cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuromodulators: Contemporary Indications and Techniques in the Upper and Midface

Early use of Botulinum toxin can be credited to ophthalmologist Dr. Allen Scott who communicated to the senior author and other in the late 1980s and early 1990s his observations of wrinkle effacement when treating blepharospasm. These observations led to early reports of Botulinum toxins employed to target specifically hyperfunctional frown lines. The great success of this molecule in aesthetic applications can thus be credited to the innovative thinking and initiative of clinicians with interest in advancing clinical care in contrast to the more common pharmaceutical-based, profit-motivated development of drugs and devices.
Opinions and Preferences of Blind and Low Vision Consumers Regarding Self-Driving Vehicles: Results of Focus Group Discussions

Fully autonomous vehicles, commonly referred to as self-driving vehicles, are an emerging technology that may hold tremendous mobility potential for individuals who are blind or visually impaired who have been previously disadvantaged by an inability to operate conventional motor vehicles. This study explores the opinions of 38 participants who are blind and low vision, through the use of focus group methodology, regarding this emerging self-driving vehicle technology. Participants were overwhelmingly optimistic about the potential for independence and mobility that self-driving vehicles may provide but were concerned that the needs of individuals with visual impairments were not being adequately considered in the development of the technology. Participants also raised questions about how the technology would satisfy their need for situational awareness, how the technology would enable blind or visually impaired operators to verify their arrival at their desired location and a host of issues related to parking, vehicle location and roadside assistance. Participants also expressed a preference for smartphone and speech input capabilities as a primary means of system interaction. These findings suggest that at a minimum more needs to be done to engage individuals with visual impairments in the development of self-driving vehicle technology and to increase awareness of manufacturer efforts.
Embracing Changes

IEEE Computer Society members have many new offerings to choose from, and even more ways to get involved and make a difference.
Factors affecting the association of single- and double-stranded RNAs with montmorillonite nanoclays

Abstract Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclays exist as single and stacked sheet-like structures with large surface areas that can form stable associations with many naturally occurring biomolecules, including nucleic acids. They have been utilized successfully as vehicles for delivery of both drugs and genes into cells. Most previous studies have focused on interactions of MMT with DNA. In the current study, we have investigated the binding of small RNAs similar to those used for RNA interference (RNAi) therapy to two major forms of the clay, Na-MMT and Ca-MMT. Association of both forms of MMT with several double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), including 25mers, 54mers and cloverleaf-shaped transfer RNAs, was weak and increased only slightly after addition of Mg2+ ions to the binding reactions. By contrast, ssRNA 25mers and 54mers bound poorly to Na-MMT but interacted strongly with Ca-MMT. The weak binding of ssRNAs to Na-MMT could be strongly enhanced by addition of Mg2+ ions. The strength of MMT-ssRNA interactions was also examined using inorganic anion competition and displacement assays, as well as electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs). The aggregate results point to a cation-bridging mechanism for binding of ssRNAs, but not dsRNAs, in the presence of divalent metal cations.
Abstract P178: Vitamin D Biomarkers with Risk of Hypertension and Renin-Angiotensin System

Background: Experimental studies suggest that vitamin D may potentially prevent the development of hypertension through down-regulation of the renin-angiotensin system. However, evidence from epide...
Characterization and optimization of a stereolithography-based hydrogel for improved properties (Conference Presentation)

3D printing hydrogels via stereolithography is a promising system for the creation of regenerative medical implants. However, the mechanical and chemical properties of materials patterned using stereolithography-based printing techniques are largely unknown. In an effort to understand how optical propagation, polymerization, and transport dynamics result in material mechanical property distribution, this study focuses on the axial (depth) characterization of single-layer printed materials as a function of light intensity, exposure time and absorption depth. We use a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate based photopolymerization chain-growth reaction with an approximate bulk modulus of 39 MPa to explore this phenomenon. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is employed to quantify the degree of monomer conversion over time and intensity, while comparing it with a Beer-Lambert model that describes the effect of Tinuvin CarboProtect, the neutral absorber in our material on conversion as a function of depth. To evaluate the mechanical properties of the printed materials, compression testing is performed on each sample to extract the bulk modulus and to map conversion as a function of exposure time by fitting the force-displacement curves of each condition to the Hertz model for a quantitative comparison of material stiffness. This study aims to understand material and mechanical property distribution in a single layer, and use this understanding to create a predictive model of these properties, as well as decrease the scale of the distribution with the implementation of a novel post-cure technique. This work enables predictive models of microscopic polymer properties that can be translated into improved macroscopic structural properties to form a robust polymer network for tissue engineering microstructures.
Towards Efficient Mobile Augmented Reality in Indoor Environments

