cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the direct effects of nifedipine and verapamil on the electrical activity of the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes of the rabbit heart

Abstract We compared the effects of nifedipine and verapamil on the rabbit sinus and atrioventricular nodes. Both drugs slowed the rate of impulse initiation by sinus node cells. Verapamil exerted a greater negative chronotropic effect at low concentrations, but at higher concentrations verapamil and nifedipine were equipotent. Nifedipine also reduced the amplitude of sinus node action potentials and the V max of phase 0, effects which are identical to those previously described for verapamil. Both drugs slowed AV nodal conduction and prolonged refractory periods, but verapamil was more potent than nifedipine. Nifedipine reduced the amplitude of AV nodal action potentials and V max of phase 0 the same as verapamil. Nifedipine and verapamil, therefore, have nearly identical direct effects on the nodes. The failure of nifedipine to depress AV nodal conduction in situ and abolish reentrant AV nodal tachycardia is probably a result of the decreased sensitivity of the AV node to nifedipine compared to verapamil.
Intra-peritoneal cisplatin and whole abdomen hyperthermia for relapsed ovarian carcinoma

The study was designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of IP cisplatin [CDDP] combined with intravenous thiosulphate and concurrent whole abdomen hyperthermia for advanced, recurrent or progressive ovarian carcinoma. Between September 1991 and November 1998, 41 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer received escalating doses of IP (IP) cisplatin (six cycles given every 3–4 weeks) and whole abdomen hyperthermia with intravenous thiosulphate as second line treatment. Whole abdomen hyperthermia was administrated using a BSD-2000 annular phased array system. Forty-one patients were enrolled in the phase I/II portions of the study. Forty-four per cent (18/41) had undergone sub-optimal cytoreductive surgery and 15% (6/41) had been optimally debulked of their disease. Ninety per cent (37/41) had platinum-resistant disease and 10% (4/41) had platinum-sensitive disease. No DLTs occurred in the phase I testing and the recommended dose for this combination schedule was 180 mg m−2 of IP cispla...
Isolation of differentially expressed cDNA clones from salt-adapted Aspergillus nidulans.

Differentially expressed cDNA clones were isolated from salt-adaptedAspergillus nidulans (FGSC #359). Poly (A)+ RNA from adapted mycelia was used to construct a λ Uni-ZAP cDNA library. The library was screened with mixed subtracted cDNA probes. Three-hundred and fifty-seven positive plaques were isolated in the primary screening. Sixty-two randomly selected plaques were purified and placed into eight different cross-hybridization groups. A representative cDNA from each group was used to study expression under unadapted, salt-adapted and salt-shock conditions. These clones, representing eight different genes, displayed enhanced expression under salt stress. Exploratory nucleotide sequencing was performed, and the predicted amino-acid sequence was compared with known gene sequences in the data-bank. Five of the cDNA clones were identified as a mitochondrial (mt) ATPase β subunit, a mt ATPase subunit 9, a mt transport protein, a ubiquitin-extension protein and a ribosomal protein. Three cDNA clones could not be identified due to lack of adequate homology with known sequences. These results suggest that at least five genes with known function in cellular processes like ATP generation and protein synthesis, and three other genes of unknown identity, are greatly induced in salt-adapted conditions.
Donor-acceptor recombination kinetics in an exactly compensated crystal: A Monte Carlo calculation

The time dependence of the recombination of donor-acceptor pairs in an exactly compensated crystal at low temperature is calculated with the use of a Monte Carlo technique. The spatial distribution of the trapped carriers is assumed to be random, and the recombination rate is taken to be exponentially dependent on the separation. The results in one dimension are compared with two previous analytic calculations, and are found to be significantly different from both. We show the recombination to be much slower at long times than previously assumed.
The Reception of Radio Echoes From Distant Ionospheric Irregularities

For many years it has been generally known that strong, sharply defined radio echoes occasionally return to the sending station, or to points within the normal skip-zone, after having traversed a path which greatly exceeds the round trip distance to the $F$ layer of the ionosphere. Previous investigators tentatively ascribed such effects to reflection from distant mountains or from concentrations of ions in the polar regions. Studies of numerous reflection patterns strongly indicate that the delayed echoes are returned from regions where there is marked curvature of the $F$ layer. A region of this sort normally occurs at the edge of the sunlit zone and can turn back a ray which may have traveled many thousands of kilometers around the dark side of the earth. Small nighttime variations in the curvature of the $F$ layer are of very common occurrence and are believed to explain several phenomena, including much long period, long distance fading. These variations are frequently of cyclic character and may tentatively be attributed to wave motion in the upper atmosphere.
A dual-reciprocity method for acoustic radiation in a subsonic non-uniform flow

