zones. The abundance of amphibole decreases with sample depth and argues that seawater flux into the oceanic crust decreased with depth. The compositional changes in rocks indicate that partially exchanged seawater was the metamorphic fluid that supplied Na, K, and H2O to and removed Ca from the rock. In all, about 15% of the original rock has been transformed to amphibolite in the 700 m vertical section. Our study indicates that deformation of oceanic crust is necessary for providing pathways for seawater penetration which in turn is necessary for the submarine metamorphism to occur. If deformation continues to take place during the spreading of seafloor, alteration may also continue to occur along newly formed fractures and cracks.
Distribution and Movement Behavior of Radio-Tagged Grass Carp in Two Texas Reservoirs

Abstract Triploid grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella with surgically implanted radio tags were stocked in two Texas reservoirs, Lake Texana (4.453 ha) and Lake Weatherford (445 ha), then tracked to determine magnitude and seasonality of movement patterns, diurnal changes in movement, and distribution relative to aquatic vegetation. After release, fish quickly became associated with macrophytes. More than 50% of observed movement during the first 3 months occurred within 1 week. Mean home range area was 3,234 ha (SE = 1,190), and mean core use area was 515 ha (SE = 193). Extensive movement was observed during 24-h tracking conducted immediately after release. However, five 24-h tracking surveys that were conducted at least 3 months after release showed little movement after acclimation. Somewhat elevated movement was evident from 0400 to 1200 hours. We conclude that immediately after stocking, an acclimation period with relatively intense movement occurs followed by an extended period of quiescence. Mean d...
Pillaring Studies on Some Layered Oxides with Ruddlesden-Popper Related Structures

Pillaring studies on four layered oxides, KCa{sub 2}Nb{sub 3}O{sub 10}, KCa{sub 3}Nb{sub 3} TiO{sub 13}, KCa{sub 4}Nb{sub 3}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 16}, and KCa{sub 2}Sr{sub 0.5}Nb{sub 3}Ti{sub 0.5}O{sub 11.5}, possessing Ruddlesden-Popper related structures have been carried out. The aluminum keggin ion, [Al{sub 13}O{sub 4}(OH){sub 24}(H{sub 2}O){sub 12}]{sup 7+}, was used as the polymeric cation for the pillar. These samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, neutron activation analysis, and sorption studies. X-ray diffraction and other structural studies suggest that the polymeric cations were incorporated into the interlayer and upon calcination the layer thicknesses observed correspond to that expected for the formation of the dehydrated polymers in between the layers as a composite. BET surface area measurements and sorption experiments indicate that these products are nonporous oxides suggesting that the interlayer regions are stuffed rather than pillared.
Sexual and marital adjustment of World War II spinal cord injured veterans

A survey of the marital and sexual adjustment of World War II spinal cord injured veterans was undertaken at the Spinal Cord Injury Outpatient Clinic at the VA Medical Center, Sepulveda, California. A questionnaire containing 42 questions was sent to 40 of these veterans who had survived more than 40 years after their injuries. Fifteen of the questionnaires were completed, with the results categorised in three areas: Demographic information, medical information, and marital and sexual information. A third of the subjects were quadriplegics, 66.7% were paraplegics. Seventy eight per cent of the couples were of the same age group. Eighty per cent were married after their injury; 73.4% were married to their original spouse. Two thirds of the SCI veterans fathered children. Of the fathers, 70% fathered children after their injury. Seventy five per cent of the veterans and 50% of their wives had education beyond high school. Forty per cent of the subjects used foley catheters, and 53.3% reported symptoms of spasticity. Eighty per cent used alcohol socially and 20% used tobacco. 4&7% rated sex as unimportant in their lives, yet many reported that their sexual lives were unsatisfactory. Sex was not openly discussed with their spouses although 55% reported excellent communication with their wives and 70% reported spending their leisure time with their wives. A significant response was the 86.6% of the subjects recommended marriage as a way of life for persons having a new spinal cord injury.
In vitro effect of topical fluoride on dental porcelain

Fifty-seven porcelain samples were randomly subjected to a variety of topical fluorides for time intervals of 4 to 64 minutes. Half of each porcelain surface was masked to prevent contact with the fluoride. Measurements of roughness were made for the fluoride-treated and the untreated porcelain surfaces to evaluate the effect of the different fluoride preparations over time. The resulting surfaces were also examined using an SEM. Conclusions from this study include the following. Statistically significant differences in roughness were found among surfaces exposed to 1.23% acidulated phosphate fluoride gel, 8% stannous fluoride, and the control surfaces. There were no significant differences in roughness between the test and control surfaces with 0.05%, 0.2%, and 2% sodium fluoride solutions or 0.4% stannous fluoride gel. The dentist should be aware of the potentially deleterious effects of prescribing or administering a topical fluoride for patients with porcelain/metal restorations.
Observation of Isotope Effects in Sonoluminescence

The spectrum of sonoluminescence emitted by single bubbles of H{sub 2}, D{sub 2}, He{sup 3}, and He{sup 4} trapped in H{sub 2}O and D{sub 2}O has been measured. We find that heavy water has a dramatic effect on the spectrum of hydrogenic gases, yielding a blackbody-type spectrum with a spectral peak at about 400 nm. The explanation of why such a small change in the driving fluid leads to such a large spectral shift is unknown. {copyright} {ital 1995} {ital The} {ital American} {ital Physical} {ital Society}.
Piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of La-modified and unmodified tungsten bronze Pb0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 dense ceramics

Abstract As part of a long-range project on piezoelectric materials for actuators and sensors, the ceramic densification of ferroelectric tungsten bronze Pb0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 (PBN:60), with and without La3+-modification, has been investigated. Samples prepared using pressure during sintering exhibit high densification (≥ 95%) with improved piezoelectric and polarization properties. Our current best samples show a spontaneous polarization of up to 24 μcoul/cm2 and piezoelectric strain coefficients, d33, of up to 275 × 10−12 C/N. The addition of La3+ (6%) has been observed to significantly alter the polarization behavior and change the lattice symmetry from 4mm to mm2.