Augmented reality allows users to visualize annotations, videos, and images overlaid on physical objects through the use of a camera. However, the high computational processing cost of matching an image seen through a camera with that in an enormous database of images makes it daunting to use the concept of augmented reality on a smartphone. As matching an image with another takes time, some researchers leverage Global Positioning System (GPS) for localizing outdoor objects. Tagging images with GPS location reduces the number of images that are required to find a match which improves the overall efficiency. Unfortunately, this approach is not suitable for indoor environment as GPS does not work in indoor environments. To address this problem, we propose a system for mobile augmented reality (MAR) in indoor environments. By leveraging the already available Wi-Fi infrastructure, we estimate the location of the users inside a building to narrow down the search space. Furthermore, we utilize the smartphone motion sensors such as accelerometers and magnetometers to detect the phone’s direction towards an object, and also to capture the inclination degree of the smartphone to further reduce the search domain for an object. We deployed the system in a building at Florida State University. We tested our proposal and found that using the system we decreased the matching time significantly. Due to refining the search domain of the annotated image database, MAR uses the object recognition algorithm more efficiently and decreases the matching time from 2.8 s to just 17 ms with a total of 200 annotated images.
Absolute and relative pKa predictions via a DFT approach applied to the SAMPL6 blind challenge.

In this work, quantum mechanical methods were used to predict the microscopic and macroscopic pKa values for a set of 24 molecules as a part of the SAMPL6 blind challenge. The SMD solvation model was employed with M06-2X and different basis sets to evaluate three pKa calculation schemes (direct, vertical, and adiabatic). The adiabatic scheme is the most accurate approach (RMSE = 1.40 pKa units) and has high correlation (R2 = 0.93), with respect to experiment. This approach can be improved by applying a linear correction to yield an RMSE of 0.73 pKa units. Additionally, we consider including explicit solvent representation and multiple lower-energy conformations to improve the predictions for outliers. Adding three water molecules explicitly can reduce the error by 2–4 pKa units, with respect to experiment, whereas including multiple local minima conformations does not necessarily improve the pKa prediction.
Abstract WP282: Predictors of Candidacy for Endovascular Therapy in Telestroke Patients Transferred to a Comprehensive Stroke Center

Endovascular therapy (EVT), with IV tPA if eligible, is the standard of care for large vessel occlusion (LVO) in acute ischemic stroke. Many patients transferred from outside hospitals to comprehen...
Impact of VLSI on Medicine

Publisher Summary With its low cost, small size, and great versatility, VLSI technology is destined to have a most significant impact on medicine and the delivery of health care. Cost containment will occur via increased clinical and administrative efficiency through better facilities for hospital management and medical research. VLSI will improve the cost effectiveness of medical devices through advanced, smaller-sized circuitry, which provides increased sophistication and enhanced function. In the past decade, knowledge of how to use computers in the health care field has rapidly advanced. The problems posed by size, reliability, and the inherent high costs of earlier specialized sophisticated computer systems with discrete electronics severely limited their accessibility to laboratories, clinics, and hospitals. It has been only since the development of microminiature circuitry that the costs and size have been reduced, and various processes have been made available in which theoretical knowledge now may be practically applied.
Inhibition of fibronectin polymerization alleviates kidney injury due to ischemia-reperfusion

Fibrosis is a common feature of chronic kidney disease; however, no clinical therapies effectively target the progression of fibrosis. Inhibition of fibronectin polymerization with the small peptid...
Impact of plate size on food waste: Agent-based simulation of food consumption

Abstract Food waste is a substantial contributor to environmental change and it poses a threat to global sustainability. A significant portion of this waste accounts for plate waste and food surplus from food-service operations such as restaurants, workplace canteens, cafeterias, etc. In this work, we seek to identify potential strategies to optimize food consumption in all-you-can-eat food-service operations, in terms of minimizing food waste while ensuring quality of service (i.e., maintaining low wait-time, unsatisfied-hunger, and walk-out percentages). We treat these facilities as complex systems and propose an agent-based model to capture the dynamics between plate waste, food surplus, and the facility organization setup. Moreover, we measure the impact of plate size on food waste. The simulation results show reducing plate size from large to small decreases plate waste up to 30% while ensuring quality of service. However, total waste as the sum of food surplus and plate waste is lower with large plates. Our results indicate the need for optimizing food preparation along with designing choice environments that encourage guests to avoid taking more food than they need.
Unitarily Invariant Norms and Rearrangement

In the next chapter, we will discuss some operator norm inequalities for matrix monotone functions and also some functions which are functional inverses of matrix monotone functions.
Achieving universal health coverage for mental disorders.