Abstract In this paper, the dual-reciprocity boundary-element method is used to model acoustic radiation in a subsonic non-uniform-flow field. The boundary-integral formulation is based on a direct boundary-integral equation developed very recently by the authors for acoustic radiation in a subsonic uniform flow. All the terms due to the non-uniform-flow effect are taken to the right-hand side and treated as source terms. The source terms result in a domain integral in the standard boundary-integral formulation. The dual-reciprocity method is then used to transform the resulting domain integral into boundary integrals. Numerical tests show reasonably good agreement with an analytical soution for a pulsating sphere submerged in a potential-flow field.
A geochemical study of some lithified carbonate sediments from the deep-sea

Abstract Unconsolidated oozes, partially lithified oozes, recrystallized limestones, dolostones and crystalline aragonite are some of the varieties of carbonate sediment that have been found in the deep-sea; chemical and isotopic analyses of these varieties are presented here. The consolidated oozes and recrystallized limestones are low-Mg calcites and are often associated with basement rock (generally serpentinized peridotite or basalt) detritus. Lithification is suggested to arise from changes in the carbonate-equilibria system of the interstitial waters resulting from chemical degradation of the igneous rocks. When compared to unconsolidated oozes, lithification is seen to be accompanied by loss of Sr and a slight increase in B, Ba, Co, Cr, Ni and Y in most instances. The tuffaceous limestones are also low-Mg calcites, but are characterized by low Sr and relatively high B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, V, Y and Zn concentrations compared to the oozes. Three dolostones are described of very different isotopic and chemical composition, possibly indicating three different pathways of dolomitization. One with much depleted 13 C and high Ba concentrations is probably derived from waters containing carbon from a fractionated organic source. Another is not greatly different from the consolidated limestones in minor and trace element composition and may be derived from them. The third variety is characterized by low concentrations of Sr, B, Ba, Cu and Y and relatively high concentrations of Pb: Crystalline aragonite is commonly found in many areas associated with serpentinized peridotite. This aragonite is characterized by relatively high concentrations of Sr and Ni; petrographic and isotopic analyses indicate precipitation from cold, carbonate-rich solutions percolating through the peridotite.
The Lusternik–Schnirelmann category of certain infinite CW-complexes

Abstract Examples are constructed to illustrate: (i) The LS category of a 1-connected, finite type CW-complex X which is the homotopy colimit of a sequence X1→X2→X3→⋯ of 1-connected, finite CW-complexes may exceed the LS category of each Xi; and (ii) LS category is not an invariant of the localization genus of a 1-connected, finite type CW-complex.
Investigation and Development of Protective Ointments III*: Adsorption characteristics of sarin from solutions

The adsorption of sarin from n -heptane solutions by silica gels, alumina, bentonite, and certain carbonaceous adsorbents was studied. The results obtained have been interpreted according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Of the various adsorbents tested, those of a silicaceous nature were found to be superior, exhibiting very strong adsorptive tendencies toward the fluorophosphate ester. A linear relationship was found to exist between the limiting adsorptive capacity and the specific surface area of the adsorbents. The average area occupied by a sarin molecule, furthermore, was found to be approximately 80 A 2 , irrespective of the adsorbent, a value in reasonable agreement with that suggested by a molecular model. Both of these relationships indicate that sarin is adsorbed primarily as a unimolecular layer.
Crystallization and preliminary X‐ray diffraction analysis of apolipoprotein E‐containing lipoprotein particles

High-resolution structural information is available for several soluble plasma apolipoproteins (apos) in a lipid-free state. However, this information provides limited insight into structure–function relationships, as this class of proteins primarily performs its functions of lipid transport and modulation of lipid metabolism in a lipid-bound state on lipoprotein particles. Here, the possibility of generating homogeneous lipoprotein particles that could be crystallized was explored, opening the possibility of obtaining high-resolution structural information by X-ray crystallography. To test this possibility, apoE4 complexed with the phospholipid dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine was chosen. Uniform particles containing 50% lipid and 50% apoE4 were obtained and crystallized using the hanging-drop method. Two crystal forms diffract to beyond 8 A resolution.
Strange news from other stars

The dawn of exoplanet discovery has unearthed a rich tapestry of planets different from anything encountered in the Solar System. Geoscientists can and should be in the vanguard of investigating what is out there in the Universe.
A temporal Bayesian model for classifying, detecting and localizing activities in video sequences

We present an framework to detect and localize activities in unconstrained real-life video sequences. This is a more challenging problem as it subsumes the activity classification problem and also requires us to work with unconstrained videos. To obtain real-life data, we have focused on using the Human Motion Database (HMDB), a collection of realistic video clips. The detection and localization paradigm we introduce uses a keyword model for detecting key activities or gestures in a video sequence. This process is analogous to the use of keyword or key-phrase detection in speech processing. The method learns models for the activities-of-interest during training, so that when presented with a network of activities (a representation of video sequences) at testing, the goal is to detect the keywords in the network. Our approach for classification outperformed all the current state-of-the-art classifiers when tested on two publicly available datasets, KTH and HMDB. We also tested this paradigm for spotting gestures via a one-shot-learning approach on the CHALEARN gesture dataset and obtained very promising results. Our approach was ranked amongst the top-5 best performing techniques in the CHALEARN 2012 gesture spotting competition.
Photogrammetric measurements of RC bridge column deformations

The determination of the location of nonlinear response in structural systems is an important step to predict the performance of the system under different loading conditions. In bridge columns, these nonlinear deformations generally occur over a finite hinge length. A model of hinging behavior in reinforced concrete bridge columns will help guide proportioning, detailing and drift estimates for performance-based design. Data was collected during the NEESR investigation of the seismic performance of four-span large-scale bridge systems at the University of Nevada Reno that details deformations in column hinging regions during response to strong shaking events. A photogrammetry method was applied using a reference grid on the top and bottom column surfaces to record and analyze deformations in the plastic hinging regions. The method of application in this study holds several advantages over traditional sensors including that it is a remote visualization technique, inexpensive and simple to analyze the results. The surface deformations and rotations of a reinforced concrete bridge column under dynamic loading has been examined and compared with the results obtained from traditional instruments. The photogrammetry method performed very well to track the lateral and vertical displacements at the points on the grid surface as well as the deformed shape of the hinging regions, but the results of secondary calculations, such as rotations of the column, had limited success.
Neural network system for 3-D object recognition and pose estimation from a single arbitrary 2-D view

In this paper, a robust, and fast system for recognition as well as pose estimation of a 3-D object from a single 2-D perspective of it taken from an arbitrary viewpoint is developed. The approach is invariant to location, orientation, and scale of the object in the perspective. The silhouette of the object in the 2-D perspective is first normalized with respect to location and scale. A set of rotation invariant features derived from complex and orthogonal pseudo- Zernike moments of the image are then extracted. The next stage includes a bank of multilayer feed-forward neural networks (NN) each of which classifies the extracted features. The training set for these nets consists of perspective views of each object taken from several different viewing angles. The NNs in the bank differ in the size of their hidden layer nodes as well as their initial conditions but receive the same input. The classification decisions of all the nets are combined through a majority voting scheme. It is shown that this collective decision making yields better results compared to a single NN operating alone. After the object is classified, two of its pose parameters, namely elevation and aspect angles, are estimated by another module of NNs in a two-stage process. The first stage identifies the likely region of the space that the object is being viewed from. In the second stage, an NN estimator for the identified region is used to compute the pose angles. Extensive experimental studies involving clean and noisy images of seven military ground vehicles are carried out. The performance is compared to two other traditional methods, namely a nearest neighbor rule and a binary decision tree classifier and it is shown that our approach has major advantages over them.
Reduced planktotrophy in larvae of Clypeaster rosaceus (Echinodermata, Echiniodea)

Phylogenetic analyses have demonstrated that nonfeeding larvae have evolved from feeding larvae many times among marine invertebrates. In light of this observation, it is surprising that an intermediate strategy, a larva that can feed but is provisioned with enough energy to metamorphose without acquiring exogenous food (i.e., facultative planktotrophy), is rare. A hypothesis for the lack of facultative planktotrophic species among marine invertebrates is that the transition from feeding to nonfeeding is rapid due to this intermediate stage being evolutionarily unstable. Evidence that would support this hypothesis is if species with facultative planktotrophy have reduced food assimilation when compared with obligate planktotrophs. We studied a species with facultative planktotrophic larvae, Clypeaster rosaceus, that is very near the boundary between facultative and obligatory planktotrophy, to answer two questions: (1) does feeding during the larval stage result in energy gains in larval or juvenile stages and (2) if not, are larvae capable of assimilating exogenous food at all. Our measurements of energetics in larval and juvenile stages show that C. rosaceus larvae accumulate very little if any energy when fed, but stable isotope data indicate that larvae are able to assimilate some food. Our results are consistent with similar studies on facultative planktotrophic larvae suggesting poor food assimilation and rapid loss of larval feeding after a population evolves the ability to reach metamorphosis without feeding (lecithotrophy).
Optimal distributed algorithms for minimum weight spanning tree, counting, leader election, and related problems

This paper develops linear time distributed algorithms for a class of problems in an asynchronous communication network. Those problems include Minimum-Weight Spanning Tree (MST), Leader Election, counting the number of network nodes, and computing a sensitive decomposable function (e.g. majority, parity, maximum, OR, AND). The main problem considered is the problem of finding the MST. This problem, which has been known for at least 9 years, is one of the most fundamental and the most studied problems in the field of distributed network algorithms. Any algorithm for any one of the problems above requires at least O(E + VlogV) communication and O(V) time in the general network. In this paper, we present new algorithms, which achieve those lower bounds. The best previous algorithm requires T(E + VlogV) in communication and T(V log V) in time. Our result enables to improve algorithms for many other problems in distributed computing, achieving lower bounds on their communication and time complexities.
Meal Beetles as Intermediate Hosts of Poultry Tapeworms