Vikram Patel and Shekhar Saxena discuss strategies for integrating mental disorders, and other chronic conditions, into primary healthcare to achieve universal health coverage
Procompetencia’s Regulations for the Processing of Commitment Proposals by Economic Agents, Comment of the Global Antitrust Institute, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

This comment is submitted in response to the Dominican Republic National Commission for the Defense of Competition’s (“Procompetencia”) public consultation on the Proposed Regulation for Considering Proposed Settlements by Firms in Investigations Based on the General Law for the Defense of Competition. The Global Antitrust Institute’s Competition Advocacy Program commends Procompetencia’s transparency, and its willingness to clarify the requirements and procedures for consideration of settlement proposals by firms subject to investigations by Procompetencia. The comment provides several specific suggestions to improve the flexibility of the requirements and the efficiency of the process for negotiating such settlements. The comments ask Procompetencia to limit certain proposed restrictions on the circumstances in which settlement offers may be considered, and to take care that the relief negotiated is in full accord with sound antitrust economics and that such relief remain within the scope of that which could be obtained under the organic competition law in fully contested proceedings.
Criminal orders of protection for domestic violence: associated revictimization, mental health, and well-being among victims

All states issue criminal protection orders (POs) with the intention of improving the lives of victims of domestic violence (DV); however, there is a dearth of research examining their impact. This...
OOD Case Study: Model–View–Controller

The Address Book Application (ABA) case study design undergoes a significant redesign based on Model–View–Controller. Two MVC design versions are described and evaluated in this chapter. To further explore MVC, the top-down case study (Personal Finances) also undergoes a significant redesign based on MVC. The objective of this chapter is to apply the Model–View–Controller architectural pattern to the case study using structured design techniques.
Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Physiological Activities and Gene Expression of Wastewater Nitrifying Bacteria

The effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) were examined for nitrifying bacterial enrichments by measuring substrate (ammonia) specific oxygen uptake rates (sOUR) in conjunction with the transc...
The aging transcriptome and cellular landscape of the human lung in relation to SARS-CoV-2

Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019, Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread across the globe. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that age is one of the strongest risk factors influencing the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. Here, we interrogate the transcriptional features and cellular landscapes of the aging human lung through integrative analysis of bulk and single-cell transcriptomics. By intersecting these age-associated changes with prior experimental data on host interactions between SARS-CoV-2 or its relative SARS-CoV, we identify several age-associated factors that may contribute to the heightened severity of COVID-19 in older populations. These analyses illuminate potential avenues for further studies on the relationship between the aging lung and COVID-19 pathogenesis, which may inform strategies to more effectively treat this disease.
Generalized enzymatic mechanism of catalysis by tetrameric L-asparaginases from mesophilic bacteria.

The mechanism of catalysis by the l-glutaminase-asparaginase from Pseudomonas 7A (PGA) was investigated using structural, mass spectrometry, and kinetic data. We had previously proposed mechanism of hydrolysis of l-Asn by the type II l-asparaginase from E. coli (EcAII), but that work was limited to just one enzyme. Based on results presented in this report, we postulate that all homotetrameric l-asparaginases from mesophilic bacteria utilize a common ping-pong mechanism of catalysis consisting of two subsequent nucleophilic substitutions. Several new structures of non-covalent complexes of PGA with different substrates, as well as structures of covalent acyl-enzyme intermediates of PGA with canonical substrates (l-Asp and l-Glu) and an opportunistic ligand, a citrate anion, were determined. The results of kinetic experiments monitored by high-resolution LC/MS, when combined with new structural data, clearly show that the reaction catalyzed by l-glutaminase-asparaginases proceeds through formation of a covalent intermediate, as observed previously for EcAII. Additionally, by showing that the same mechanism applies to l-Asn and l-Gln, we postulate that it is common for all these structurally related enzymes.
Cells under Tension Drive Gastrulation.

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Muncie et al. describe the generation of gastrulation-like foci of cells within micropatterned colonies of pluripotent stem cells. This demonstration of mechanosensitive β-catenin/Wnt-dependent specification of cell fate during gastrulation illustrates the insights gleaned by placing stem cells in embryo-like mechanical environments.
The Pursuit of Regulatory T Cells in the Induction of Transplant Tolerance

Organ transplantation is a preferred treatment option for patients with end-stage organ failure. However, transplant induces a robust rejection response that necessitates life-long immunosuppression, which often leads to a plethora of comorbidities. Thus, the goal of transplantation is to achieve a state of tolerance wherein the host permanently accepts the transplanted organ while maintaining normal immune responses to other antigens. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play an important role in realizing this goal and are being explored in both animal models and human clinical trials. In this chapter, we discuss the key principles of transplant rejection and Treg biology, as well as the status of human clinical trials utilizing Tregs as cellular therapy. We discuss how the current immunosuppressive drugs are utilized in transplantation in favoring an increased Treg to T effector cell ratio, different approaches in generation of therapeutic Tregs, and various facets in Treg trial designs in the clinic. Such clinical trials provided many opportunities to leverage our understanding of Tregs in transplantation. They also demonstrated Tregs as a safe cellular therapy for human use, but the efficacy of this treatment has yet to be fully realized.
Differences in Lower Extremity Movement Quality by Level of Sport Specialization in Cadets Entering a United States Service Academy.