Abstract FLIES, grasshoppers, ants, snails, and many kinds of beetles have been incriminated as intermediate hosts for the common poultry cestodes in the United States. However, the two most common meal beetles, Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum, have not previously been shown to be suitable intermediate hosts of these parasites. Alicata (1937), in Hawaii, reported T. castaneum served as an intermediate host for chicken gizzard nematode, Cheilospirura hamulosa, and, as far as the writer has been able to ascertain, this is the only report of either of the above beetles acting as an intermediate host for a poultry helminth. The experiments reported in the present paper demonstrate that both the rust-red flour beetle, T. castaneum, and the confused flour beetle, T. confusion, may serve as the intermediate hosts for the three most common of the poultry cestodes, namely, Hymenolepis carioca, Choanotaenia infundibulum, and Raillietina cesticillus. All identifications of beetles referred to . . .
Genetic analysis of familial non-syndromic primary failure of eruption.

Objectives While some eruption disorders occur as part of a medical syndrome, primary failure of eruption (PFE) – defined as a localized failure of secondary tooth eruption -exists without systemic involvement. Recent studies support that heredity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PFE. The objective of our human genetic study is to investigate the genetic contribution to PFE.
Hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and dehydration following a single hypertonic phosphate enema

Previous reports of hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia following use of phosphate enemas have either been in patients with renal disease or followed prolonged abuse of these products. The two patients described here had marked elevation of serum phosphate and concomitant lowering of serum calcium secondary to absorption of phosphate from a single administered enema. Associated moderate dehydration resulted in poor renal excretion of the absorbed phosphate and prolongation of hypocalcemia. Hydration was effective in permitting clearance of phosphate and restoration of normocalcemia.
Defining Needs, Defining Systems: A Critical Analysis

This article examines the model of need assessment commonly used in social service programs for older adults. Whereas this model defines need as an individual attribute, remediable through programmatic intervention, an alternative formulation suggests that organizational imperatives shape the definition of client need while obscuring their own role in the production of this information. A case study and historical analysis assess the roots of this process and its consequences for clients, staff, and aging programs.
Pharmacokinetics of oseltamivir and oseltamivir carboxylate in critically ill patients receiving continuous venovenous hemodialysis and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

tudy Objective To investigate oseltamivir and oseltamivir carboxylate pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients who were receiving continuous venovenous hemodialysis (CVVHD) and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Design Prospective, open-label, pharmacokinetic study. Setting Intensive care units of an academic medical center. Patients Thirteen critically ill patients aged 13 years or older with suspected or confirmed H1N1 influenza who had a prescription for oseltamivir and were concurrently receiving CVVHD and/or ECMO between October 2009 and January 2010. Intervention Oseltamivir 150 mg was administered nasogastrically or nasoenterically every 12 hours. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 hours after administration of the fourth oseltamivir dose or subsequent doses. In patients receiving CVVHD, effluent also was collected at the same time points. Urine was collected throughout the 12-hour dosing interval. Measurements and Main Results Eight patients received CVVHD only, four patients received both CVVHD and ECMO, and one patient received ECMO only. Pharmacokinetic parameters for the patient who received only ECMO were not reported. The median maximum plasma concentration and area under the plasma concentration–time curve for the 12-hour dosing interval (AUC0–12) for the remaining 12 patients were 83.4 ng/ml and 216 ng•hour/ml, respectively, for oseltamivir and 2000 ng/ml and 21,500 ng•hour/ml, respectively, for oseltamivir carboxylate. Mean clearance due to CVVHD was 33.8 ml/minute for oseltamivir and 50.2 ml/minute for oseltamivir carboxylate. For patients who received ECMO, no substantial differences between pre- and post-ECMO oxygenator plasma concentrations were found for oseltamivir or oseltamivir carboxylate. Conclusion Although the optimal pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic targets for oseltamivir carboxylate remain unclear, in the patients receiving CVVHD with or without ECMO, a regimen of oseltamivir 150 mg every 12 hours yielded a median oseltamivir carboxylate AUC0–12 considerably higher than would be expected in non–critically ill patients receiving the same dosage regimen.
Inferring trip destinations from driving habits data

The collection of driving habits data is gaining momentum as vehicle telematics based solutions become popular in consumer markets such as auto-insurance and driver assistance services. These solutions rely on driving features such as time of travel, speed, and braking to assess accident risk and driver safety. Given the privacy issues surrounding the geographic tracking of individuals, many solutions explicitly claim that the customer's GPS coordinates are not recorded. Although revealing driving habits can give us access to a number of innovative products, we believe that the disclosure of this data only offers a false sense of privacy. Using speed and time data from real driving trips, we show that the destinations of trips may also be determined without having to record GPS coordinates. Based on this, we argue that customer privacy expectations in non-tracking telematics applications need to be reset, and new policies need to be implemented to inform customers of possible risks.
Luminescence studies of plasma-deposited hydrogenated silicon