Background:Sport specialization in youth athletes is associated with increased risk for musculoskeletal injury; however, little is known about whether sport specialization is associated with lower ...
The analysis of eigenvalue assignment robustness

The author shows that the results obtained recently in Wang and Lin (1992) are conservative. A new generalization which can overcome such conservatism is presented. >
Departmental culture and professional development in the context of language programme reform

Recent scholarship in professional development (PD) has advocated for solid conceptual frameworks and understanding of the complex process involved in how language educators may continue to develop...
System Response of an Interlayered Deposit with Spatially Preferential Liquefaction Manifestations

AbstractThe Canterbury Earthquake Sequence produced a spatial pattern of liquefaction-induced surface ejecta at an open field along Palinurus Road in Christchurch, New Zealand, that would not be ex...
CARDIOVASCULAR EFFICIENCY TEST SCORES FOR JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS IN THE UNITED STATES.

Abstract Recovery pulse rates following a 3-min. step test were obtained from 686 junior high school and 1,332 high school age subjects who were students in 55 different secondary schools throughout the six districts of the AAHPER. The pulse rates were converted to cardiovasular efficiency scores and from these, national standards were established for the 9–14 age group and for the 15 19 age group. The standards consisted of six categories from excellent to very poor. In addition, it was found that junior high school subjects scored better than high school subjects; that neither temperature nor time of day of testing had a significant effect on test scores; and that at the high school level the senior high school subjects in the Central district achieved the best scores of the six districts while at the junior high level the Central and Southern districts ranked together as best.
Searching for neutrino-less double beta decay with EXO-200 and nEXO

Abstract The search for neutrino-less double beta decay (0 ν DBD) is currently undertaken with experiments using 100's kg of candidate isotope in ultra low background detectors housed deep underground. We report on the recent data from the EXO-200 experiment on 0 ν DBD of 136 Xe. We also summarise the goals of the future tonne-scale nEXO project, together with an overview of the R&D activities currently under way to make nEXO possible.
MO-FG-207-00: Technological Advances in PET/MR Imaging

The use of integrated PET/MRI systems in clinical applications can best benefit from understanding their technological advances and limitations. The currently available clinical PET/MRI systems have their own characteristics. Thorough analyses of existing technical data and evaluation of necessary performance metrics for quality assurances could be conducted to optimize application-specific PET/MRI protocols. This Symposium will focus on technical advances and limitations of clinical PET/MRI systems, and how this exciting imaging modality can be utilized in applications that can benefit from both PET and MRI. Learning Objectives: 1. To understand the technological advances of clinical PET/MRI systems 2. To correctly identify clinical applications that can benefit from PET/MRI 3. To understand ongoing work to further improve the current PET/MRI technology Floris Jansen is a GE Healthcare employee.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and scholastic achievement: A model of mediation via academic enablers

The current study examined the influence of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on student academic achievement in reading and in mathematics in a sample of 146 first- throu...
Ethical Issues in Collaborative Lawyering

Collaborative law practice represents the newest development in alternative dispute resolution in family law practice. At present, few mechanisms are in place to regulate or standardize collaborative practice. There are an astounding variety of agreements that are called "collaborative law" between individual clients and attorneys, between clients themselves or between all clients and all attorneys many of which may be inconsistent with emerging collaborative norms in the family law bar. Little formal regulation of the ethical aspects of these agreements exists. Three states (California, North Carolina and Texas) have statutes regulating collaborative practice and the National Conference of commissioners of Uniform State Laws has created a Drafting Committee on a Collaborative Law Act. While there are no reported cases, ethical analysis of collaborative law has been provided by state and ABA ethics opinions.This article analyzes some of the issues raised by these ethics opinions and regulations including competence, limited scope representation agreements, client communication, informed consent and withdrawal terms. It explores the balance between these agreements and what some would consider "zealous advocacy" and whether the four-way disqualification agreement presents an unethical conflict of interest. It closes with an examination of the proposals for a collaborative law communications privilege.
Measuring the Alignment between States’ Finance and Accountability Policies: The Opportunity Gap

The research described in this paper expands on attempts to conceptualize, measure, and evaluate the degree to which states have aligned their finance systems with their respective accountability policies. State education finance and accountability policies serve as levers to provide equal educational opportunities for all students – scholars have called for the alignment of education finance and accountability policies as a means for states to meet the demands of educational adequacy. A metric titled the “opportunity gap” was developed, calculated, and tested to represent the degree of misalignment between the equity of states’ finance systems and the intended equity of student performance outcomes defined in accountability policies. School finance and student performance data from nine states were collected for this analysis. Findings indicated that none of the states were delivering simultaneous equity in finance and accountability systems – none of the states provided both equity of finance inputs and equity of student performance outputs. Implications for future research on measuring the alignment between finance and accountability policies are provided by the authors.
Temperature adaptive sensor networks (TASN) for harsh environments

Advances in hardware miniaturization enable the mass-production of low-cost sensor devices equipped with microprocessors, memory and wireless communication. A key challenge in sensor networks is to limit network energy consumption, as it is impractical to replace batteries on thousands of deployed devices in a remote or dangerous environment. Moreover, the network must adapt to potentially harsh environmental conditions, such as temperature and radiation, in a way that addresses energy concerns, the challenge is to optimize system behavior and energy consumption under performance constraints.
Cell interactions regulate dendritic morphology and responses to neurotransmitters in embryonic chick sympathetic preganglionic neurons in vitro

The influence of non-neuronal cells and interneurons on the morphological development of chick sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) and on the responsiveness of these neurons to the neurotransmitters GABA, glycine, and glutamate was studied. SPNs were retrogradely labeled with the fluorescent dyes dil and diO, then separated from spinal-cord non-neuronal cells and interneurons by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. SPNs were grown in culture, either alone or in coculture with non-neuronal cells alone, with interneurons alone, or with both of these cell types (control cultures). The responsiveness of SPNs to neurotransmitters was assessed by whole-cell recording, while cell morphology was assessed after intracellular staining with 6-carboxyfluorescein. Cell size and morphology were affected by non-neuronal cells. In the absence of non-neuronal cells, SPNs had smaller cell bodies and fewer major processes, whether or not interneurons were present. In contrast, responses to the 3 neurotransmitters were affected by both non-neuronal cells and interneurons, but in ways that differed slightly for each transmitter. In the absence of both non-neuronal cells and interneurons, responses to all 3 transmitters were much smaller than in control cultures, with responses to glutamate most profoundly affected. The addition of either non-neuronal cells or interneurons slightly increased the amplitude of SPN responses to glutamate, but the level of responsiveness with either cell type alone was much lower than for SPNs grown in the presence of both cell types. The addition of interneurons also slightly increased the responsiveness of SPNs to GABA, but non-neuronal cells alone had no significant effect on the responses of SPNs to GABA. Finally, the glycine responsiveness of SPNs was raised to control levels when either non-neuronal cells or interneurons were added. These experiments demonstrate that, though interneurons can have a significant inductive effect on the responses of SPNs to neurotransmitters, not all of the changes in neurotransmitter responsiveness can be related to the formation of functional synapses.
Social models of HIV risk among young adults in Lesotho

Extensive research over the past 30 years has revealed that individual and social determinants impact HIV risk. Even so, prevention efforts focus primarily on individual behaviour change, with little recognition of the dynamic interplay of individual and social environment factors that further exacerbate risk engagement. Drawing on long-term research with young adults in Lesotho, I examine how social environment factors contribute to HIV risk. During preliminary ethnographic analysis, I developed novel scales to measure social control, adoption of modernity, and HIV knowledge. In survey research, I examined the effects of individual characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, HIV knowledge, adoption of modernity) and social environment (i.e., social control) on HIV risk behaviours. In addition, I measured the impact of altered environments by taking advantage of an existing situation whereby young adults attending a national college are assigned to either a main campus in a metropolitan setting or a satellite campus in a remote setting, irrespective of the environment in which they were socialised as youth. This arbitrary assignment process generates four distinct groups of young adults with altered or constant environments. Regression models show that lower levels of perceived social control and greater adoption of modernity are associated with HIV risk, controlling for other factors. The impact of social control and modernity varies with environment dynamics.
Multiple pathways for the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase in intestinal epithelial cells

The regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was examined in an intestinal epithelial crypt cell line (IEC-6). Addition of fetal bovine serum or growth factors to quiescent preconfluent cells resulted in a 20- to 30-fold increase in the specific activity of ODC, which was maximal at approximately 4 h. In contrast, ODC mRNA levels either did not change or increased only twofold over the time period examined. The increased enzymatic activity was blocked by cycloheximide, putrescine, and the calmodulin antagonist N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-napthalinesulfonamide (W-7). Cycloheximide alone increased mRNA levels and potentiated the induction in response to serum, suggesting that protein synthesis is not required for the increase in mRNA accumulation. In contrast to its effect on ODC activity, W-7 was without effect on the serum-stimulated increase in ODC or c-fos mRNA levels. Putrescine decreased ODC activity, but not mRNA content, in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 between 0.1 and 1.0 microM. Also, serum stimulation resulted in a threefold increase in the stability of the enzyme in the presence of cycloheximide; this effect was blocked by pretreatment with W-7. Enzymatic activity was paralleled by ODC protein content as determined by [3H] difluoromethylornithine binding. Finally, the induction of enzyme activity was due entirely to an increase in Vmax as no detectable change in Km for ornithine was detected. These results suggest that ODC is regulated at multiple levels by independent signaling pathways in cultured intestinal epithelial cells. Increased levels of active ODC protein and enzymatic activity are sensitive to W-7 and putrescine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Classifying music audio with timbral and chroma features