The photoluminescence of plasma-deposited amorphous silicon is investigated. The luminescence intensity and spectral line shape are shown to be sensitive to many deposition variables, in particular the power coupled into the discharge, the concentration of silane in the gas stream, and the deposition substrate temperature. Maximum intensity is obtained in samples deposited with low power (\ensuremath{\sim}1 W), a silane concentration of \ensuremath{\gtrsim} 10% and a deposition temperature of 200-300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. ESR studies show that the luminescence intensity is determined by competing nonradiative transitions to localized defect states whose density varies with deposition conditions. The presence of defect states is related to the way hydrogen is incorporated into the samples, but the details of the defect structure are not yet clear. Oxygen impurities are observed to give a broad, weak luminescence peak centered near 1.1 eV. It is suggested that the active oxygen centers are similar to the charged defects postulated for chalcogenide glasses.
An Investigation of the Attainable Eciency of Flight at Mach One or Just Beyond

The Breguet range equation indicates that to the first order of approximation range will be maximized by maximizing ML/D, where M is the Mach number and L/D is the lift/drag ratio. Since the drag coefficient increases very rapidly as the Mach number approaches one, this leads to the design of a long range aircraft which fly at high subsonic speeds, typically in the range Mach 0.8 to 0.85, just before the onset of drag rise. The results of the present investigation indicate that a wing swept back at an angle of 50 to 55 degrees and a carefully shaped fuselage it may be possible to delay the onset of drag rise, to Mach one or even to a Mach number slightly greater than one. This would enable the design of a long range aircraft which cruises at a speed just above Mach one, but low enough that there would be no supersonic boom.
Imaging endoplasmic reticulum calcium with a fluorescent biosensor in transgenic mice

The use of biosynthetic fluorescent sensors is an important new approach for imaging Ca2+ in cells. Genetically encoded indicators based on green fluorescent protein, calmodulin, and fluorescence r...
Emergence of interoceptive and exteroceptive control of behavior in rats

The role of exteroceptive and interoceptive aversive stimuli in rats 2 to 14 days old was investigated according to an odor aversion paradigm. Amyl acetate odor was paired with eigher peripheral shock, intraperitoneal shock, or lithium chloride poisoning. Intraperitoneal shock was an effective unconditioned stimulus at all ages and produced odor aversions comparable to lithium chloride poisoning; peripheral shock, however, was effective only in rats 10 days of age or older. Interoceptive control of aversively motivated behaviors thus seems to develop before exteroceptive control, and the failure of previous studies to find reliable learning and retention of shock-motivated behaviors before 8 to 10 days of age may be attributable to the site to which shock was applied rather than to insensitivity to shock per se.
Visible and near-infrared H216O line intensity corrections for HITRAN-96

Abstract Systematic differences are apparent between the absolute intensities of water vapor lines in the 8036–22,657 cm−1 region listed in the HITRAN-96 database and those reported in the five original articles which constitute the sources for the database. This note suggests corrections which should be made to the HITRAN line intensities of various water bands in this region to achieve compliance with the measured intensities. A correction which increases the intensities by 8–14% should be applied in the 9500–12,861 cm−1 region. The correction decreases the line intensities in the 8036–9482 and 13,200–22,657 cm−1 intervals. The correction factor is exp[−E″(2hc/k)(1/T−1/T′)] in these regions, where T=296 K and T′ is the measurement temperature. This correction becomes significant at higher values of E″; it decreases the line intensities in HITRAN by about 19% at E″=1400 cm −1 .
Base‐pair mutations caused by six aliphatic epoxides in salmonella typhimurium TA100, TA104, TA4001, and TA4006

Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100, TA104, TA4001, and TA4006 were used to detect the base-pair mutations caused by six aliphatic epoxides: chloropropylene oxide, glycidyl 1-naphthyl ether, glycidyl 4-nitrophenyl ether, 1-naphthyl-propylene oxide, styrene oxide, and trichloropropylene oxide. Dose-mutagenicity relationships could be established for all six epoxides in strains TA100 and TA104 but not in strains TA4001 and TA4006. These results, together with the lack of sensitivity of the TA100 revertants to DL-1,2,4-triazole-3-alanine, indicate CGTA transitions and/or CGAT transversions are of major importance for mutations induced by these epoxides in Salmonella TA100 and possibly TA104. In addition, since the reproducibility of the effect of the triazole on TA104 reversions was poor, TAAT transversions were not eliminated as also contributing to the mutagenicity of these epoxides in this Salmonella strain. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Prey chemical discrimination and strike-induced chemosensory searching in the lizardLiolaemus zapallarensis