Music audio classification has most often been addressed bymodeling the statistics of broad spectral features, which, by design, exclude pitch information and reflect mainly instrumentation. We investigate using instead beat-synchronous chroma features, designed to reflect melodic and harmonic content and be invariant to instrumentation. Chroma features are less informative for classes such as artist, but contain information that is almost entirely independent of the spectral features, and hence the two can be profitably combined: Using a simple Gaussian classifier on a 20-way pop music artist identification task, we achieve 54% accuracy with MFCCs, 30% with chroma vectors, and 57% by combining the two. All the data and Matlab code to obtain these results are available. 1
Hybrid antenna and scattering matrix based beamformer for wide-angle scanning

This paper presents a new hybrid antenna design and beamformer, which is capable of electronic scanning over hundreds of beamwidths with little degradation in the antenna pattern. The new compound hybrid antenna designs are discussed, with emphasis on one design that is composed of a planar array surrounded by polynomially-defined reflector surfaces. The ratio between the reflector aperture and array areas is compared to the theoretical limit. A new approach to beamforming in hybrid antennas is also discussed. Using a scattering matrix model for the hybrid antenna system., a bi-directional transformation is developed that relates the signals at the hybrid system feed to the signals that would be present in a planar array at the location of the reflector aperture. This allows standard planar array analysis and synthesis techniques to be used with the hybrid system. Examples are provided for transmit and receive weight synthesis.
What does naming a picture do? Effects of prior picture naming on recognition of identical and same-name alternatives.

Three experiments investigated the effects of naming pictures of objects during study on the subsequent recognition of physically identical, name-match, and new objects. Prior naming improved correct classification of all three item types at recognition. For line drawings and for photographs of functionally distinct objects, prior naming reduced the tendency to confuse identical and same-name alternatives. In Experiment 2, prior naming eliminated the right visual field/left hemisphere advantage for speeded recognition of name-match pictures, suggesting that prior naming reduces the likelihood that pictures are named at recognition. The implications of these results for dual-encoding (Paivio, 1971) and sensory-semantic (Nelson, Reed, & McEvoy, 1977) models of picture and word processing are discussed. The results suggest that the semantic representations of objects that are perceptually distinct but share a common name are not identical, and that the effect of naming such objects is to insure that a distinct semantic representation becomes a part of the resulting memory code.
Flu redux and RIT: friendly fire in the treatment of low-grade lymphoma

Comment on McLaughlin et al, page [4573][1], and Bennett et al, page [4576][2] Two reports describe the problem of secondary malignancies in patients with LGL. Bennett and colleagues find that I131 tositumomab (Bexxar) following alkylating agent therapy does not increase the risk of tMDS or tAML,
HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRON MICROSCOPY STUDIES OF PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS IN COBALT FERRITES

Abstract Phase transformations in the reducing atmosphere of the electron microscope have been examined in detail. It has been shown that these transformations are due to the loss of oxygen from the specimen surface. A time dependent gradient in the cation/anion ratio is developed from the surface of the transforming foil, and initially cobalt metal, containing less than 5 at.% iron, has been found to form at the specimen surface. At the same time a very high density of small (30–40 A) cobalt-wustite particles precipitates within the foil. This (Co, Fe)O phase probably forms homogeneously. After prolonged heating, the specimen is converted to a mixture of cobalt (f.c.c. and h.c.p.) metal grains, and an iron-rich spinel matrix. Studies of transformations in air have shown that (Co, Fe)O precipitates initially are shaped as square prisms, and are fully coherent up to a size of at least 1200 A. Between 1200 and 1500 A they lose coherency, and also become more or less spherical in shape. Undissociated interface dislocations are then resolved. During growth, micropores were found to migrate along with the microherent interfaces. Their origin and a possible mechanism by which precipitates lose coherency are discussed.
Lyα emitters during the early stages of reionization

We investigate the potential of exploiting Lyα emitters (LAEs) to constrain the volume-weighted mean neutral hydrogen fraction of the intergalactic medium, x H1 , at high redshifts (specifically z ∼ 9). We use 'seminumerical' simulations to efficiently generate density, velocity and halo fields at z = 9 in a 250-Mpc box, resolving haloes with masses M ≥ 2.2 x 10 8 M ⊙ . We construct ionization fields corresponding to various values of x HI With these, we generate LAE luminosity functions and 'counts-in-cell' statistics. As in previous studies, we find that LAEs begin to disappear rapidly when x H1 ≥ 0.5. Constraining x H1 (z = 9) with luminosity functions is difficult due to the many uncertainties inherent in the host halo mass ↔ Lyα luminosity mapping. However, using a very conservative mapping, we show that the number densities derived using the six z ∼ 9 LAEs recently discovered by Stark et al. (2007a) imply x HI ≤ 0.7. On a more fundamental level, these LAE number densities, if genuine, require substantial star formation in haloes with M ≤ 10 9 M ⊙ , making them unique among the current sample of observed high-z objects. Furthermore, reionization increases the apparent clustering of the observed LAEs. We show that a 'counts-in-cell' statistic is a powerful probe of this effect, especially in the early stages of reionization. Specifically, we show that a field of view (typical of upcoming infrared instruments) containing LAEs has ≥ 10 per cent higher probability of containing more than one LAE in a x HI ≥ 0.5 universe than a xH 1 ≈ 0 universe with the same overall number density. With this statistic, an ionized universe can be robustly distinguished from one with x HI ≥ 0.5 using a survey containing only ∼20-100 galaxies.
Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide methods passing milestones toward paleo‐altimetry

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) such as 3He, 10Be, 14C, 21Ne, 26Al, and 36Cl are produced at and below Earth's surface in minerals that are exposed to secondary cosmic radiation—primarily fast and slow neutrons and muons. TCN measured in specific mineral phases or multi-mineralogic rocks of any lithology have most commonly been used to directly determine the duration of landscape exposure. Examples include dating ancient bedrock landforms, glacial erratics and glacierized bedrock, alluvial fans and fluvial terraces, fault scarps, fault line scarps, precariously perched boulders, lavas and cinder, desert pavement and pedogenic carbonates, landslides, emerged shore-lines, retreating cliffs, and aboriginal rock art.
Theory and phenomenology of growth oscillations in simple deterministic models.

We study growth oscillations in a class of deterministic models of growth which may be regarded as mean-field-like approximations to certain more realistic stochastic models. We demonstrate that the general morphology of the stochastic and deterministic models are similar. We then show that growth oscillations produce a rich multiperiodic structure in the deterministic models, as they do in the related stochastic systems. In both cases the multiperiodic oscillations are due to an induced incommensuration between a fundamental length scale (in this case the lattice spacing) and a dynamical length scale (in this case, the average distance grown per time step). We show how to estimate the effects of the growth oscillations and how to solve the deterministic equations analytically. This solution leads to a series of approximations, successive terms of which include the effects of longer-wavelength contributions to the multiperiodic growth oscillations. Finally, we present a sequence of approximations, the first one of which is the deterministic model studied here, which approach the related stochastic models.
Mycosis fungoides palmaris et plantaris: successful treatment with the carbon dioxide laser

Summary Mycosis fungoides palmaris et plantaris (MFPP) is an uncommon form of mycosis fungoides with main involvement on palms and soles. The lesions may be quite hyperkeratotic. A 56-year-old patient with MFPP was successfully treated with the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. There was no recurrence of disease at treated sites and excellent cosmetic results were obtained. Treatment with the CO2 laser may be considered a therapeutic option.
Modulatory effects of connexin‐43 expression on gap junction intercellular communications with mast cells and fibroblasts

The influence of mast cells upon aberrant wound repair and excessive fibrosis has supportive evidence, but the mechanism for these mast cell activities is unclear. It is proposed that heterocellular gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) between fibroblasts and mast cells directs some fibroblast activities. An in vitro model was used employing a rodent derived peritoneal mast cell line (RMC-1) and human dermal derived fibroblasts. The influence of the expression of the gap junction channel structural protein, connexin 43 (Cx-43) on heterocellular GJIC, the expression of microtubule β-tubulin and microfilament α smooth muscle actin (SMA) were investigated. The knockdown of Cx-43 by siRNA in RMC-1 cells completely blocked GJIC between RMC-1 cells. SiRNA knockdown of Cx-43 within fibroblasts only dampened GJIC between fibroblasts. It appears Cx-43 is the only expressed connexin in RMC-1 cells. Fibroblasts express other connexins that participate in GJIC between fibroblasts in the absence of Cx-43 expression. Heterocellular GJIC between RMC-1 cells and fibroblasts transformed fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, expressing α SMA within cytoplasmic stress fibers. The knockdown of Cx-43 in RMC-1 cells increased β-tubulin expression, but its knockdown in fibroblasts reduced β-tubulin expression. Knocking down the expression of Cx-43 in fibroblasts limited α SMA expression. Cx-43 participation is critical for heterocellular GJIC between mast cells and fibroblasts, which may herald a novel direction for controlling fibrosis.
C-reactive protein: a surrogate risk marker or mediator of atherothrombosis?

there is now compelling evidence that C-reactive protein (CRP) is a powerful independent predictor of future cardiovascular risk ([15][1]). This discovery reflects the pivotal role that proinflammatory processes play in atherogenesis and its complications ([24][2]). CRP is an acute phase reactant
Micro-shutter developments for IR applications