Experimental tests were conducted to determine whether the ambush foraging iguanian lizard,Liolaemus zapallarensis, was capable of discriminating prey chemicals from control substances and whether this lizard exhibits strike-induced chemosensory searching (SICS) or its components after biting prey. The two components of SICS are a poststrike elevation in tongue-flicking rate (PETF) and apparent searching movements for relocation of prey that has been bitten, but released or escaped.Liolaemus zapallarensis failed to discriminate prey chemicals from control substances, but exhibited significant PETF lasting one minute. SICS was absent inL. zapallarensis because no post-strike movements were observed. The absence of both prey chemical discrimination and SICS exhibited byL. zapallarensis is common to all the insectivorous iguanians and ambush foraging lizards studied to date. However,L. zapallarensis is the first insectivorous iguanian species shown to exhibit PETF. The results suggest thatL. zapallarensis does not use the tongue for detection, identification, or relocation of prey while foraging. The possibility does remain thatL. zapallarensis may be capable of chemically identifying prey once the prey stimuli reach the oral cavity.
A Simulation of the Council of the European Union: Assessment of the Impact on Student Learning

Role-playing games and simulations emerged as a classroom technique to provide students an experiential or hands-on approach to learning. Early use of simulations in the political science classroom primarily focused on teaching American politics (Kaarbo and Lantis 1997). However, the contemporary use of simulations now extends into comparative politics (Shellman 2001) and international relations (Jefferson 1999; Thomas 2002).
Machine Vision System to Induct Binocular Wide-Angle Foveated Information into Both the Human and Computers - Feature Generation Algorithm based on DFT for Binocular Fixation -

This paper introduces a machine vision system, which is suitable for cooperative works between the human and computer. This system provides images inputted from a stereo camera head not only to the processor but also to the user’s sight as binocular wide-angle foveated (WAF) information, thus it is applicable for Virtual Reality (VR) systems such as tele-existence or training experts. The stereo camera head plays a role to get required input images foveated by special wide-angle optics under camera view direction control and 3D head mount display (HMD) displays fused 3D images to the user. Moreover, an analog video signal processing device much inspired from a structure of the human visual system realizes a unique way to provide WAF information to plural processors and the user. Therefore, this developed vision system is also much expected to be applicable for the human brain and vision research, because the design concept is to mimic the human visual system. Further, an algorithm to generate features using Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) for binocular fixation in order to provide well-fused 3D images to 3D HMD is proposed. This paper examines influences of applying this algorithm to space variant images such as WAF images, based on experimental results.
Our strategy to achieve and document reproducible computing

Materials and methods Here, we describe our three-component strategy to achieve and document permanent reproducible computing in our research environment. First, we use the Sweave literate programming infrastructure to embed R code and report text in the same file. Sweave performs the specified calculations in R, inserts those results directly into a LaTeX typesetting command file, and finally compiles the LaTeX typesetting file into a PDF file. Thus, a Sweave file internally documents the top-level R code that produces the reported results. However, a Sweave report does not retain its reproducibility if the input data files and lowerlevel R code are modified later. Therefore, as the second component of our strategy, we developed the Igloo system to archive and freeze files for permanent reproducibility. The Igloo system requests that the user document every file that is transferred to a frozen archive. The Igloo system freezes the files in an archive with a directory structure that annotates the files by research team (leukemia, brain tumor, etc) and category (code file, type of data file, etc). The archive directory is visible in our Windows and Linux high-performance computing environments and has permission controls to ensure appropriate access to the files. However, neither Sweave nor Igloo assists with the cumbersome task of identifying specific input files that should be frozen to ensure permanent reproducibility. As the third component of our strategy, we developed the R package rctrack that computationally tracks the accession and generation of files by an R analysis program. The rctrack package defines a function that identifies files which need to be frozen in order to ensure permanent reproducibility. Additionally, rctrack provides mechanisms to track and document the usage of other software for some calculations. Finally, the rctrack package defines a function that generates a Sweave appendix with details regarding the input data and code files and their impact on the reproducibility of the report.
Reasonable expectations of privacy

Use of the concept of `a reasonable person and his or her expectations' is widely found in legal reasoning. This legal construct is employed in the present article to examine privacy questions associated with contemporary information technology, especially the internet. In particular, reasonable expectations of privacy while browsing the world-wide-web and while sending and receiving e-mail are analyzed.
Lack of bone stiffness/strength contribution to osteoarthritis—evidence for primary role of cartilage damage

Objectives. This study was performed to assess osseous contributions to osteoarthritis, obviating the analysis challenges presented by confounding factors in humans and rarity of osteoarthritis in free-ranging mammals. Methods. Frequency of osteoarthritis in 21 bird species was examined and contrasted with measures of afflicted element bone stiffness and strength and compression/tension-resistant characteristics. Results. Osteoarthritis was present in the ankle of 0-16% of bird species analysed, independent of bone laminarity, cortical thickness, circularity, polarization, cross-sectional diameter, length and pneumatization. Conclusions. No correlation of frequency of osteoarthritis with parameters of bone strength and biomechanical parameters was found, suggesting that bone is only secondarily affected in osteoarthritis and that cartilage is the initial target of the disease.
The effect of inhaled nitric oxide therapy on bleeding time and platelet aggregation in neonates

The effect of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) on bleeding time and platelet aggregation was studied in nine newborn infants with resolving pulmonary hypertension. Infants treated with iNO at 40 ppm for 30 minutes had bleeding times that were nearly twofold longer than those obtained 24 hours after iNO was discontinued. iNO had no effect on in vitro platelet aggregation studies.
Structural changes of chlorinated paraffins at processing conditions of particulate filled polypropylene

Structural changes of chlorinated paraffin (CP) have been studied using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy in the 180 to 220°C temperature range. Formation and further reaction of conjugated polyene sequence with and without MgO is of major concern. It was found that CP dehydrochlorinated at normal processing temperatures of polypropylene in the absence of MgO. A mixture of various polyene sequences was formed. Unlike a stabilizing effect on poly(vinyl chloride), MgO showed a catalytic effect for dehydrochlorination of CP. As a result, longer conjugation was formed with MgO at the same conditions except for the absence of MgO. The longer polyenes were selectively reacted at the conditions studied. A possible chemical bond formation at the particulate filler/polypropylene matrix interface was suggested as one of the reinforcement mechanisms of the composite.
Towards the integration of Web services security on enterprise environments

Web services are applications that can be accessed via widely accepted standards such as HTTP and XML. Since they are based on message exchanges on the Internet, there are always security risks as messages could be stolen, lost, or modified. Fortunately there are security standards such as SSL, and emerging standards such as XML digital signatures. With these technologies, safe information exchange among trading partners can be ensured. On the other hand, there exist security architectures within enterprise environments that are recipient of the incoming messages. Therefore, we must concern how the security information accompanying incoming messages should be processed there. In this paper, we review security information items coming with SOAP (Simple Object Accessing Protocol) messages, and discuss how each item can be processed by constructs in enterprise systems. In our analysis, we consider alternate mappings, and evaluate their advantages in terms of performance and manageability.
Manipulator kinematics and the epsilon algebra

An algebra is defined for use in problems of manipulator kinematics. With this algebra, one can program the solution to the kinematics in position problems, and use this same program to solve the kinematics problems in velocity and acceleration. The inverse kinematics part of the program can be used to obtain any order time-derivative of the joint positions. Some of the properties of the algebra are shown and functions of the elements of the algebra are defined. The solution to the forward and inverse kinematics problem is presented, and the use of the Ada programming language is discussed. >
Combining powers of linkage and association mapping for precise dissection of QTL controlling resistance to gray leaf spot disease in maize (Zea mays L.).

Gray Leaf Spot (GLS causal agents Cercospora zeae-maydis and Cercospora zeina) is one of the most important foliar diseases of maize in all areas where the crop is being cultivated. Although in the USA the situation with GLS severity is not as critical as in sub-Saharan Africa or Brazil, the evidence of climate change, increasing corn monoculture as well as the narrow genetic base of North American resistant germplasm can turn the disease into a serious threat to US corn production. The development of GLS resistant cultivars is one way to control the disease. In this study we combined the high QTL detection power of genetic linkage mapping with the high resolution power of genome-wide association study (GWAS) to precisely dissect QTL controlling GLS resistance and identify closely linked molecular markers for robust marker-assisted selection and trait introgression. Using genetic linkage analysis with a small bi-parental mapping population, we identified four GLS resistance QTL on chromosomes 1, 6, 7, and 8, which were validated by GWAS. GWAS enabled us to dramatically increase the resolution within the confidence intervals of the above-mentioned QTL. Particularly, GWAS revealed that QTLGLSchr8, detected by genetic linkage mapping as a locus with major effect, was likely represented by two QTL with smaller effects. Conducted in parallel, GWAS of days-to-silking demonstrated the co-localization of flowering time QTL with GLS resistance QTL on chromosome 7 indicating that either QTLGLSchr7 is a flowering time QTL or it is a GLS resistance QTL that co-segregates with the latter. As a result, this genetic linkage – GWAS hybrid mapping system enabled us to identify one novel GLS resistance QTL (QTLGLSchr8a) and confirm with more refined positions four more previously mapped QTL (QTLGLSchr1, QTLGLSchr6, QTLGLSchr7, and QTLGLSchr8b). Through the novel Single Donor vs. Elite Panel method we were able to identify within QTL confidence intervals SNP markers that would be suitable for marker-assisted selection of gray leaf spot resistant genotypes containing the above-mentioned GLS resistance QTL. The application of a genetic linkage – GWAS hybrid mapping system enabled us to dramatically increase the resolution within the confidence interval of GLS resistance QTL by-passing labor- and time-intensive fine mapping. This method appears to have a great potential to accelerate the pace of QTL mapping projects. It is universal and can be used in the QTL mapping projects in any crops.
Complications and treatment of mild hypothermia