This paper will investigate micro-shutter developments for IR applications. By demonstrating a interrupter mechanism MEMS design, we will show how to implement a micro-shutter technology to enable adaptive coded aperture imaging and non-imaging systems. The use of Photonic MEMS for creating adaptive coded apertures, for surveillance systems, has been gaining momentum since 2007 1,2. Through the investigation of the interrupter mechanism 3,4, we will demonstrate a novel approach for IR applications. This paper discusses challenges and opportunities that may arise from the fabrication of a MEMS interrupter mechanism. We discuss the characterization of the micro-shutter to include mechanical, electrical and IR properties. The "open and close" speeds of the micro-shutter device will also be assessed from a scaling perspective to determine usability through modeling and simulation.
“THE LOW, VAGUE HUM OF NUMBERS”: THE MALTHUSIAN ECONOMIES OF JANE EYRE

JANE EYRE, CHARLOTTE BRONTE’S QUINTESSENTIAL NOVEL of “hunger, rebellion, and rage” (34),1 has been in recent years the subject of a number of important critical discussions about food, privation, and the social production of the female bourgeois body. These analyses, generally indebted to the theories of social practice and disciplinary individualism Foucault outlines in Discipline and Punish, tend to focus on issues of anorexia, female desire, and women’s agency, reading Jane’s intriguing concerns with food as either a rejection of adult female sexual development or as an articulation of other, more abstract desires for psychic or intellectual fulfillment (Hoelever, Michie).2 Although it seems inevitable that this “cult text of feminism” (Spivak 243) would produce such readings, I wish, in this essay, to shift our focus slightly, to suggest that the novel’s obsessive circlings around the issues of food and hunger are centered not so much around the nurturance and development of a specifically female or feminine body, but rather around the peculiar fate of the often ungendered3 yet extraordinarily vulnerable child’s body — a body largely understood, in nineteenth-century social discourse, to be strangely perishable and infinitely prone to danger and decay. Bronte’s frightening portraits of childhood starvation and neglect in the Lowood School chapters of Jane Eyre can be read as dramatizing the laws of Malthusian economics, speaking powerfully to a range of mid-nineteenth-century social anxieties regarding the relationship between the overproduction of unwanted children and the threat of mass starvation on a national scale.
Interface state density in Au-nGaAs Schottky diodes

Abstract A method for determining the surface state density in Schottky diodes taking into account both I–V and C–V data while considering the presence of a deep donor level is presented. The model assumes that the barrier height is controlled by the energy distribution of surface states in equilibrium with the metal and the applied potential and does not include, explicitly, an interfacial layer. The model was applied to extract interface state densities of Au- n GaAs guarded Schottky diodes fabricated from bulk and VPE (100) GaAs with carrier conentrations between 3 × 10 15 and 8 × 10 16 cm −3 . These diodes exhibited ideality ( n ) factors of approximately 1.02 and room temperature saturation current densities ∼10 −8 A/cm 2 . This model is in substantial agreement with forward bias measurements over the 77–360°K temperature range investigated, in that a temperature-independent energy distribution of interface states was obtained. In reverse bias the interface state model is most valid with the higher carrier concentration material and at high temperature and low bias voltage. Typical interface state densities from 0.07 eV above the zero bias Fermi level to 0.01 eV below the Fermi level were 2 × 10 13 cm −2 eV −1 . The validity of the model under reverse bias is restricted by a non-thermionic reverse current, thought to be enhance field emission from traps.
Predialysis chronic kidney disease: evaluation of quality of life in clinic patients receiving comprehensive anemia care.

Abstract Background Anemia is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD), and suboptimal management of anemia can lead to serious health complications and poor quality of life (QOL). Objectives (1) To describe health-related and overall QOL among patients entering a clinic focused on anemia management; (2) to compare their baseline QOL with other relevant populations; (3) to explore predictors of QOL before anemia management; and (4) to explore changes in QOL over 1 year for patients managed in the clinic. Methods The Kidney Disease Quality of Life questionnaire—short form (KDQOL-SF™, Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA) was used to measure kidney disease specific and overall QOL in a cohort of predialysis CKD patients (n=79) enrolled in the clinic from January 2003 to September 2004. Baseline measures were compared to previously published measurements. The influence of demographic and clinical characteristics on baseline QOL was explored. Changes in QOL were evaluated over time. Results Patients with CKD entering the clinic had lower overall QOL compared with estimates from the general U.S. population (physical composite 35.7 vs 48.4 and mental composite 46.0 vs 50.2, respectively). Clinic patients had better kidney disease-specific scores than patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). General QOL scores were similar regardless of kidney disease severity, with the exception of physical functioning which was lowest for patients with end-stage disease. Hemoglobin was the only factor predictive of QOL. Over time, QOL improved among patients managed in the CKD clinic, with statistically significant improvements in sleep (change of 6.2±15.2; P P Conclusions Patients with anemia of CKD reported reduced QOL compared to populations without kidney disease, but better QOL compared to populations with ESRD on dialysis. QOL generally improved among patients managed in the multidisciplinary anemia clinic.