THE combination of anesthetic-induced impairment of thermoregulatory control and exposure to a cool operating room environment makes most surgical patients hypothermic. Several prospective, randomized trials have demonstrated various hypothermia-induced complications. There is no widely accepted definition for the term mild hypothermia. Furthermore, the term is not even used consistently in the literature. For the purpose of this review, mild hypothermia refers to core temperatures between 34 and 36°C.
Optimum use of pozzolanic materials in steel fiber reinforced concrete

The effects on fresh and hardened material properties for fly ash caused by substituting cement with fly ash and silica fume in steel fiber reinforced concrete were studied experimentally. The percentage substitution of cement ranged from 0 to 40% and from 0 to 20% for silica fume. The workability of fresh fibrous mixtures was characterized by measuring the inverted slump cone time. The hardened material was tested at 28 days under compression and flexural loads. The development of compressive strength with time was also assessed in steel fiber reinforced concrete incorporating fly ash. The generated test data were used to decide the optimum ranges of cement substitution with fly ash or silica fume in steel fiber reinforced concrete for achieving desirable fresh mix and hardened material characteristics.
Entrepreneurial Discovery and Information Complexity in Knowledge-Intensive Industries

I investigate how the inherent complexity of the information associated with a newly introduced product affects the likelihood that the product is subsequently replicated, imitated, or both. Using information theory, I introduce a model and methods for quantifying the complexity of any product that is representable as an algorithm. I apply this methodology to construct and analyze a historical dataset of 91 digital signal processing firms and 853 product introductions (1974-2009). The empirical results support previously untested predictions from earlier simulation studies. The generalized model is extensible to many knowledge-intensive industries and has important implications for researchers, managers, and policymakers.
Engineered AAA+ Proteases Reveal Mechanisms of Degradation at the Mitochondrial Inner Membrane

The Yme1 protease is a hexameric membrane-anchored AAA+ machine that derives energy from ATP to control proteostasis in the inner membrane and intermembrane space of mitochondria. Substrates of Yme1 include soluble, peripheral membrane, and integral membrane proteins but the mechanisms of substrate recognition and degradation remain elusive. Detailed solution studies of this class of membrane-bound AAA+ enzyme have been hampered by the requirement for an insoluble transmembrane span to drive oligomerization and thus form the ATPase sites. By replacing the transmembrane span with a soluble coiled-coil analogue, we have developed a method for driving assembly of soluble active hexameric Yme1 proteases that are fully competent for ATP-dependent protein degradation in vitro.Using these engineered enzymes with model substrates we show that Yme1 requires substrates to present an accessible peptide signal to initiate degradation and displays clear preferences in the amino acid sequence of the degradation signal. Furthermore, the protease is capable of delivering a significant unfolding force to processively unravel and translocate stable protein substrates. These principles are extended to physiological substrates of Yme1 by examining the degradation of the intermembrane-space protein transport complex Tim9/10. We demonstrate the existence of a mitochondrial degradation signal that is necessary and sufficient to target proteins for proteolysis by Yme1.
An RGB-D Camera Based Walking Pattern Detection Method for Smart Rollators

This paper presents a walking pattern detection method for a smart rollator. The method detects the rollator user’s lower extremities from the depth data of an RGB-D camera. It then segments the 3D point data of the lower extremities into the leg and foot data points, from which a skeletal system with 6 skeletal points and 4 rods is extracted and used to represent a walking gait. A gait feature, comprising the parameters of the gait shape and gait motion, is then constructed to describe a walking state. K-means clustering is employed to cluster all gait features obtained from a number of walking videos into 6 key gait features. Using these key gait features, a walking video sequence is modeled as a Markov chain. The stationary distribution of the Markov chain represents the walking pattern. Five Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are trained for walking pattern detection. Each SVM detects one of the five walking patterns. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has a better performance in detecting walking patterns than three existing methods.
Diagnosis and Management of Pigmented Skin Lesions Using Teledermatology

Although teledermatology has been shown to be a reliable and accurate means of diagnosing and managing dermatologic conditions overall, some questions have been raised regarding its use for pigmented skin lesions. Of particular concern is the misdiagnosis of melanoma, which is an undesirable outcome whether an examination is performed via teledermatology or in person. This article reviews the literature that evaluates teledermatology’s use for the diagnosis and management of pigmented skin lesions. While the current evidence does not provide conclusive results, it does suggest inferior diagnostic accuracy for pigmented skin lesions when teledermatology has been directly compared to an in-person dermatologist’s examination. Teledermoscopy, the use of dermoscopy for telemedicine applications, has been shown to improve the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of telemedicine. The literature is limited by small sample sizes, in particular as it relates to melanoma, indicating the need for further study to provide more clarity regarding teledermatology’s use for pigmented lesions.